Snowden affair

Snowden affair. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden revealed a large number of classified documents, sparking widespread controversy and debate involving Barack Obama, James Clapper, and Keith Alexander. This event was closely followed by The Guardian, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, with Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras playing key roles in the story. The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were also involved in the subsequent investigation, which led to Snowden's collaboration with Julian Assange and WikiLeaks.

Background

The National Security Agency (NSA) had been collecting massive amounts of data on United States citizens, as well as foreign nationals, including Angela Merkel, Dilma Rousseff, and Vladimir Putin. This was done through programs such as PRISM and XKeyscore, which were authorized by the USA PATRIOT Act and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee and Booz Allen Hamilton contractor, became aware of these programs while working at the NSA's facility in Hawaii. He was also familiar with the work of Daniel Ellsberg, who had leaked the Pentagon Papers during the Vietnam War. Snowden's concerns about the NSA's activities were shared by Thomas Drake, William Binney, and J. Kirk Wiebe, all of whom had previously spoken out against the agency's practices.

The Leaks

In May 2013, Edward Snowden traveled to Hong Kong and met with Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras, who were working for The Guardian and had a history of reporting on NSA surveillance, including the work of James Bamford and Jane Mayer. Snowden provided them with a large cache of classified documents, which included information about PRISM, XKeyscore, and other NSA programs, such as Tempora and Muscular. The documents also revealed the existence of NSA partnerships with foreign intelligence agencies, including the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in the United Kingdom and the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) in Australia. The leaks were also covered by Der Spiegel, Le Monde, and El País, and sparked a global debate about surveillance and privacy, involving European Union officials like Viviane Reding and Martin Schulz.

Reactions

The NSA and United States Department of Justice (DOJ) launched an investigation into the leaks, with James Clapper and Keith Alexander testifying before Congress about the NSA's activities. Barack Obama also spoke publicly about the issue, acknowledging that the NSA's programs had raised concerns about privacy and civil liberties, and citing the work of Benjamin Franklin and George Orwell. The European Union (EU) and other foreign governments, including Germany and Brazil, expressed outrage over the NSA's surveillance activities, with Angela Merkel and Dilma Rousseff speaking out against the agency's practices. Snowden was charged with espionage and theft, and his United States passport was revoked, leading him to seek asylum in Russia with the help of Vladimir Putin and Sergey Lavrov.

Aftermath

Edward Snowden was granted temporary asylum in Russia, where he has lived ever since, and has been in contact with Julian Assange and Sarah Harrison. The NSA has implemented some reforms, including the creation of a Civil Liberties and Privacy Office and the declassification of some documents related to its surveillance activities, as recommended by the Presidential Commission on Enhancing National Security. However, many of the NSA's programs remain classified, and the agency continues to collect large amounts of data on United States citizens and foreign nationals, including Xi Jinping and Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The United States Congress has also taken steps to reform the NSA's surveillance activities, including the passage of the USA Freedom Act, which was signed into law by Barack Obama and supported by Ron Wyden and Mark Udall.

Impact

The Snowden affair has had a significant impact on the global debate about surveillance and privacy, with many countries, including Germany and Brazil, implementing new laws and regulations to protect their citizens' privacy, as recommended by Stefan Savage and Bruce Schneier. The affair has also led to increased scrutiny of the NSA and other intelligence agencies, including the GCHQ and ASD, and has raised concerns about the use of mass surveillance and the potential for abuse of power, as discussed by Noam Chomsky and Arundhati Roy. The Snowden affair has also sparked a new wave of activism and advocacy on issues related to surveillance and privacy, with organizations like Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) playing a key role in the debate, along with Tim Berners-Lee and Jacob Appelbaum. Category:2013 events