DC

Question 6

Digital law and privacy

 

Edward Snowden is a former contractor for the CIA, United States.

 

While working at the NSA's Oahu office, Snowden began noticing government programs involving the NSA spying on American citizens via phone calls and internet use. In May 2013, Snowden began copying top-secret NSA documents while at work, building a dossier on practices that he found invasive and disturbing. The documents contained vast and damning information on the NSA's domestic surveillance practices, including spying on millions of American citizens under the umbrella of programs such as PRISM.

 

After he had compiled a large store of documents, Snowden told his NSA supervisor that he needed a leave of absence to undergo medical treatment. He had been recently diagnosed with epilepsy. On May 20, 2013, Snowden took a flight to Hong Kong, China, where he remained during the early stages of the fallout. This fallout began the following month, on June 5, when the United Kingdom's Guardian newspaper released secret documents obtained from Snowden about an American intelligence body (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court) demanding that Verizon release information "on a daily basis" culled from its American customers' activities.

 

Mr Snowden, was granted temporary asylum in Russia, while facing espionage charges over his actions. He was then charged in the US for theft of government property, unauthorised communication of national defence information and wilful communication of classified communications intelligence. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-23123964 

 

PRISM program is a huge surveillance program operated by the United States National Security Agency (NSA). The PRISM program utilizes extensive data mining efforts to collect information and analyze that data for patterns of terrorist or other potential criminal activity.

 

 

Privacy:

It is a concern that we have limited privacy today mainly because of the growth of technology which makes it easy for strangers to access our personal information and give it or sell-it to other people, most of the time without our consent.

 

However there are many times where we sign the so called privacy agreements without even reading them, and this is where the 'small print' is hidden. Also because of technology, there are cameras everywhere that are watching us without even noticing. There is absolutely no privacy in our lives as it is invaded 24 hours a day.

 

 

 

Bibliography:

Available online at http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-23123964 [Accessed 13 October 2015].