According to a report in the New York Times, the Obama administration wants to end the NSA’s mass collection of records of innocent Americans, ever since it has come under a lot of criticism, thanks to leaks by Snowden.
While the reforms are welcome, here are 3 lessons from this episode that must not be forgotten:
#1: Everything was OK when it remained a secret
It’s clear that President Obama was comfortable with this routine collection of every American’s phone record since it seemed to him to be modest encroachment that they should feel comfortable about. It was only when the American public did not seem to be comfortable with this that he began to express public concern over privacy. In fact, it was with the authorization of three branches of government that Obama argued against the abolition of this program until now.
#2: The program was deemed essential until it became dispensable
Both Obama and the NSA program’s defenders in Congress continued to claim that this collection of telephone metadata was necessary for national security but could not provide one single incident where a terrorist attacks was prevented by this program. In closing down this program, Obama has indirectly accepted that this program is just hogwash – a thing to keep in mind when the next time any government wants to sacrifice civil liberties for safety.
#3: Whistleblowing is a crime
If not for Snowden’s leaks, none of these reforms would have taken place. Nor would the debate covering national security and privacy that Obama wishes to welcome now. However, Snowden will have to serve a lengthy prison sentence for revealing this disturbing government activities while Obama continues to pose as a privacy advocate.