I personally do, he actually risked his life to release information about the government spying on people. And there are for sure more advanced ways now. Even your phone is listening.
Yes
Anyone who cared already had a good idea about what the NSA did. Go and read The Cuckoo's Egg, a book published in 1989 goes into what the NSA does. it was public knowledge in 1989 that the NSA was monitoring all phone calls and all internet traffic back in the days of modems.
Nobody cared back then and the NSA continues to do what it does and nobody cares now. Nobody actually cares about privacy and constantly willingly share pretty much all information about themselves that's possible to be to be put onto a computer.
Snowden essentially just revealed that the NSA exists to people that were ignorant of it. But while doing so he revealed other state secrets to adversaries.
When the EU makes laws that require companies to disclose they're tracking you, people are angry at the EU because the cookie popups are annoying. It's very clear people would rather be tracked without knowledge of it than have even a popup on their screen. All of the information these companies collect is bought and sold regularly.
It's trivial for the NSA to just buy all of your purchase history and all of your activities online because all of that is tracked by marketing companies and no one gives a shit. Suddenly you're upset if the government knows what everyone else knows? It's like putting your personal information on a billboard and getting angry if someone that works for the government happens to drive by and see that billboard.
The only thing of significance that Snowden did was share specific state secrets to adversaries. He currently lives in Russia and says whatever Putin demands that he says. He's just a Putin stooge now.
People like the narrative of this guy who blew the lid on something nobody knew before, but anyone who cared to know already knew the NSA monitors communications, it's kinda their whole thing. According to the narrative, the evil governments are after because he revealed the existence of the NSA. The truth is the existence of the NSA wasn't a secret it's just the ignorant didn't know about it. The whole point of the NSA is to monitor communications, and it was widely known the degree to which they did this. The budget of the NSA is something you can see in public records.
Not long after the Snowden story went from the limelight, everyone went back to not caring about the NSA. Nobody actually cares about privacy, they just pretend to be upset about it for a short time before there's some other story to pretend to be upset about.
There are a lot of comments here saying "it's tragic because no-one cared", but that is misleading as there is now a strong privacy movement.
I think, without Snowden blowing the whistle, anti-privacy laws would not face such stiff competition.
Yes we're all fighting a rearguard retreat, but without Snowden's sacrifice there would be no rearguard and there would be abject surrender rather than retreat, and we'd all live under eastern-style surveillance states without ever knowing.
I think, without Snowden blowing the whistle, anti-privacy laws would not face such stiff competition.
You think there's much opposition to laws and decisions that erode privacy? In the US in particular privacy has been eroding at an increasing rate year after year.
Where you fighting that fight because everybody who seems to care is also removing themselves from all social media. They keep saying they're doing things locally like ....
Meeting in coffee shops?
Like weirdly I've had this phrase said to me multiple times and it's so silly. Hold on guys I'm going to release a new movie I spent years making. I refuse to use the space with millions of people cause I don't like who created it. I'm going to stand around Starbucks and tell people about it. Find me 40 years to build up a cult following
The embodiment of "not all heroes wear capes". Unless he did or does.
I think he is a very sad man. He thought americans cared, he thought if americans knew they were getting fucked over they would do something. He thought american democracy is worth fighting for.
He was wrong.
That should make everyone sad tbh
Americans look happy.
that's because you can't see their bank accounts.
Yep, he is for sure. Probably the reason I care for privacy more now.
What he did was something 9,999999% would be too afraid of.
Yes.
A hero for sure and should get a presidential pardon instead of all the pedos and rapist!
Nice try, NSA
Yeah, I wish he didn't end up in Russia, but it's understandable.
There was pretty much nowhere else he would have been safe from being extradited to the US, if not immediately, then as a political bargain.
I agree, just sucks
See Assange.
Not sure he had a better deal than Snowden tbh.
I always thought he was. I always knew too that he's never going to get a fair trial and that he had to do what was necessary to avoid being extradited.
He did a huge favor for the american masses, who were obliviously unaware as to how much of an extent that they were being spied on and how their privacy was exploited. Anybody who still calls him a traitor to this day, besides the government anyways, are those who truly cannot grasp or refuse the reality this man unveiled to them.
I do see people and people like Luigi as true patriots. They have done things, that no American has the guts to pull off. The American populace, just largely takes the constant raping of their rights by their government and fear them. It should be the other way around.
Finally we had a guy truthfully hollering that the sky was falling and, at the end of the day, no-one gave a shit.
Wtf are you talking about. Mass roll outs of encryption only came thanks to him
You're both correct. There was a lot of changes after him thanks to him. But majority of people still don't give a shit.
Agnotology, cha cha cha.
That is good if true, but mass spying still happens and is practically accepted as normal part lf our lives. In fact it's only getting more invasive by the day.
Online dragnet surveillance does happen. And, thanks to the Snowden revelations, we all now have tools to protect ourselves from it.
Using https on Facebook and using Signal for daily messages to your Mom are practically accepted as normal part of our lives.
I don't think most people accept it exactly, they just don't see any option to confront it, and are struggling with their material needs while being inundated with propaganda from every possible avenue, so it's hard to be certain enough of anything to take action. Most people are afraid to fight against a system that could black bag them and drop them in the ocean if they wanted to. We have been told that we are under a complete panopticon and serious rebellion against it even if they don't arrest you can cost your job, which usually means healthcare and stable housing for people in the US. The state and the rich firmly have their boot on our face.
Oh yes. It's a shame he didn't have the opportunity to leak the Epstein Files.
Basically have ceased using mobile phones since he confirmed our "paranoid" suspicions. Boggles my mind how others can carry on. It's like they've been hypnotised out of understanding their duty to poke big baron in the eye.
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