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essay on freedom of press
the freedom of the press essay
the freedom of the press essay
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Journalist or Terrorist
Julian Assange an Australian editor, activist, journalist and publisher launched the WikiLeaks website in the year 2006. From that moment, the site spiraled rapidly into the limelight all over the world. It then came to be known as the most powerful whistle-blowing and also the most scandalous “media” in the online world. WikiLeaks profanes and violates the right of privacy, right of accountability and confidentiality among Information and data sharing also it has a negative impact on governments, private sectors or businesses and also individuals, there is also a big question of accountability.
Right of privacy, right of accountability and confidentiality are some of the rights that you accuire being a citizen of the country and when these rights are violated it is a offence. Certain information like the social security number or ATM pin number and banking personal data are meant to be kept secret else someone could be persecuted and harmed. But as a matter of fact now these information can be publically revealed by the wikileaks as they think that they have a right to do so. No body has the right and authority to release information publicly that is of private concern. Wikileaks does not measure the risks of its publication and the effects they can cause people. Some of the leaks are so personal that the person concern faces serious contentions from the society. Trauma is the consequence of these actions and takes time to move on from; it stays with them incessantly.
Similarly some information are kept from being publicized to the whole world by the government. Wikileaks has done otherwise: material that they disclosed to the world was sensitive material that belonged to the g...
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...of rights and freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. “ (section 1 of the canadian charter of rights and freedom) wikileaks does not measure the risks of its publication and the effects they can cause people. legislation laws and regulation are created so that society is protected and to have a better sense of accountability. When everything is exposed to the public, chaos is bound to follow. Wikileaks jeopardizes and openly defies the right of privacy, right of accountability and confidentiality among descrete information and data and also causes inconvenience to governments, private sectors and even individuals in various walks of life. after all acts of hacking into something private is inappropriate, dangerous and illegal.
Glenn Greenwald, a talented and widely read columnist on civil liberties for the Guardian newspaper, failed in his attempt to alarm his readers to the flagrant and widespread violations of American privacy. Although his article was full of facts, documentation, and quotes from top rank officials, the article did not convey any sense of wrong doing or outrage. Rather it was dull, lacked passion and a sense of persuasion. In fact, the only attention grabbing part in the whole article is the title.
Julian Assange’s website, WikiLeaks made global headlines in the last few years. Assange started out by leaking documents he had acquired over the internet about banks in various European countries. Chelsea Manning, Army Private at the time stationed in Iraq joined up with Assange and delivered to him thousands of classified documents that Manning, a military intelligence analyst had access to. Manning was in contact with a former hacker named Adrian Lamo who he asked advice of, advice whether or not he should leak the documents. Manning going against Lamo’s advice of not leaking the documents caused Manning to be arrested after Lamo turned him in for the leak. This was a major blow for Wikileaks who had just lost their major source of confidential documents from the United States government. Since 9/11, the United States Government has realized that information needs to be shared among intelligence agencies in order to thwart terrorist attacks. A side effect however is that information is no longer on a need-to-know basis which made it possible for Manning to leak it all out. After receiving this confidential information, Assange began to make this information available to media outlets. Assange’s actions were morally and ethically incorrect. He should not have leaked so many classified documents especially without redacting the names of informants whose lives could have been in danger. These documents leaked by Manning to Assange were meant strictly for the eyes and ears of those who were privileged to the information, not for the front page of the New York Times. WikiLeaks and Julian Assange threatened global security as they willingly and knowingly put lives of thousands at risk by allowing the bad guys an opportunity to a...
Currently, Snowden’s leaks have revealed a global surveillance apparatus used by the NSA as well as Britain’s Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group, a surveillance apparatus in the UK that conducts real time monitoring of social media networks. The exact size of Snowden's disclosure is unknown, but the following are possible: 15,000 or more Australian intelligence files, according to Australian officials9; at least 58,000 British intelligence files, according to British officials10; and roughly 1.7 million U.S. intelligence files, according to U.S. officials.11 Snowden’s leaks are unprecedented on several levels. His disclosure has been called the most significant leak in U.S. history by Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg.12 Regardless of future action, the debate on the protection of...
We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks. Assange, Julian, Gibney, Alex. 2013. Universal City, CA: Universal Home Video, 2013.
I chose the WikiLeaks controversy because I believe it illustrates how groundbreaking and newsworthy technology can be and the strong impact that can have on public life. Therefore, I will advocate that the publication was ethically sound because the knowledge of the public should be the number one priority. WikiLeaks is said to have generated the greatest confrontation between the established order of the government and the advocacy that can come from the internet. WikiLeaks is proof of the lengths people will go in order to find the truth and the results of that, all of which can be looked at using consequentialist theory. This paper will first outline the story of the controversy followed by micro and macro ethical concerns that are raised, morally relevant ...
Edward Snowden used to work for the NSA, a secret government surveillance program that collects private information. Snowden decided that keeping the program secret from the American people was immoral and tricked one of his superiors into giving him access to the database. He stole thousands of confidential documents created by the NSA, many of which are documents of personal and private information recovered from communication devices. This collection incriminated the NSA in illegal spying activities. After doing this, Snowden went to the media with the information, and the whole scandal was born.
Like most countries and especially the United States their inhabitants enjoy a certain level of privacy. People don’t generally want intimate information to be accessible to the public eye. In fact many people go to great lengths to hide everything about themselves. What exactly is the definition of privacy? Well, privacy is the expectation that confidential personal information disclosed in a private place will not be disclosed to third parties, when that disclosure would cause either embarassment or emotional distress to a person of reasonable sensitivities. This information includes facts, images (ex: photographs and videotapes), and disparaging opinions. When over zealous law enforcement officials demand access to telephone conversations, e-mail or other electronic communication they are violating the unwritten code of privacy. When organizations from the private sector purchase intimate information about medical records either for commercial purposes, or to challenge your insurance eligibility or employment suitability. Unfortunatly this is a common practice in the United States and it is wrong.
Edward Snowden became a household name this year. His face and story have featured on an innumerable amount of the worlds most well known and reputable media outlets making this issue difficult to ignore. He appeared in the public eye by leaking classified information about major top secret United States, Israeli and British government mass surveillance programs to the media. This matter is surrounded by vast controversy as he has inspired activists to take a step out of anonymity and voice their opinion publicly causing a number of protests and international debates. Others are less grateful, naming him a traitor and cry for this man to pay for his crimes against the US. This essay shall explore the issues of this debate and ultimately conclude with my opinion hopefully having persuaded the reader.
The U.S is at war and it has just escalated and no one knows much about the specifics. Now someone has exposed documents portraying the horrible civilian casualties and some of the unjust activities. This information helps to expose the inhumane way that the war was being conducted and forces a change in policy. This is what whistleblowers do; expose governments for what they are hiding. Julian Assange is one of these whistleblowers and the creator and main editor of Wikileaks (an organization built around exposing governments and businesses for their secrets). He is justified because he leaked a video showing reporters being mowed down with gunfire in Afghanistan. In addition, he leaked important documents detailing the civilian casualties of the Iraq war and the Afghanistan War. Although people say that he is endangering the troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, he is not because the documents detail only the events of the war and the estimated
Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency (N.S.A) subcontractor turned whistle-blower is nothing short of a hero. His controversial decision to release information detailing the highly illegal ‘data mining’ practices of the N.S.A have caused shockwaves throughout the world and have raised important questions concerning how much the government actually monitors its people without their consent or knowledge. Comparable to Mark Felt in the Watergate scandals, Daniel Ellsberg with the Pentagon Papers, Edward Snowden joins the rank of infamous whistleblowers who gave up their jobs, livelihood, and forever will live under scrutiny of the public all in the service to the American people. Edward Snowden released information detailing the extent of the N.S.A breaches of American privacy and in doing so, became ostracized by the media and barred from freely reentering America, his home country.
In 2013, Edward Snowden, former IT intelligence worker for the CIA, Booz Allen and the NSA, became a household name and the most wanted man in the world. A whistle-blower in today’s society, Snowden released a number of classified documents belonging to the NSA: in the process, revealing the governments surveillance security program PRISM; a program which allows access to widespread materials such as emails, chat messages, search histories and live webcams. Seeking Asylum in Moscow, he has been labelled many things, but what is questionable is whether the actions made are ethically justified. Applying the following philosophical models: Utilitarianism, Kantian’s Categorical Imperative, Objectivism and the Social Contract Theory; his actions
Snowden's confession over exposing the confidential documents that reveals the NSA's surveillance program has influenced the public with different interpretation. In his interview, Snowden stated that “ The public needs to decide whether these programs, and polices are right or wrong.” The face-work of Edward Snowden provided to the public by using the free press is in a justice image of him. His stated that the disclosure of the U.S. government and NSA is to let people to see the truth and their life has been compromised. Some people perceive...
It is reasonable to argue that, governmental institutions or people with authority are subject to withhold a great deal of information from society. Many may argue that secrets are kept to ensure the safety of the nation. Thus, upholding the governmental duty of protecting the nation against possible threats. On the other hand, many believe that secrets may exist which violate our constitutional rights. Over the last year, Edward Snowden, has made headline news for leaking sensitive governmental information to the press. Edward Snowden is a 29-year-old high school drop-out, who was a tech specialist for the National Security Association. Snowden had discovered and later exposed the NSA for monitoring the nations e-mails, phone calls, and internet searches. As the allegations spread like wild fire, Edward Snowden sought asylum in Russia for one year. Snowden had a valid and justifiable reason to expose the NSA to the world because they were in violation of our fourth Amendment rights to unreasonable searches and seizures. The government called him a traitor, while others viewed him as a hero for exposing the government. Edward Snowden is a whistle blower because he felt that it is up to society to decide if governmental practices are just or unjust. Snowden does “express the highest respect for the law”, and he wanted to protect the right of privacy for American citizens.
In conclusion, the U.S government and other state governments hold in their hands every single information that we uphold, such as credit card information like what we spend in or wherever, Phone Calls, email information, and such. Another topic is Edward Snowden who leaked documents and tried to help people by telling them what is happening with the Secret society and the government’s secret , and then disappeared out of nowhere to avoid getting
Nevertheless, Wikileaks makes the governments of many nations feel stressed when their secrets are being posted on Wikileaks without their awareness. For these governments, especially the U.S, Wikileaks is a terrorist organization that makes their societies be out of their control. Many Americans support Wikileaks because they believe that it is protected by the First Amendment, the right to Free Speech and Freedom of the Press. However, because of national security, many legislators have discussed curtailing the First Amendment to prevent Wikilea...