Individual Reflection

Questions that help you write your Individual Reflection

• What did you learn in Week 1 – relate to the Edward Snowden Case Study.
• What are stakeholders in the Edward Snowden Case Study?
• What are the normative business ethics issues you see?
• What are issues related to descriptive ethics you see in the Case Study?
• If it was you, do you think you could have done the same? What Edward Snowden did?
• What have you learnt from the concept of Whistleblowing and Business Ethics?
• What impact do you think this could have in your future practice?

Individual Reflection

• Report (Word document)
• 500 words (10%+/-)
• Harvard Referenced
• Arial or Times New Roman
• 12 Font Size
• 5 Line Spacing.
• You can write it in first-person because it is an individual reflection.

Case Study
Case Study – Edward Snowden: Traitor or Hero? 1
Edward Snowden: Traitor or Hero?
In 2013, computer expert and former CIA systems administrator, Edward Snowden
released confidential government documents to the press about the existence of
government surveillance programs. According to many legal experts, and the U.S.
government, his actions violated the Espionage Act of 1917, which identified the leak of
state secrets as an act of treason. Yet despite the fact that he broke the law, Snowden
argued that he had a moral obligation to act. He gave a justification for his
“whistleblowing” by stating that he had a duty “to inform the public as to that which is
done in their name and that which is done against them.” According to Snowden, the
government’s violation of privacy had to be exposed regardless of legality.
Many agreed with Snowden. Jesselyn Radack of the Government Accountability Project
defended his actions as ethical, arguing that he acted from a sense of public good.
Radack said, “Snowden may have violated a secrecy agreement, which is not a loyalty
oath but a contract, and a less important one than the social contract a democracy has
with its citizenry.” Others argued that even if he was legally culpable, he was not ethically
culpable because the law itself was unjust and unconstitutional.
The Attorney General of the United States, Eric Holder, did not find Snowden’s rationale
convincing. Holder stated, “He broke the law. He caused harm to our national security
and I think that he has to be held accountable for his actions.”
Journalists were conflicted about the ethical implications of Snowden’s actions. The
editorial board of The New York Times stated, “He may have committed a crime…but he
has done his country a great service.” In an Op-ed in the same newspaper, Ed Morrissey
argued that Snowden was not a hero, but a criminal: “by leaking information about the
behavior rather than reporting it through
legal channels, Snowden chose to break
the law.” According to Morrissey,
Snowden should be prosecuted for his
actions, arguing that his actions broke a
law “intended to keep legitimate nationalsecurity data and assets safe from our
enemies; it is intended to keep Americans
safe.”
Case Study
Case Study – Edward Snowden: Traitor or Hero? 2
Discussion Questions
1. What values are in conflict in this case? What harm did Snowden cause? What
benefits did his actions bring?
2. Do you agree that Snowden’s actions were ethically justified even if legally
prohibited? Why or why not? Make an argument by weighing the competing values in
this case.
3. If you were in Snowden’s position, what would you have done and why?
4. Would you change your position if you knew that Snowden’s leak would lead to a
loss of life among CIA operatives? What about if it would save lives?
5. Is there a circumstance in which you think whistleblowing would be ethically ideal?
How about ethically prohibited?
Bibliography
Whistle-Blowers Deserve Protection Not Prison
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/06/11/in-nsa-leak-case-a-whistleblower-or-a-criminal/whistle-blowers-deserve-protection-not-prison
Eric Holder: If Edward Snowden were open to plea, we’d talk
http://www.politico.com/story/2014/01/eric-holder-edward-snowden-plea-102530.html
Edward Snowden: Whistleblower
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/02/opinion/edward-snowden-whistleblower.html?_r=0
Edward Snowden Broke the Law and should be Prosecuted
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/06/11/in-nsa-leak-case-a-whistleblower-or-a-criminal/edward-snowden-broke-the-law-and-should-be-prosecuted
Author:
Andrew Carlson, Ph.D., M.F.A.
Department of Theatre & Dance, College of Fine Arts
The University of Texas at Austin