National Security Agency Leaks

The National Security Agency (NSA) leaks refer to the release of a large volume of confidential data from the NSA to the press (specifically, the Guardian) by Edward Snowden, an NSA contractor. In 2013, Snowden breached legal and moral confidentiality/secrecy obligations by engaging in unauthorized accessing, retrieving, and/or releasing of the data. The data in question pertained, in particular, to the NSA’s large-scale collection of data on U.S. and other citizens. The NSA leaks, also known as the Snowden leaks, are regarded by many as a victory for individual privacy and freedom of the press. However, others regard them as morally problematic on the ground that they may have damaged the intelligence capabilities of Western democracies by revealing their methods of intelligence agencies to hostile ...