In an era dominated by digital technology, the concept of privacy is under siege. Surveillance, once the realm of spies and state secrets, now permeates every corner of civilian life. Governments and corporations alike harvest, store, and analyze massive quantities of personal data, often without consent or oversight. Two individuals—Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning—pierced the veil of secrecy to expose the extent of this surveillance, risking their freedom and lives in the process.
Their stories are not just tales of espionage or betrayal; they are wake-up calls that challenge the public to reevaluate the balance between security, privacy, and freedom.
The World They Exposed
Chelsea Manning: The War Logs and Diplomatic Cables
In 2010, U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning leaked over 700,000 classified documents to WikiLeaks. Among them:
- Iraq War Logs: Detailed records of military operations, showing the underreported civilian casualties and disturbing events, like the infamous “Collateral Murder” video, in which U.S. forces in a helicopter killed a dozen people, including two Reuters journalists.
- Afghan War Diary: Exposed the chaos and dysfunction in the Afghanistan war effort.
- U.S. diplomatic cables: Revealed the blunt, sometimes unethical backroom dealings of American foreign policy.
Manning’s leak offered unprecedented insight into the brutal realities of war and the opaque machinery of international diplomacy. Her actions ignited a fierce global debate on transparency, ethics, and the limits of government secrecy.
Edward Snowden: The NSA’s Global Surveillance Dragnet
In 2013, Edward Snowden, a contractor for the NSA, fled the United States and began leaking a vast trove of documents to journalists. His revelations shocked the world:
- PRISM: A program allowing the NSA to collect user data directly from major tech companies like Google, Apple, and Facebook.
- Upstream collection: The tapping of undersea internet cables to vacuum global communications.
- Metadata mining: Tracking who you call, when, and how often, all without warrants.
Snowden revealed a global surveillance state operating in near-total secrecy. While governments claimed these programs were essential for national security, the lack of transparency and judicial oversight sparked international outrage.
Why Their Warnings Matter Now More Than Ever
1. The Erosion of Civil Liberties
Surveillance has become normalized. Facial recognition is embedded in cities. Cellphones are digital snitches. Smart homes constantly listen. What Snowden and Manning showed is that the infrastructure of mass surveillance is already built—and expanding. This erodes civil liberties:
- Freedom of speech: People censor themselves when they know they’re being watched.
- Freedom of association: Whistleblowers, activists, journalists—all face new forms of digital intimidation.
- Due process: Secret courts and secret laws create a legal gray zone devoid of accountability.
2. Big Tech as an Arm of Surveillance
Snowden’s leaks showed the complicity of major tech firms. Whether by choice or coercion, they fed user data to intelligence agencies. Today, this relationship has deepened. Google tracks your every move. Meta builds psychographic profiles. Amazon records your home through Alexa. Surveillance is no longer just governmental—it’s corporate.
3. Global Implications
What Snowden revealed wasn’t limited to the U.S. The NSA cooperated with “Five Eyes” allies: the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Manning’s cables affected dozens of countries. This surveillance regime is global and interconnected, threatening the sovereignty and privacy of citizens worldwide.
What You Can Do About It
1. Educate Yourself and Others
Awareness is the first line of defense. Watch documentaries like Citizenfour or Risk. Read Snowden’s book Permanent Record. Follow organizations like:
- Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
- Privacy International
- Freedom of the Press Foundation
2. Use Privacy Tools
Take back control with privacy-focused tools:
- Messaging: Use Signal or Matrix instead of WhatsApp or SMS.
- Browsing: Use Tor Browser or Brave. Ditch Chrome.
- Search: Use DuckDuckGo or Startpage.
- Email: Try ProtonMail or Tutanota.
- OS: Consider Linux distros like Tails or Qubes for anonymity.
3. Demand Accountability
Push for legislation that curbs mass surveillance:
- Support whistleblower protections
- Advocate for transparency laws and warrant requirements
- Oppose dragnet surveillance policies like those authorized under Section 702 of FISA
4. Think Before You Share
Not everything needs to be posted, stored, or synced to the cloud. Be intentional about what you disclose—online or off. Privacy is a habit, not a setting.
Final Thoughts: The Price of Apathy
Both Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden were labeled traitors by some, heroes by others. What’s undeniable is this: they exposed uncomfortable truths. And the world they warned us about has only deepened. Cameras watch. Phones report. Data accumulates. All under the guise of safety, convenience, or patriotism.
You don’t have to be a whistleblower to make a difference. But you do have to care. Because surveillance thrives not just on power—but on silence.
History will judge us not only by the systems we built—but by what we tolerated.
