Snowden: Hero or Enemy?

Edward Snowden is a former computer programmer that worked for the National Security Agency, an intelligence agency of the US government that focuses on the protection of important data from foreign intelligence. But back in 2013, he was found guilty of leaking confidential information regarding the NSA’s secret surveillance program. After being charged for theft of government property, various debates arose about Snowden’s betrayal towards his country. With the movie Snowden released on September 16, 2016, the controversy still continues. One of the biggest questions that is still asked today about Snowden is whether or not he is justified in his actions. There are two ways to look at this; is Snowden an enemy or hero to America?

After discovering that the National Security Agency had the ability to use its surveillance system to spy on billions of people through electronic devices, Snowden leaked to the public documents that contained information about these surveillance practices. Millions of American citizens were disturbed to find out that their own government was tracking and spying on them through their cell phones and cameras. To this day, the use of domestic surveillance programs is referred to as ‘illegal’ and ‘unconstitutional,’ as it puts into question how much privacy Americans are truly granted. As of June 2015, the United States enacted a new law known as the USA Freedom Act, which has enforced new limitations on the collection of Americans’ phone records. Yet, whether a person is innocent or not, the government still has the power to watch and analyze every movement of any man, woman, boy or girl living in the United States. Back in March of 2016, Edward Snowden spoke at an Amnesty International convention explaining that privacy isn't “about having nothing to hide, it’s about being you. It’s about being friends with who you want to be friends with, without worrying about what it looks like on paper or inside some private record in some dark government vault.” In other words, everyone has boundaries to what they decide belongs in their personal or public life, and constantly being monitored by the government becomes an outlier to these decisions. And although it is safe to say that the NSA won’t expose any of the data they have collected about us, the principles in this lack of privacy is what has enraged American citizens.

But when these programs are looked at through a broader picture, many can agree that it serves it’s purpose to the NSA. After the attacks of September 11th, investigating any signs of terrorism in or out of the United States became a major priority for the US government. Just forty five days after 9/11, Congress passed the Patriot Act, which made it easier for the government to find any suspicious activity regarding phone calls, emails, and credit reports. Even back in 1978, Congress passed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act which authorised the use of electronic surveillance against foreign spies in the United States. Of course back in the 70s, electronic devices weren't as involved in people's lives as they are today. So although domestic surveillance has been around for a while, it has become a bigger issue now because nearly everyone in the United States has access to an electronic device.