In today’s world, information travels from one source to the other in no time. This maybe not only accredited to the advanced technology that is incessantly progressing, but it may also be caused by great minds. The best example that has currently strangled the government and the international media is the case of Edward Snowden who is the person behind NSA leaks.
The National Security Agency (NSA) is USA’s official cryptology intelligence organization which was founded in 1952 with the aim of safeguarding the integrity of the national communication system along with looking into the matters of secret communications specifically of the foreign adversaries. Regardless of the primary functions of NSA for which it was recognized, it has been accused of spying every American’s life and invading privacy (Shorrock, 2013). This has been leaked by a system analyst of NSA; Edward Snowden, who had been working in this position for the past three months. He also leaked key information such as America’s involvement in spying over China’s tasks and the Prism operation which is linked with monitoring of internet activities and phone calls with respect to Americans. Despite the mixed opinions of people labeling Snowden as a traitor and a patriot, Edward Snowden considers that his basic idea behind NSA leaks was to inform the Americans about the government invading their freedom and privacy. Upon this leaking behavior of Snowden, the government is looking to get him back from the moment he left the country, as he currently residing in Russia. On this matter, the American government claims that on the basis of theft of government property and the unauthorized communication of information which was passed on to unauthorized people, Snowden should be charged against the Espionage Act of 1917. Content analysis research on this subject shows the opinion of critics and scholars who consider the Espionage Act to be outdated which was formerly enacted in response to interference with military matters and incorporated the part of supporting enemies. In this regard, Edward Snowden has not passed on the NSA information to any foreign government or an enemy. He just leaked it to the Americans. The Center for Economic and Policy Research (2013) has coherently laid the collection of different claims, opinions and evidences regarding Snowden’s case in the content analysis approach that it utilized. In this regard, America was looking forward for Hong Kong to help detain Snowden who has been looking towards a political asylum from many countries. However, upon Hong Kong’s decision against Washington demands and the increased public support for Snowden, America has opted for another route. Not only did NSA leak involved American surveillance involving China, but media reports reveal anger over the intelligence issue pertaining to places such as Iran, Korea, Europe and several other targets. The recent effort of the US government to pressurize other governments to obstruct Snowden’s effort to seek asylum has further resulted in the serious response from human rights organizations such as Amnesty International. US take on the Snowden issue is now dwelling into the matters of human rights issue where these organizations are not only against the American government’s action which reveal the unlawful acts of its own and other governments, but the breach in the process of Snowden’s approach is further an act of human right violation (Shorrock, 2013).
As a matter of fact, the media has great power residing in it. In consideration to the case of Edward Snowden, it is vital to look at the limited effect model which outlines the way media influences public opinion in a selective way that is targeted to selected people. In other words, media plays an influential role in not only putting a message across via its various forms, but it also tends to shape the way people perceive, interpret, choose and make decisions (Scheufele, 1999). NSA leak has been a hot topic since June where not only the television news channels, but also the print and the digital media are actively participating in updating the current happenings. On the basis of the information they provide, people adapt their views. The initial image of Snowden misusing sensitive data as communicated by the media generated resentment amongst public. As soon as Snowden’s purpose of making American’s aware of what was going on with their personal details, inculcated a different response followed by the issue of becoming a matter of human rights that has made people accept and acknowledge the efforts of Snowden in a positive light. Hence, although individual differences, status, education and reach to inside knowledge might intervene and change the reaction to the information being sent across, the media continues to play a dominant role in affecting the preferences and views of the society (Scheufele, 1999).
In addition, while talking about Snowden being charged against the Espionage Act, it is vital to point out at the fact that there requires a huge amount of data that would provide enough facts and evidences essential to trace out the actual surveillance measures being undertaken by NSA, along with assessing the leak by Snowden on the basis of implementing the Espionage Act. In other words, the meta-analysis of such sources would require time and proof which will result in an official authentic charge on Edward Snowden. The work has already been started where reports are being developed for Congress in order to get into the core of the actual knowledge of what NSA has been doing (Erwin & Liu, 2013). For this purpose, the FBI is in the process of analyzing the phone calls (duration, dates and the source and recipient of the calls) made by NSA. On contrary, it does not take in account the content of the calls which raises skepticism. Similarly, official members and agencies are also directed towards to collection the data of electronic communication where the result is undermined by the fact that details about type of information and the companies involved are not included (Erwin & Liu, 2013).
Thus, despite the glamour of technology, it has a side which is often used against people and places. No matter what purpose has been invested by the US government in relation to protecting the state from terrorism, Edward Snowden has leaked a greater truth about NSA. As a matter of fact, the government is not openly denying what has been leaked. Although, it might slightly affect US relation with other countries, the case of Snowden being charged against the Espionage Act requires a great deal of authentic material to get into the depth of the truth and act accordingly.
REFERENCES
Erwin, M. & Liu, E. (2013, July 2). NSA Surveillance Leaks: Background and Issues for Congress. (Congressional Report No. R43134). Washington DC: Library of Congress Congressional Research Service. Retrieved from Open CRS website: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/R43134.pdf
Scheufele, D. (1999). Framing as a theory of media effects. Journal of Communication: 103-122.
Shorrock, T. (2013). Obama’s crackdown on whistleblowers. Nation, 296(15), 11.
Cepr wire staff. (2013, June 26). The Edward Snowden case monitor. Center for Economic and Policy Research. Retrieved July 11, 2013, from http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/the-americas-blog/the-edward-snowden-case-monitor
