TEDTalks: Edward Snowden vs. NSA (Richard Ledgett)

Earlier in March, Edward Snowden spoke on TEDTalks via a very cool mechanical bot about the NSA and the leaks he has been involved with over the past year.

Watching the video was fascinating. While I already knew a great deal about all the programs that he spoke about, it was refreshing to hear it put out in laymen terms. Snowden was very informative and gave a solid talk.

He spoke about PRISM, how the NSA broke their own rules consistently, our role in the world economy and security, Project Bullrun (which undermines companies' security), and well, you can watch the TEDTalk to see it all. But the basic point that he has been making all along is that the NSA is violating our right to privacy and is creating an unsafe environment for the security of our citizens and companies with programs that are undermining the internet.

Obama Feeling Pressure From The People About The NSA?

So the New York Times reports that President Obama apparently is finally taking a serious look into the NSA's spy and bulk collection program and end it! Whoa! This is huge news. 

ACLU v. Clapper Case Dismissed, NSA Continues Bulk Collection

IMAGE: Electronic Frontier Foundation

In June, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) brought a case against James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence, questioning the legality of the NSA’s programs to spy on the American people and collect and store bulk information for future use. ACLU v. Clapper was made possible after Edward Snowden blew the whistle on the NSA.

Edward Snowden: Why You Should Know His Name

Sunday, June 9th the Guardian posted yet another article on the ongoing exposure of the overwhelming National Security Administration’s (NSA) PRISM program. This time it was not just a piece about the NSA, but about the whistleblower behind the leak, Edward Snowden.

[Originally published in Ladybud Magazine here: Edward Snowden: Why You Should Know His Name]

Snowden is a 29-year-old infrastructure analyst who, until recently, worked for Booz Allen Hamilton, a contracting company providing the NSA with intelligence. He was exposed to a multitude of information that allowed him to piece together what the NSA was doing in regards to the surveillance of the American people, claiming he could wiretap even the President with access to a personal email address, and with his accumulating knowledge began to feel uncomfortable with what he concluded to be the NSA’s abuse of power.