Edward Snowden

• •Length: 4 pages minimum
• Due date: Wednesday, April 8^th
• Instructions 
• Read the news articles provided on Blackboard and answer the following questions. Look up at least two additional articles on your own to answer these questions, print them out and attach them to your responses. You can simply use the keyword search terms “NSA Internet surveillance spying” and find multiple results. 

• What were some of the revelations in your articles about what the NSA (National Security Agency) can do as far as Internet and telephone surveillance? Was any of this information new to you? What do you think about the powers that particular agency has? Does anything concern you? 

• Who is Edward Snowden? Briefly describe what he did and how he ended up where he is now. 

• Watch the video interview of Snowden (a simple youtube search with the keywords “Edward Snowden interview” will give you the twelve-minute video; it’s also available on the class website). What is your general reaction to what he had to say? Do you find him genuine? What do you think about the justifications he gives for his actions? Do you think they are adequate justifications? What do you think about his response to the question, “why should citizens who are not doing anything wrong be concerned with NSA spying?” 

• There are a couple of opinion pieces included that confront the question of Snowden as hero or traitor. Which do you think he is, and why? 

• There is a quote attributed to Benjamin Franklin that says: “He who would sacrifice freedom for security deserve neither. “What do you believe is the proper balance between our freedoms / liberties and our security, particularly our 4^th Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures and the right to privacy? Provide some examples of what you believe that proper balance to be. What type of controls / safeguards do you think should be in place to prevent the government from overstepping its boundaries? Is this even possible given the state of today’s technology?  

There are no right or wrong answers here. Basically, if this issue is new to you, I want you to try and get a sense of what the issues are and finally, what you think about them. What I’m looking for the most is whether or not you put together some thoughtful personal analysis and reaction to the material presented. I will use the attached rubric to calculate your grade for this assignment. 

http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/debate-rages-on-about-edward-snowden-wh-78066/

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2014/1008/Edward-Snowden-whistleblower-criminal-Nobel-Peace-Prize-winner

http://www.syracuse.com/opinion/index.ssf/2014/10/edward_snowden_spying_on_citizens_and_freedom_of_the_press_a_conversation_with_a.html

http://www.desertsun.com/story/opinion/columnists/2014/09/24/snowden-traitor-patriot/16147453/