Question: From the readings and in your opinion, is Edward Snowden a hero or a traitor? Should the US government pardon him for any possible crimes or should they pursue extradition and prosecution for treason?
Edward Snowden is a person I have not thought about for a long time. When his story first broke in 2013, I was only really aware of the bare minimal details regarding what he did. However, after doing some research on the topic I have found it very interesting to learn more in depth about the information he leaked and how that leak has impacted the World. The basic logistics of how the leak came about were that while working as a contractor for the NSA, Snowden filled multiple laptops of information from the NSA’s top secret network. Most of this information dealt with how the NSA collects and records data on American citizens. Among the leaked information was a secret court order sent to Verizon which demanded the company to hand over information on its client’s phone usage records to the NSA. Snowden also revealed that the NSA had a method of recording phone and internet habits of Americans, which contradicted previous statements of the NSA that this information was only looked at in real-time. Another secret which was revealed was the existence of the Prism program, which gave the NSA “direct access” to internet usage data from a number of tech giants (Google, Facebook, Apple, etc.). All of this information and much more was laid out on Snowden’s laptops, including detailed descriptions of how the NSA collected, recorded, and analyzed the data it was receiving. After meeting with journalists from The Guardian in a Hong Kong hotel, Snowden detailed his findings in a series of interviews, and uploaded his information to WikiLeaks.
While I don’t think I would go as far as calling Snowden a hero, I do not believe his actions were unethical. I understand that there cannot be complete privacy without sacrificing security, and I personally do not have any problems with the NSA monitoring my internet usage, after all its not like I am doing anything illegal or remotely interesting from the NSA’s perspective on it. However, I think Americans have a right to know about this sort of thing. Governments should not operate in the shadows, and it seems that the NSA had been doing exactly that for quite some time. Because if this I respect Snowden’s bravery for making a move to increase government transparency. It also does not seem that the leak has had any significant repercussions for American security. Some articles claim that the information will be used by terrorists to better avoid NSA detection, but I highly doubt that any terrorists were really shocked to learn that the NSA says on them, and I considering the power of the NSA I am confident it has already come up with numerous different data collection methods than those which were leaked. It seems that the biggest impact these leaks had were on the people who didn’t know they were being watched: everyday Americans. I am sure these people may feel betrayed by their government, but I believe it is better to know what is going on in your government than to be blissfully ignorant.