Question

this question blongs to Legal Framework Business i put accounting because i cant find it to select

Mr. Snowden, a former government contractor that has allegedly stole confidential records and defected to Russia, places a strong emphasis on rights – the right to privacy. When those rights are breached, he believed that civil disobedience was in order and so he violated the law by leaking the classified materials. Although he probably realized that he was doing harm his thinking was that he was doing society a greater good by exposing the widespread surveillance. Finally, there is moral relativism – weighing his options in the situation, he felt that the end justified his means – drawing attention caused changes in the surveillance policies. However, many people were put at risk because of the disclosures. Is Snowden a hero or a villain? A patriot or a traitor?

Answer 1

It is a known fact that the government monitors records which it might think are important for national security or other matters of national importance.

In the current case study, Mr.snowden has a resentment towards the surveillance measures of the government as they breach the right of privacy according to him i.e. the right of a person to keep certain information private . His concern about civil disobedience is genuine as no citizen would feel safe knowing that his/ her personal life or other aspects are being monitored closely by the government. However, the path he chose i.e.leaking the classified information is not an act of patriotism as it caused harm to citizens of the same country. The fact of high degree of surveillance certainly got highlighted but at the cost of putting many people at risk which is not justified. He could have chosen a more discrete option such as disclosing the surveillance level to a certain section of the media without giving out any classified information.It can be simply said that although his thoughts were heroic, his actions were not.