One of the most controversial topics of the year has been the National Security Agency and their spying program on American citizens and international leaders.  The revelations about the NSA spying program began in May of 2013, when The Guardian, a major British newspaper, first published articles about the NSA’s spying program.  Edward Snowden, an NSA contractor, provided information about the techniques, methods, and scope of the spying program to Glenn Greenwald, a journalist who was working for The Guardian.  As the year has progressed, increasingly disturbing revelations have been coming out about the extent of the spying program and the implications of it for the United States on the international stage.

Relatively recently, information about the NSA’s international spying program has been divulged by the international media. According to these reports, the NSA has reportedly hacked German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s personal cell phone to investigate her personal interactions. The NSA has also reportedly hacked the email of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, among other numerous international figures.  The NSA has also hacked thousands of computer networks around the world and in the United States and has lifted substantial amounts of information from them.

These reports have sparked a debate within the global, national, and local communities. Within the national community, pro-NSA hacking advocates in the United States make the argument that this system of spying is necessary for the security and overall safety of our nation.  They say that hacking into international leaders’ cellphones and into normal people’s information is important for the safety of the United States.  Pro-NSA government officials say that without spying, the USA would be susceptible to terrorist attacks and, therefore, spying is necessary.

On the other hand, anti-NSA advocates argue that spying on American citizens is a blatant violation of their privacy.  They say that the US government has no right to be storing extensive amounts of their information regarding website visitations and private communication.  Anti-NSA government officials also argue that the government has a legal obligation to protect US citizens’ privacy.

Some Wilmington Friends students are also against the NSA’s policy of spying against US citizens.  Jeff Hollingsworth ’15 said, “I am worried that the NSA will be tracking information about the websites that I visit because that would not be good for my future.” Hollingsworth’s opinions about the NSA are consistent with many US citizens’ beliefs.  They are collectively worried about the implications of the data that the US has to potentially use against them.

However, on the other side, proponents of the NSA typically argue that people should not have anything to hide, therefore they should not be worried about the data that the NSA collects on them.

This argument is shared by some Wilmington Friends students, like John Napoli ’15 who said, “If a person isn’t doing anything bad on the internet then they shouldn’t be worried about their information being tracked by the government.” Napoli also added “Anyone who uses the ‘secret web’ (the Tor browser) is trying to hide themselves from the government and should be heavily tracked because they are probably doing bad things on the web.”

Outside of the Wilmington Friends and national communities, there is general outrage directed towards the United States, specifically in Europe. Dilma Rousseff, the Brazilian President whose email was allegedly hacked by the NSA, snubbed a White House visit with President Barack Obama and then delivered a scathing anti-NSA speech at the UN Headquarters in New York City.

In Germany, where there has been a long history of surveillance of citizens (the Stasi in East Germany and the Nazis during the Third Reich), politicians and civilians are outraged that their privacy has been violated so severely.  Looking at the other perspective, not all Germans or Europeans share these anti-NSA beliefs.  Some share the pro-NSA views that the United States is still trying to protect them against terrorism.

Overall, there are many viewpoints and ideas about the NSA spying program.  Before one makes a judgment about whether or not the NSA is doing the right thing by spying on various civilians and international leaders, one must examine all aspects, both nationally, locally, and internationally, before forming a full opinion.