How Far is Too Far: Are Edwards Snowden’s Activities Justified? Nov 28, 2013

The Liu Debates: Hosted by the Global Health Network

Place: The Liu Institute for Global Issues

Date: November 28th, 2013, 6PM-8PM

In Spring 2013, Edward Snowden, an American, leaked details of several top-secret US and British Government mass surveillance programs to the press. Snowden was a technical contractor for the United States National Security Agency (NSA) and an employee of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) before his decision to leak the information.

Snowden leaked the information primarily to The Guardian, UK, which in turn published a series of exposes in the summer of 2013. The exposes revealed programs such as the interception of US and European telephone metadata and the PRISM and Tempora Internet surveillance programs. On June 14th, 2013, US federal prosecutors charged Snowden with espionage and theft of government property.

The leaks have been a subject of great controversy. Some call Snowden a hero and a whistle blower, while others a traitor to his country. Either way, the media disclosures have fueled debates in the United States and elsewhere over mass surveillance, government secrecy, and the balance between national security and information privacy.

We are currently gathering input on topics of discussion to be covered during the debate.

Please email us at with your thoughts at: bwarren@mail.ubc.ca

0 comments

There are no comments yet...

Kick things off by filling out the form below.

Leave a Comment