I think it's fairly easy to guess how Marcus, Ange and the other Xnetters would feel about Edward Snowden. To them, he would be a hero and a comrade in the fight against an overly intrusive government. The question is, to what extent does the US feel the same? Do Americans (and others) believe that surveillance is OK...and why?
First of all, one of the major issues in the debate over Snowden's actions is the same question at the core of Little Brother: is it OK to curtail individual freedoms as long as it makes our nation more "secure?" To Marcus, the answer would be unequivocally, no. According to a Pew survey in July, about 50% of Americans agree with government surveillance despite the fact that 70% believe the government is using the data they collect for purposes other than fighting terrorism, and despite believing that the government is not adequately limited in what info they can collect from you. (Another interesting tidbit from the survey: more Democrats support government surveillance than Republicans). The survey interesting enough showed that the younger you are (the closer in age to the fictitious Xnetters), the more likely you are to think that the government has encroached too far on individual civil liberties (60% of 18-29 year olds vs. 48% of 30-49 year-olds). [For more info, see http://www.people-press.org/2013/07/26/few-see-adequate-limits-on-nsa-surveillance-program/]
On Friday, the executive chair of Google advocated for greater government transparency but that this "spying" is not exactly a novel idea and has occurred for years.
What do you think of Snowden and the revelation of government surveillance? Are you for or against the principle?
PS. For the article on Google's chair see: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/13/eric-schmidt-google-nsa-surveillance
On feeling more secure and private see: http://howto.cnet.com/8301-11310_39-57596008-285/internet-privacy-in-an-age-of-surveillance/
For an interesting Q-and-A with Snowden himself: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/17/edward-snowden-nsa-files-whistleblower
It sort of baffled me earlier this year when all the NSA info came out and everyone was shocked. What I mean is, how the hell did they not know that government agencies were monitoring the internet? Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I always browse the internet with the assumption that my activity isn't private. Some people just have this notion that the internet is this magical place where anonymity is guaranteed and that is just so not true.
ReplyDeleteSo yeah, the NSA is messed up and people are totally right to be outraged but I don't think we should praise Snowden as some sort of martyr because he leaked info that proved what most people already suspected.
I agree with Holly. However, I am about two steps away from putting on a tin foil hat to keep the government from reading my thoughts. I don't understand how people were so blown away by this information either. Just because you use a username, doesn't mean you aren't constantly being logged. I am outraged and the I believe that the NSA should be drastically cut back and I hope some one is filing a class action suit against the government to make sure they can't continue doing whatever they want. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, as my high school history used to say.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Holly and Lauren about their reaction to the leaks. When the information about the NSA's operations was leaked I was not surprised. Even though I rather dislike the idea of people monitoring all my actions, I would be a little disappointed if our intelligence agencies did not engage in this type of activity. As a citizen I think the practice is a violation of my privacy etc, but when thinking from a strategic point of view I understand the practice. I think something that gets lost in this debate is the idea that other states engage in similar types of activities. While this does not make said activities 'right', we should take stock of the world we live in. As for Snowden, while many suspected such programs existed his actions got the conversation started in relation to said programs.
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