CASE STUDT :EDWARD SNOWDEN
1. What is Edward Snowden's argument supporting his decision to reveal the information according to his statements in The Guardian article? Summarize his argument.
2. Before determining whether Snowden's actions were morally justified, what information would you need? Provide a bullet list and think about the facts and apply how one would respond to the identifiable issues in this case.
3. Under the utilitarianism theory, would Snowden's decision to reveal the information be supported? Explain your answer using principles from the utilitarian teleology. Would Snowden be granted immunity to the U.S. using the utilitarianism theory?
Case study
Who is Edward Snowden and what did he do?
Edward Snowden is a 30-year-old whistleblower and former NSA contractor. He left his home in Hawaii in May 2013, travelling to Hong Kong to leak documents to journalist Glenn Greenwald. At the time of his departure from the US, Snowden worked as a Booz Allen Hamilton systems analyst doing contract work for the NSA. The documents he revealed detailed secret NSA programs and capabilities that have been and continue to be used to collect and store personal communications both within the US and abroad.
Why is this information important?
Documents revealed by Snowden show that the US intelligence community and its partners – including the UK, Israeli and German spy agencies – are involved in warrantless mass surveillance of citizens domestically and abroad. Numerous documents show that, beyond the espionage performed for counterterrorism purposes, the NSA and its partners carried out political and industrial espionage, including the bugging of EU and UN buildings and the collection of phone and email data from Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy. To read more about the revelations, see the Revelations page.
Despite the many millions of people that the transnational surveillance systems affect, these have been constructed without the knowledge, authorisation or scrutiny of the elected legislative bodies of the US and its partner countries – much less the public. Snowden felt that this important information should be democratised:
“I’m just another guy who sits there day to day in the office, watches what’s happening and goes, ‘This is something that’s not our place to decide, the public needs to decide whether these programs and policies are right or wrong.'” (Snowden, June 2013)
What impact have Snowden’s revelations had?
Investigation: Snowden’s revelations have led to numerous investigations into US surveillance and violations of human rights to privacy and freedom of information. The US, the EU and Brazil all have ongoing investigations into mass surveillance.
Transparency: In a press conference on 9 August 2013, President Obama acknowledged the need for greater transparency regarding US surveillance programmes, asking the intelligence community “to make public as much information about these programs as possible”. A large number of documents have subsequently been released by the US government, including a 2011 FISA Court opinion that ruled some NSA surveillance actions were unconstitutional.
Legislative reform: Nineteen proposals for substantial legislative reform of laws enabling US surveillance are currently pending in the US. Many of the bills include changes to the FISA Court and proposals for more transparent proceedings.
Lawsuits: Formal complaints have been filed against the US and UK governments for breach of privacy laws and rights in France, Germany, the US, the UK and with the European Court of Human Rights. In addition, lawsuits have been filed against the US government by Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Linkedin and Dropbox to allow the companies to disclose more information about their compliance with national security requests.
An informed public debate: Snowden’s revelations have informed the public of the surveillance programmes that have been secretly collecting mass phone and internet data, and this democratisation of knowledge offers the public new choices about their behaviours. Media coverage of surveillance and related topics has grown substantially since June 2013. A number of polls also reflect a shift in US public opinion regarding surveillance and the US government policies’ impact on civil liberties.