How Is Edward Snowden Violating Human Rights

Jai Advani

1/28/15

American Studies JRP

NSA

One of the most fundamental ideals in America is freedom. Notorious for being one the most liberated countries in the world, everyone was taken by shock when news leaked of the government spying on it’s own citizens. In 2008, Edward Snowden published highly confidential information about the NSA and it’s operations. It was clear his actions left a large scar across the face of America. In a matter of a few days, Snowden’s publishing left many American citizens skeptical of their government. It was clear that the NSA was violating the Fourth Amendment, and basic human rights. It angered citizens that their phone calls and emails were being unjustly read, and for no reason, as the operations has

(Burns) With technology growing, and terrorist plots becoming more frequent, the government decided to switch the NSA’s purpose to become an Internet traffic moderator. As the NSA grew, so did their operations. They began reading into more sensitive information, including private emails of locals, and spying on powerful foreign prime ministers. They began violating some key principles, including the fourth amendment, and basic human rights. This caused a former system administrator of the CIA or Central Intelligence Agency to release classified information that the NSA had gathered. Whistleblower Edward Snowden opened the eyes of millions of Americans to the truth behind the NSA. This sudden release of shocking information created great dismay throughout the world, and even within America it’s self. Internally, America became completely fragmented. Feelings of skepticism and suspicion towards the secrecy of the government became all too common. Many Americans began to feel violated of their rights. They believed that the NSA violated them, and they wanted answers. Frank Kvojak, a resident of Braddock Hills Pittsburgh summed up the issue perfectly. “It’s an invasion of privacy.” (Delano) What he means by this is that the NSA is unreasonably searching through private information of American Citizens, and violating the fourth amendment. The fourth

Just this month, we found that the NSA has actually been able to hack into North Koreas computers and access their information. The potential danger that this can cause is almost unfathomable. North Korea, an already very peevish country, could very quickly decide to declare a nuclear war or another form of violence had they chosen too. The hot head of the world is one of the biggest threats, and could have ended in a very troubling way. In addition to North Korea, it is clear that the NSA is also spying on both Russia and China. Although there are already terrifies stopping trade, Russia’s military power is one that cannot be ignored. America would also not want to be locked in to a second wave of the Cold War. In addition to this, if the US were to get into worse relations with China, the US economy could be in grave trouble. About 6% of all of America’s imports come from China, and many large companies utilize the many options that China supplies, such as manufacturing. If the trade were to stop, America’s economy would be very negatively affected. Another reason as to why the NSA should be abolished is because of its extremely close monitoring of the phone company AT&T. To conclude, America is a place built off of freedom and privacy, and the NSA is taking that away from it’s citizens. It is using hard earned tax money on operations that are unconstitutional and useless.