Snowden's Big Truth: We Are All Less Free

chicksdaddy writes "In the days since stories based on classified information leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden hit the headlines, a string of reports and editorials claim that he had his facts wrong, accuse him of treason – or both. Others have accused journalists like Glen Greenwald of The Guardian of rushing to print before they had all the facts. All of these criticisms could be valid. Technology firms may not have given intelligence agencies unfettered and unchecked access to their users' data. Edward Snowden may be, as the New York Times's David Brooks suggests, one of those 20-something-men leading a 'life unshaped by the mediating institutions of civil society.' All those critiques may be true without undermining the larger truth of Snowden's revelation: in an age of global, networked communications and interactions, we are all a lot less free than we thought we were. I say this because nobody has seriously challenged the basic truth of Snowden's leak: that many of the world's leading telecommunications and technology firms are regularly divulging information about their users' activities and communications to law enforcement and intelligence agencies based on warrantless requests and court reviews that are hidden from public scrutiny. It hasn't always been so." Bruce Schneier has published an opinion piece saying that while Snowden did break the law, we need to investigate the government before any prosecution occurs. (Schneier's piece is one in a series on the subject.) Snowden himself said in an interview today that the U.S. government has been pursuing hacking operations against China for years.

Comments

Re:Who watches the watchers?

[ldconfig]

Its really all about America's one true God capitalism. Any other system is hunted down and destroyed or made to look like boogeymen thanks to our all too willing media (content cartels). Congress didn't spend all that money on spying without a return. I bet at least one of these 'contractors' is porting a lot of data to high freg trading computers. Heck we already know that the super rich get consumer data 15 min's before us little folks. Just look how rich congress people get while in office and just after. All the data mining is for one thing and it ain't security ITS MONEY! Want to know why no one does anything about pay TV rates? Easy almost everyone that can do anything about it have stock in the pay TV co's! To cut this rant short as long as Americans worship money over all else nothing will ever change.