Analysis of the Situation (DET)

Discuss About The Espionage Charges Against Edward Snowden.

With the growing popularity of technologies in modern society, the issues associated with them have increased as well. Along with security and privacy concerns, people are also facing issues relating to ethical nature of technology. The information ethics play a significant role in tackling the issues relating to technology and use of data. Effective implementation of information ethics principles ensures that a positive relationship has maintained between data and moral principles. It is referred to a branch of ethics which maintains the relationship between ethical policies and maintenance, use, collection and process of data (Liu and Yang, 2012). While performing their duties, ICT professionals are expected to comply with policies to information ethics for promoting the interest of the company along with the public. The Australian Computer Society (ACS) has issued a number of codes of ethics which are required to comply by ICT professionals while discharging their duties. These codes assist the professionals in doing the right thing when they face an ethical dilemma. In this report, the case study of Edward Snowden will be analyzed by using DET or ‘Doing Ethics Technique’. This technique did not focus on finding the best solution in an ethical dilemma; instead, it helps in understanding the ethical issue by thinking critically. The perspective of Snowden will be evaluated in the report. The codes of ethics provided by ACS will also be examined in the report to analyse the case study of Edward Snowden.

The case study of Edward Snowden is associated with the leak of classified information about a program of National Security Agency (NSA). In 2013, the Guardian and the Washington Post issued a story regarding data mining program of NSA through which the agency collected and mined the personal data of the US citizens. Snowden was responsible for leaking the classified information to the newspapers which resulted in causing huge controversy in the country (Lucas, 2014). People were angry on the government because it was collecting their data through smartphones and internet traffic details without any prior permission. The purpose of the program was to find any potential links which assist the government in finding and avoiding any terrorist activity in the nation. Individuals were praising the actions of Snowden, who flew out of the country right after the leak. However, some people, including government officials, were criticising the leak because it increased the risk of terrorist attacks on the country. It was found out that Snowden was an ex-CIA officer who was employed at Booz Allen Hamilton. He was working at NSA as a defense contractor. Snowden was solely involved in the leak, and after the leak, he was charged with three felonies (Greenwald, 2013). Two of the felonies were under the Espionage Act 1917 based on which Snowden was considered as a traitor. The Whistle-blower Act did not protect his actions.

• In 2013, the Guardian and the Washington Post issued a news story which includes classified information about the data mining program of NSA (Szoldra, 2016).
• Edward Snowden made such leak to the newspaper after which he flew out of the country.
• He was an ex-CIA agent and working for Booz Allen Hamilton. He was appointed as a defense contractor at NSA (Mazzetti, 2013).
• He was charged with three felonies, two of which were under the Espionage Act.
• He admitted that he was working for Booz Allen Hamilton to learn about their security system which assisted him during his leak.
• He was criticised for his actions, however, a large number of people supported his actions and called him a hero.
• He flew away to Russia where the government gave him asylum.

1. The actions of Snowden were considered illegal and against the principles of ICT professionals.
2. The government officials argued that he increased the risk of national security by leaking the information about data mining program because it became difficult for the government to find a potential terrorist threat.
3. Collection of private data without prior permission is a key issue in this case study because it is considered as an unethical action.
4. People are torn between whether to call Snowden a hero or a traitor because although his actions were beneficial to the public, however, he risked the nation’s security (Macaskill and Dance, 2013).
5. The leak reduces people trust in their government, and it negatively affected the global image of the US.
6. Rather than accepting the charges, Snowden decided to leak the country which raises issues because terrorists could capture him to collect information about the US government.

Analysis of the Situation (ACS Code of Ethics)

• United States Government

People lose their trust and faith in the government after they found out that it collects their personal data without their permission. The government faced global humiliation as countries such as Russia called it two faced a canceled its ties with the country. President of Brazil canceled its trip to the country, and many commercial treaties were canceled after this incident between the US and other nations (Murdock, 2016).

• NSA

It became difficult for NSA to collect information about terrorist activities in the country without getting access to the phone and internet traffic data of people. It also faced criticism from the public for using their data without prior permission.

• Edward Snowden

He was charged with three felonies, and he had to leave his job, family, friends, and home to live in a foreigner country. He provided that he considered his actions to be absolutely right and for the benefit of the public however it is not the case with everyone (Wheeler, 2017).

• Terrorist Groups

After the cancellation of the data mining program of NSA, terrorist groups have more opportunity to communicate within the country to plan their next attack.

• Cloud Service Providers (CSPs)

After the incident, organisations started speculating that the government is collecting their data as well due to which they started terminating their contract with US-based CSPs which caused the loss of billions.

• People

People were the victim in this scenario because their own government was breaching their privacy. It reduces their trust in the government and its actions.

• Consequence base (Utilitarianism): The issue was relating to the leak of classified information by Snowden, and due to its implications the data mining program of NSA was canceled which made US citizens happy since it protected their privacy.
• Duty base (Deontology): Snowden beached his duties as an employee and an ICT professional by openly leaking classified data in public due to which he was charged with three felonies.
• Contract base (Contractarianism): The actions of Snowden were illegal, and against the principles of ICT professional, however, they are justified because it protected the privacy of millions of people.
• Character base (Virtues): The actions of Snowden are considered illegal by the government however he has an honest character, and he risked his life to save the privacy of millions of people.
• Snowden flew to Russia rather than facing the charges which increase the risk because the terrorist groups can use his knowledge to plot a terrorist attack in the US.

Different actions can be taken by the government and Snowden in this situation. Snowden can come back to the country to accept his charges to reduce the risk of terrorists capturing him and collecting confidential information. The US government also knew about this risk, and they should bring back Snowden back to the country by removing all his charges. Rather than charging him with felonies, Snowden’s actions should be judged based on ethical perspective. Furthermore, he should be protected under the Whistle-blower Act. Bring Snowden back to the country will increase the trust of the public into the government and accepting their mistake might result in improving international relationships of the country. The US government deal with the Russian Government to end the asylum of Snowden and bring him back to the country to avoid the threat of terrorist groups capturing him.

1. Snowden can surrender himself and come back to the country to avoid the risk of terrorists capturing him and using him against the country.
2. The US government can enter into a deal with the Russian government for terminating the asylum of Snowden and surrendering him back to the US.
3. Amendment in the Whistle-blower Act to consider the actions of Snowden as valid, and he should be protected under the Act.
4. The US government can drop the charges of Snowden to bring him back to the country in order to judge his actions on an ethical level.

The main issue is that as long as Snowden is outside the US, terrorist groups can capture him and use his information to plot their next attack. Therefore, the US government should eliminate the charges of Snowden and bring him back to the country. His actions should be judged based on ethical level, and they should be covered under the Whistle-blower Act because they protected the privacy of millions

The codes of ethics are required to comply by all ACS members who are working in the ICT field regardless of their position or job. It assists them in tackling ethical issues regarding information ethics.

The Primacy of Public Interest

It is a duty of ICT professional to place the interest of public above all others which include personal, business and sectional interests. Snowden risked his life and breached his duties leaking information about NSA program which resulted in saving privacy of millions of people (Ballard, 2015). Thus, Snowden has fulfilled his duty as provided by ACS code of ethics because he prioritises the interest of public above all.

An ICT professional should strive to enhance the quality of life of those who are affected by his/her job. ICT professionals should keep striving to improve the quality of life of individuals who are influenced by their work. Snowden leaked the information about data mining program of NSA through which NSA collected and mined data of the US citizens. The government terminated the program, and a rule was pass which provides that no government authority can access or collect private data from people without prior permission (Hautala, 2016). It enhanced people’s lives by security their private data and protecting their basic rights.

Honesty

An ICT professional should be honest while representing his/her knowledge, services, products, and skills. While giving professional advice, an ICT professional should maintain honesty and integrity in his/her work. Snowden was dishonest towards his employer or his country, however, he was honest towards people and to protect their privacy he risked his life to leak such data. Based on which the actions of Snowden were honest (Fredericks, 2016).

Competence

An ICT professional should work competently and diligently while discharging his/her duties towards the stakeholders. Snowden was capable of performing his job effectively. Before the leak, no one realised the Snowden had collected the data which proves that he was competent to perform his duties effectively.

Professional Development

It is a duty of an ICT professional to enhance his/her own professional development along with his/her staff and colleagues. He/she should make himself aware of new developments in the ICT field for ensuring that he/she is able to discharge his duties effectively (McDermid, 2015). Snowden admitted that he joined the work at Booz Allen Hamilton to learn about their security infrastructure which assisted him while collecting the information about data mining program of NSA. He learns about the latest advancements in the ICT field which assisted him in leaking the data of NSA, therefore, he complied with the code of professional development.

Professionalism

An ICT professional is required to enhance the integrity of the society. Furthermore, he/she should ensure that respect of its members while dealing with them. An ICT professional should maintain a high legal of professionalism while dealing with its clients or while providing them professional advice in order to ensure that their trust is maintained on the ICT profession (Wynia, Kishore, and Belar, 2014). Snowden way of handling things was not professional however it resulted in enhancing the integrity of society, and people started trusting that the ICT professionals will do the right thing when it comes to protection of public interest. Thus, Snowden has complied with this code of ethics as well.

Conclusion

To conclude, the doing ethics technique is used in the report for evaluating the ethical issues in the case study of Edward Snowden. The classified information about the data mining program of NSA was leaked by Snowden through which NSA was collecting and mining the data of the US citizens. It is ethically wrong to collect or store private data of people without prior permission. The leak made by Snowden resulted in shutting down the program of NSA due to which privacy of people was protected. However, the government considered Snowden as a traitor, and he was charged with three felonies under the Espionage Act. In order to address this situation ethically, the government should focus on bringing Snowden back to the country in order to ensure that terrorist groups did not use his information against the nation. Furthermore, the codes of ethics issued by ACS are used in the report to evaluating the case study of Snowden. It can be seen that Snowden complied with all the codes of ethics issued by ACS before he prioritises the public interest which resulted in enhancing people’s lives, and he was competent, and his actions were honest. Snowden’s actions were professional because he increases the trust of people in ICT professional by leaking information about the data mining program of NSA. Following are various recommendations for alternatively handling this issue:

• The US government should amend the Whistle-blower Act to cover the actions of Snowden into its definition.
• The US government should remove all the felony charges from Snowden in order to bring him back to the country and ensure him that his actions will be evaluated on an ethical level.
• The US government should deal with the Russian government to terminate the asylum of Snowden and bring him back to the country.

References

Ballard, B. (2015) How to view all Edward Snowden’s leaked NSA documents. [Online] IT Pro Portal. Available at: https://www.itproportal.com/2015/03/13/view-edward-snowdens-leaked-nsa-documents/ [Accessed 21^st May 2018].

Fredericks, B. (2016) Obama doesn’t share Holder’s view of Edward Snowden. [Online] New York Post. Available at: https://nypost.com/2016/05/31/obama-doesnt-share-holders-view-of-edward-snowden/ [Accessed 21^st May 2018].

Greenwald, G. (2013) On the Espionage Act charges against Edward Snowden. [Online] The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jun/22/snowden-espionage-charges [Accessed 21^st May 2018].

Hautala, L. (2016) The Snowden effect: Privacy is good for business. [Online] CNET. Available at: https://www.cnet.com/news/the-snowden-effect-privacy-is-good-for-business-nsa-data-collection/ [Accessed 21^st May 2018].

Liu, C.J. and Yang, S.C. (2012) Applying the practical inquiry model to investigate the quality of students’ online discourse in an information ethics course based on Bloom’s teaching goal and Bird’s 3C model. Computers & Education, 59(2), pp.466-480.

Lucas, E. (2014) Edward Snowden: Did the American Whistleblower act alone?. [Online] The Telegraph. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/10595021/Edward-Snowden-Did-the-American-whistleblower-act-alone.html [Accessed 21^st May 2018].

Macaskill, E. and Dance, G. (2013) NSA Files: Decoded. [Online] The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/interactive/2013/nov/01/snowden-nsa-files-surveillance-revelations-decoded#section/1 [Accessed 21^st May 2018].

Mazzetti, M. (2013) Ex-Worker at C.I.A Says he leaked data on Surveillance. [Online] The New York Times. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/10/us/former-cia-worker-says-he-leaked-surveillance-data.html [Accessed 21^st May 2018].

McDermid, D. (2015) Ethics in ICT: an Australian perspective. Melbourne: Pearson Higher Education AU.

Murdock, J. (2016) From the Panama Papers to Edward Snowden: Data leaks that shook the world. [Online] International Business Times. Available at: https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/panama-papers-edward-snowden-data-leaks-that-shook-world-1553102 [Accessed 21^st May 2018].

Szoldra, P. (2016) This is everything Edward Snowden revealed in one year of unprecedented top-secret leaks. [Online] Business Insider. Available at: https://www.businessinsider.in/This-is-everything-Edward-Snowden-revealed-in-one-year-of-unprecedented-top-secret-leaks/articleshow/54367926.cms [Accessed 21^st May 2018].

Wheeler, M. (2017) The NSA Has Done Little to Prevent the Next Edward Snowden. [Online] Motherboard. Available at: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/wjqk99/the-nsa-has-done-little-to-prevent-the-next-edward-snowden [Accessed 21^st May 2018].

Wynia, M.K., Kishore, S.P. and Belar, C.D. (2014) A unified code of ethics for health professionals: insights from an IOM workshop. Jama, 311(8), pp.799-800.