Snowden Lit the Fuse

After Edward Snowden revealed the information he had on the NSA, the public was in an outrage. He was largest contributing factor to the national controversy over the NSA in 2013 and since then, other whistleblowers had come out with additional information in our attempt to reform the NSA.

The information Snowden first released was the FISA court aquisitions of call records from Verizon. It was important that this was the first information released because this was American information. Had it been information on NSA activity in Germany–which was revealed later–the uproar would not have been as loud. Many people would have rationalized it as protection for our country. But telling America that its own government was listening to its phone calls hit a soft spot. In addition, we were told about PRISM: a secret program that has collected information from Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, PalTalk, YouTube, Skype, AOL and Apple. Not only were our phone calls being listened to but everything we did online was being monitered. This was the first time that most Americans had been made aware of this.

Edward Snowden’s unveiling of information has led others like him to also come out with information on the NSA. His attorney, Jesselyn Radack, a former NSA employee has also been a major voice for the American public. *not finished*

Since the original revelation, Snowden has released a vast amount of information about the NSA that ranges from surveillance of many of the worlds countries including England, China, Brazil, and just about any other major country. More documents and information is being released regularly. There has been some reform because of the release of this information. Investigations of mass surveillance are being conducted in the US, Europe, and Brazil. Bill proposals for greater transparency a making their way through the government processes and some FISA court opinions have even been ruled unconstitutional. We are making progress against the tyranical NSA.

Works Cited

https://edwardsnowden.com/frequently-asked-questions/

https://edwardsnowden.com/revelations/