Edward Snowden Kantian Ethics
Edward Snowden, Kantian Ethics
Edward Snowden the Ethical Issue
In early 2013 a man by the name of Edward Joseph Snowden began leaking classified National Security Agency (NSA) documents to media outlets, which in turn ended up in public ears. These documents, mainly involving intelligence Snowden acquired while working as an NSA contractor, are mostly related to global surveillance programs run by the NSA. This has raised multiple ethical issues ranging from national security, information privacy and the ethics behind whistleblowing in general. The reach and impact of these leaks have gone global and have put in question the very government that protects us as well as the extent of the public’s rights on privacy. Various foreign governments have begun making changes to their programs and prosecuting many directly involved in the espionage of the public and political parties that were spied on. The US government, which continues to put pressure on the Russian government to hand Snowden back for prosecution with three felonies under the Espionage Act, seems upset and wanting to set an example to anyone willing to speak up against those in power, as if to place fear in anyone else with similar ideas or intentions. Whistleblowing is not protected against violating the Espionage Act, and although there is protection within the intelligence community for whistleblowing, it only accounts for non-secret related materials. Snowden “made his choice based on basic theories of civil disobedience: that those who control the law have become corrupt, that the law in this case (by concealing the actions of government officials in building this massive spying apparatus in secret) is a tool of injustice, and that he felt compelled to act in violation of it in order to expose these official bad acts and enable debate and reform.” (Greenwald & TheGuardian, 2013) Therefore under Immanuel Kant and a teleological view, does Snowden fall under ethical “guidelines” for a Kantian
Edward Snowden the Ethical Issue
In early 2013 a man by the name of Edward Joseph Snowden began leaking classified National Security Agency (NSA) documents to media outlets, which in turn ended up in public ears. These documents, mainly involving intelligence Snowden acquired while working as an NSA contractor, are mostly related to global surveillance programs run by the NSA. This has raised multiple ethical issues ranging from national security, information privacy and the ethics behind whistleblowing in general. The reach and impact of these leaks have gone global and have put in question the very government that protects us as well as the extent of the public’s rights on privacy. Various foreign governments have begun making changes to their programs and prosecuting many directly involved in the espionage of the public and political parties that were spied on. The US government, which continues to put pressure on the Russian government to hand Snowden back for prosecution with three felonies under the Espionage Act, seems upset and wanting to set an example to anyone willing to speak up against those in power, as if to place fear in anyone else with similar ideas or intentions. Whistleblowing is not protected against violating the Espionage Act, and although there is protection within the intelligence community for whistleblowing, it only accounts for non-secret related materials. Snowden “made his choice based on basic theories of civil disobedience: that those who control the law have become corrupt, that the law in this case (by concealing the actions of government officials in building this massive spying apparatus in secret) is a tool of injustice, and that he felt compelled to act in violation of it in order to expose these official bad acts and enable debate and reform.” (Greenwald & TheGuardian, 2013) Therefore under Immanuel Kant and a teleological view, does Snowden fall under ethical “guidelines” for a Kantian
References: DeCosse D. (2014, February 19). David DeCosse: Edward Snowden and the Moral Worth of Civil Disobedience | February 19, 2014 | Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2014/02/19/david-decosse-edward-snowden-and-the-moral-worth-of-civil-disobedience/22172/ Goodin, R. E. (1996). The publicity principle. In The theory of institutional design (p. 155). Cambridge [England: Cambridge University Press. Greenberg, J. (2014, January 10). CNN 's Tapper: Obama has used Espionage Act more than all previous administrations. Retrieved from http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2014/jan/10/jake-tapper/cnns-tapper-obama-has-used-espionage-act-more-all-/ Greenwald, G., & TheGuardian. (2013, June 22). On the Espionage Act charges against Edward Snowden | Glenn Greenwald | Comment is free | The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jun/22/snowden-espionage-charges Immanuel Kant: Perpetual Peace: Appendix II. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.constitution.org/kant/append2.htm KANTIAN ETHICS. (n.d.). Retrieved November 19, 2014, from http://www.csus.edu/indiv/g/gaskilld/ethics/Kantian%20Ethics.htm