Snowden Has Nothing To Be Happy About
Published in Polityka
(Poland) on 3 June 2015
by Marek Ostrowski (link to original)
(Poland) on 3 June 2015
by Marek Ostrowski (link to original)
Translated from
by Natalia Suta.
Edited by Laurence Bouvard.
A Turning Point for the NSA: Is America going to reduce wiretapping?
The new law restricts the National Security Agency’s right to spy on all electronic communication data.
Is this a turning point in favor of Edward Snowden, who is hiding in Russia as a fugitive from U.S. authorities that charged him with leaking documents related to the surveillance program? It is well-known that the new law, signed by President Obama, restricts the right of the National Security Agency to spy on all electronic communication records.
Now, the NSA must first explain their suspicions in court and obtain a warrant to request access to calls and correspondence. This change in the American mood can be seen in how the Republicans voted in the Senate. Even though the Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was against the change, as many as 23 Republican senators voted in favor of it.
Is America going to reduce wiretapping? It's doubtful. Firstly, the restrictions apply only to American citizens on American soil. The NSA will continue collecting and searching through the communications of foreign leaders, especially allies. Secondly, it’s questionable whether the secret service are telling the truth about wiretapping, since so far — even after Snowden’s surveillance revelations — they have denied the obvious facts.
American legislators, with their tendency to pathos, called the first law on tightening up telephone tapping and security after September 11, The Patriot Act, and the new law on limiting wiretapping, The Freedom Act.
Is modern society indeed facing a dilemma: freedom or patriotism? Citizen knows very little about it. One thing is certain. Americans are spending billions on controlling electronic communication and have taken the lead in using this technology. Therefore, it is most unlikely they will ever give away information on how their surveillance programs function.
What is more, they are now facing a more serious problem with civil control over the secret services’ activity. And it doesn’t look like this problem is going to be resolved soon.
The new law restricts the National Security Agency’s right to spy on all electronic communication data.
Is this a turning point in favor of Edward Snowden, who is hiding in Russia as a fugitive from U.S. authorities that charged him with leaking documents related to the surveillance program? It is well-known that the new law, signed by President Obama, restricts the right of the National Security Agency to spy on all electronic communication records.
Now, the NSA must first explain their suspicions in court and obtain a warrant to request access to calls and correspondence. This change in the American mood can be seen in how the Republicans voted in the Senate. Even though the Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was against the change, as many as 23 Republican senators voted in favor of it.
Is America going to reduce wiretapping? It's doubtful. Firstly, the restrictions apply only to American citizens on American soil. The NSA will continue collecting and searching through the communications of foreign leaders, especially allies. Secondly, it’s questionable whether the secret service are telling the truth about wiretapping, since so far — even after Snowden’s surveillance revelations — they have denied the obvious facts.
American legislators, with their tendency to pathos, called the first law on tightening up telephone tapping and security after September 11, The Patriot Act, and the new law on limiting wiretapping, The Freedom Act.
Is modern society indeed facing a dilemma: freedom or patriotism? Citizen knows very little about it. One thing is certain. Americans are spending billions on controlling electronic communication and have taken the lead in using this technology. Therefore, it is most unlikely they will ever give away information on how their surveillance programs function.
What is more, they are now facing a more serious problem with civil control over the secret services’ activity. And it doesn’t look like this problem is going to be resolved soon.
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