From technology experts to privacy groups to the inventor of the world wide web, diverse individuals and groups are criticizing the surveillance methods and tactics of NSA. First, the TEDTalk video above features technology and security expert, Mikko Hypponen, discusses the great depth of the NSA’s data collection methods, and he makes an engaging plea for us to find alternative solutions.
This week in U.S.A., a group of civil liberties groups, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, have taken a case into federal court to attempt block government agencies from monitoring phones. As the U.K. Register reports, the collective claims that the large-scale collection of call metadata threatens protections on free speech. Kevin Maney of Newsweek voiced similar concerns in a comprehensive examination of what the NSA may do with the vast amount of information they collect.
Finally, the orignial inventor of the world wide web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee has publicly criticized the NSA and its British counterpart, GCHQ, for weakening the encryption of the internet and calls for proper oversight in a U.K. Telegraph article.
“We need powerful agencies to combat criminal activity online – but any powerful agency needs checks and balances and, based on recent revelations, it seems the current system of checks and balances has failed.”
Lee further elaborates that though he expected some spying to be on-going, he has been astonished by the scope of the surveillance revealed in the documents provided by Edward Snowden.
