Edward Snowden
In June
of 2013, Edward Snowden, a former NSA employee, released a collection of files that dealt with a secret
program being run by the NSA and invaded the privacy of millions of Americans.
These files consisted of court orders to telecommunication companies demanding
their phone records, a PowerPoint presentation covering PRISM and its
functions, Snowden’s releases revealed
that the government not only spied using its own means, but forced commercial
companies like Verizon and Google to hand over its customers’ records for data
collection. The most laughable part of this whole debacle is that the excuse
the NSA uses to collect data like browsing history and call records is that
these are tangible things and therefore covered under the PATRIOT ACT. Snowden’s
leaks also showed the extreme secrecy of these negotiations: Verizon was
ordered not to inform anyone that the NSA or FBI sought these items.
After Snowden leaked the documents to the public, the government issued a warrant for his arrest. The charges laid against Snowden were theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information, and willful communication of classified intelligence with an unauthorized person; the last two charges were violations of the Espionage Act. Fortunately for Snowden, he had already moved to China. After issuing the arrest, the U.S. government voided his passport causing Snowden to be stuck in transit at the Moscow airport. This led Snowden to seek asylum in several different countries, eventually opting to stay in Russia. In October, Snowden stated that he “gave all of the NSA files to Chinese journalists but does not have any more copies.” The documents that were leaked had been edited by Snowden who asserted “I did not intend to release a pile of unedited documents upon the world. I don't desire to enable the Bradley Manning argument that these were released recklessly and unreviewed,” (Caplan 28). Bradley Manning is the former U.S. soldier who uploaded over 700,000 classified documents to WikiLeaks and was dishonorably discharged and found guilty of several criminal charges resulting from the uploads (Caplan 29). Despite no longer possessing any classified documents, the U.S. is still attempting to force Snowden face criminal charges for his actions (“Edward Snowden”).
After Snowden leaked the documents to the public, the government issued a warrant for his arrest. The charges laid against Snowden were theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information, and willful communication of classified intelligence with an unauthorized person; the last two charges were violations of the Espionage Act. Fortunately for Snowden, he had already moved to China. After issuing the arrest, the U.S. government voided his passport causing Snowden to be stuck in transit at the Moscow airport. This led Snowden to seek asylum in several different countries, eventually opting to stay in Russia. In October, Snowden stated that he “gave all of the NSA files to Chinese journalists but does not have any more copies.” The documents that were leaked had been edited by Snowden who asserted “I did not intend to release a pile of unedited documents upon the world. I don't desire to enable the Bradley Manning argument that these were released recklessly and unreviewed,” (Caplan 28). Bradley Manning is the former U.S. soldier who uploaded over 700,000 classified documents to WikiLeaks and was dishonorably discharged and found guilty of several criminal charges resulting from the uploads (Caplan 29). Despite no longer possessing any classified documents, the U.S. is still attempting to force Snowden face criminal charges for his actions (“Edward Snowden”).