Edward Snowden Case Summary

The Edward Snowden case—to this day—is an important revelation about the current ethical—privacy and security—issues in the US. As a journalist it is important to understand the situation and be able to cover the story adequately. One player in the media that was able to cover the Edward Snowden story was journalist Glenn Greenwald. Ultimately, he was faced with the ethical dilemma to either publish the Edward Snowden NSA leaks or to ignore him altogether. In order to truly understand the situation it is crucial to construct a potter box and evaluate Glenn Greenwald’s decision. A whistleblower is an individual that “exposes misconduct or dishonest or illegal activities in an organization”. Edward Snowden—a former technical assistant at the …show more content…
I truly believe that publishing the information that Greenwald received from Snowden was critical. Greenwald has brought to life a realistic issue that Americans are faced with, their security and privacy. Nevertheless, changes—to how the government monitors us—are visible now and it is safe to say that society looks at this issue with more understanding. One important action that occurred is when the “House passed a bill (ostensibly) meant to stop bulk collection of phone metadata.” Although we do not know if this has actually taken effect, the sheer fact that the government is trying to make visible improvements is a step in the right direction. Another development was later seen when a federal judge said the “NSA phone surveillance program is unconstitutional.” Again, Glenn Greenwald's decision to publish the article has definitely instigated change. In retrospect, Greenwald’s initial decision to publish the article has changed how the United States and the world looks at this