Thursday marks one year since Edward Snowden, former National Security Agency employee, leaked classified documents to Americans to reveal how their privacy had been compromised. Ever since Snowden leaked, public debate has zoned in on the NSA and many have demanded that action be taken to protect their right to privacy. One year later, a lot has changed as a result of the actions of man that some regard as a “hero”, while others regard as a “terrorist”.
According to USA Today, companies are now looking to encryption technologies to protect the privacy of its users, thanks to Snowden. On Tuesday, Google announced its “end-to-end” tool, which protects the privacy of emails by encrypting them so that only those meant to receive the email see its contents. The only way that a third party would be able to gain access to the email contents would be if someone were to hack into the system. While “end-to-end” has existed for quite some time with smaller companies, this is the first time well- known companies are adopting the tool.
Snowden also brought to light the fact that the NSA was spying on world leaders without their knowledge. As a result, one of the leaders who had their phone monitored, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, has demanded an investigation. The German Federal Prosecutor opened a case on Wednesday to investigate.
Snowden’s leaks have also led to policy change. In response to citizens outraged over their rights being violated and the patriot act author himself stating that he also thought the spying went too far, U.S. District Court judge Richard Leon ruled the NSA phone sweeping unconstitutional. The House also passed a bill to end the bulk spying and data collecting of phone users this past May, The Huffington Post noted.
It is unclear whether this new legislation will put an end to the phone data collecting, however it is clear that without Snowden, the actions of the NSA would have most likely gone unnoticed.