Running head: WHISTLE-BLOWING: A CASE STUDY OF THE NSA AND SNOWDEN 1 WHISTLE-BLOWING: A CASE STUDY OF THE NSA AND SNOWDEN 2 The Ethics of Whistle-Blowing: A Case Study of the NSA and Snowden The right to privacy is an emotive aspect of public life across American society. The significance of the right gained added importance in the face of the government crackdown on terrorism. The so-called War on Terror that began in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States included government collection of massive information relating to its citizens and abroad. The global surveillance adopted by U.S security agents permeated the private sphere of American citizens raising a critical question on government overreach in the fight against terrorism. While the essence of privacy was not in question, the debate has often surrounded the ethics of collecting private data on millions of Americans without their knowledge. The 2013 global surveillance disclosures by Edward Snowden, a former employee of the NSA raised fundamental ethical questions on the role of whistle blowing and its implications for the whistle blower. Equally important is the conflicting view on the morality of Snowden’s action given the security implications for disclosing such a large amount of information touching on the country’s security. Although the United States Constitution does not expressly state the right to privacy, the Fourth Amendment alludes to this fact stating: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized" [CITE] Whistle blowing refers to the decision to call attention to misconduct within an organization by its current or former employee. The Government Accountability Project elaborates on the different ways an employee can whistle-blow. An employee may choose to report the wrong doing directly to state authorities. Alternatively, employees may report misconduct to a superior or refuse to participate in the unethical behavior. Snowden discovered that the Unites States government was actively engaged in activities that grossly violated ethical and legal provisions. The former employee decided to leak the massive information to the media creating unprecedented domestic and diplomatic crisis that threatened to injure the standing of the country in the international community. Although the U.S government termed the action of Snowden as an illegality and opened criminal proceedings against him, many have termed the act as appropriate because it reflected the interests of the public. The government procedure on reporting unethical behavior requires employees to first report suspected misconduct to their superiors. The government accused Snowden of failing to fo.