Readings

The readings for this week focus on Edward Snowden:

• Edward Snowden: Leaks that exposed US spy programme

• Whistleblowing Is Not Just Leaking - It's an Act of Political Resistance

• Why President Obama Can't Pardon Edward Snowden

• Edward Snowden: 'The people are still powerless, but now they're aware'

• U.S. Mass Surveillance Has No Record of Thwarting Large Terror Attacks, Regardless of Snowden Leaks

And Government Surveillance and encryption:

• FBI director: Without compromise on encryption, legislation may be the 'remedy'

• A Message to Our Customers

• Apple's FBI Battle is Complicated. Here's What's Really Going On

• Inside Apple CEO Tim Cook’s Fight With the FBI

• FBI has accessed San Bernardino shooter's phone without Apple's help

Optional: Edward Snowden

• Edward Snowden - The Untold Story

• The Snowden Saga: A Shadowland of Secrets and Light

• Ex-CIA chief: What Edward Snowden did

• Yes, Edward Snowden Is a Traitor

• Two Years On, How much has Edward Snowden Achieved?

• Edward Snowden's impact

• Op-ed: Why President Obama won't, and shouldn't, pardon Snowden

• Op-ed: Why Obama should pardon Edward Snowden

Optional: Government Surveillance

These articles discuss the government's interest in government surveillance:

• The FBI Could Have Gotten Into the San Bernardino Shooter’s iPhone, But Leadership Didn’t Say That

• Apple CEO Tim Cook says if FBI iPhone case happened again 'we would fight again'

• Why You Should Embrace Surveillance, Not Fight It

• Trump’s DOJ tries to rebrand weakened encryption as "responsible encryption"

• American Spies: how we got to mass surveillance without even trying

• US says it doesn't need secret court's approval to ask for encryption backdoors

• House Extends Surveillance Law, Rejecting New Privacy Safeguards

• The NSA’s Hidden Spy Hubs in Eight U.S. Cities

Food for Thought

• How Much Surveillance Can Democracy Withstand?

Questions

Please write a response to one of the following questions:

1. From the readings and in your opinion, is Edward Snowden a hero or a traitor? Should the US government pardon him for any possible crimes or should they pursue extradition and prosecution for treason?

   • What exactly did he leak and how did he expose that information?

   • Regardless of the legality of his actions, is what he did ethical and moral?

   • Utimately, is what Snowden did beneficial to the public or did he harm the security of the United States and its allies? Personally, how have these revelations impacted you (or not) and your views on government, national security, encryption, and technology in general?

2. From the readings and in your opinion, should technology companies purposely weaken encryption or implement backdoors in their products for the the purposes of government surveillance? Are companies like Apple ethically responsible for protecting the privacy of their users or are they ethically responsible for helping to prevent violent or harmful activities that their platforms may enable? How are these two conflicting goals to be balanced in a world of free-flowing communication and extreme terrorism?

   • If you are supportive of government surveillance, how do you response to concerns of privacy and intrusion? Are worries about Big Brother simply paranoia? When and why does national security trump individual privacy?

   • If you are against government backdoors or surveillance, how do you respond to the concerns regarding national security? Isn't saving lives or protecting our nation worth a little less individual privacy. How do you counter the argument: If you've got nothing to hide, you've got nothing to fear?