Reading 06: Snowden

Snowden leaked information on the United States’ surveillance programs both at home and abroad. More specifically, he revealed programs in the US to spy on the citizens and programs spying on other countries and world leaders. In my opinion, Snowden is a hero that went too far. I think Snowden was a hero in revealing some of the things that he revealed, but not others. Snowden’s revealing of the secret surveillance of the American people by collecting data from Verizon, as well as companies such as Facebook and Google, was justified I believe. The government should not be spying on its citizens without their knowledge, even if it is to protect us. There is too much of a slippery slope there when the government starts becoming so involved in monitoring its citizens. The argument of the need for the surveillance to protect the people is fair, however if this type of surveillance is going to be done, then the people of the United States should know about it and be able demand reform should it be too invasive. While Snowden was a hero in the respect that he revealed the programs aimed at spying on citizens, I think he became a traitor when he extended it to also revealing programs spying on other countries. I would expect our government to be spying on other countries and gathering information. I would also expect other countries try and do the same to us. As Op-ed: Why President Obama won't, and shouldn't, pardon Snowden argues, these revelations on the US operations outside the US should not have been revealed as they seems to be vital parts of our foreign intelligence and justified in that respect. It is understandable given all this that the United States would want to extradite Snowden and that he would not be allowed back in the US. If Snowden is seen to be pardoned for leaking government secrets, then that would only embolden others to do the same, which would cause great damage to the country.

Ultimately, I think that what Snowden did was unethical. Had he just revealed the domestic programs, I would say he was ethical, but I think his revelations of our foreign practices make his actions unethical. I think that the foreign intelligence information was an example of a truth that the people of the world did not need to know. The US has a right to protecting its people, but not to protecting other countries, and thus does not have an obligation to revealing its surveillance practices to said countries. Despite, this, I do have to give Snowden credit for sticking to his morals. He would have known that revealing this information would likely make him a traitor in the US’s eyes and possibly ensure that he is never able to return to the US. To go ahead and reveal this information in spite of this knowledge shows that he had a strong moral conviction to do what he believed was right. What Snowden did was beneficial to the citizens of the US, but detrimental to the security of the country. This event is a great example of the ambiguity of morality in technology and national security. I believe that the government has the right to use technology to ensure national security, but should be transparent with American citizens when this affects our privacy.