In February 2017, reports were circulating that Russia was considering sending Edward Snowden back to the US “as a gift for President Donald Trump” as reported by NBC.  At the time, NBC cited an unnamed senior US official who has reviewed intelligence on the matter.

Edward Snowden has lived in Russia since 2013 and recently launched a campaign with his legal team to get him pardoned. Snowden still faces being charged with leaking classified information and treason for his pivotal role in the months-long releases of information about America’s digital surveillance programs, should he return to the United States.

In April 2017 however, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said publicly that Edward Snowden can stay in Russia until he decides to leave for himself.  When asked, Zakharova did not clarify on if Russia would consider extraditing Snowden to the U.S. at a later point in time.

This post is about more than just an update to a news story about privacy law and policy.  The difference in tone, content, and conclusion (or lack thereof) between the stories should lead readers to question the reliability of news stories that speculate.  In an age where people of all political leanings and affiliations make claims of fake news, we encourage the students we connect with to consume all media – no matter the source – with critical eyes.

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Questions:

1) Why do you believe Edward Snowden’s Leaks were a good or bad thing? 

2) Why do you believe Edward Snowden’s should or should not be punished for leaking the information that he did?

3) Why do you believe Edward Snowden’s should or should not be pardoned? 

Be sure to provide full explanations for each of your answers. For more details, you can read the articles this piece was sourced from here:

http://www.newsweek.com/snowden-will-decide-himself-if-he-leaves-russia-591645

https://www.cnet.com/news/russia-mulls-returning-snowden-to-us-report-says/#ftag=CAD590a51e

Did you know that there is a law in the United States that allows for warrantless surveillance between people in the U.S. and in foreign countries. Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) is pending reauthorization from Congress. Some want to reform this piece of legislation in order to prevent dragnet surveillance, backdoor searches of phone and email records, and unlawful targeting of communities of color and immigrant communities. . This law is due to expire this year and would go away, unless Congress reauthorizes a provision.

This is an issue of privacy and national security. It is an issue of national security because often times it was through this piece that the government watches over conversations between people in the U.S. and people in foreign countries. This is a topic that has sparked quite the discussion!

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Questions:!

1)  This article is being written in 2017, but Project REAL will be around for many years to come!  Given that, find out what happened with this law in 2017, and where the policy stands today.  So, (after your research)…What’s the Update?!

2) The policy this article is about was designed in response to the event following 9/11 :: The terrorist attacks in 2001.  Given the need for national security, what are your feelings about the policy?

3) What are some ideas you have for striking a balance between the right to privacy with the need for national security?

4) How do laws shaping how the government deals with its citizens’ privacy impact your day-to-day life (and don’t try getting out of answering this by saying ‘it doesn’t’ :: we don’t offer a lot of questions where there can be a wrong answer, but THAT is definitely a wrong answer!

https://www.wired.com/story/warrantless-us-spying-is-set-to-expire-soon-let-it-die/