Whistleblowers in an Era of Big Data Historical Background: - Daniel Ellsberg, Vietnam, and “The Pentagon Papers” - COINTELPRO and Intelligence Reform in the 1970s Today’s Internet Age: - Julian Assange and WikiLeaks - Edward Snowden Exposes the National Security Agency
Whistleblowers in an Era of Big Data. Historical Background: - Daniel Ellsberg, Vietnam, and “The Pentagon Papers” - COINTELPRO and Intelligence Reform in the 1970s Today’s Internet Age: - Julian Assange and WikiLeaks - Edward Snowden Exposes the National Security Agency. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Whistleblowers in an Era of Big Data
Historical Background: - Daniel Ellsberg, Vietnam, and “The Pentagon Papers”- COINTELPRO and Intelligence Reform in the 1970s
Today’s Internet Age:- Julian Assange and WikiLeaks- Edward Snowden Exposes the National Security Agency
Broad Questions for the Day• Do whistleblowers help or harm (or potentially both)
international society?
• What does the rise of Big Data mean for individual privacy and government transparency?
-What role will investigative journalism play in the electronic age?
• How do democracies handle the tension between SECURITY and LIBERTY?
Daniel Ellsberg – The Disillusioned Insider
• Excerpt from The Most Dangerous Man in America (2009)
• Worked for Dept. of Defense on Vietnam in mid-1960s, initially supports the war
• Begins doubting the war’s effectiveness and its morality while at RAND Corp.
Ellsberg Takes Action• Has access to secret Pentagon
report on history of U.S. involvement in Vietnam
• Report portrays private U.S. pessimism about war in contrast to optimistic public statements
• 1969: Ellsberg makes photocopies and seeks outlet to expose duplicity– Does not leak diplomatic vols.
“The Pentagon Papers” Hit the Press
• Congressmen largely uninterested-exception: Mike Gravel (D-AK)
• Taken to New York Times; Concerns about prosecution by Espionage Act but still published in June 1971
• Nixon admin. stops NYT; Other newspapers print instead; Court rules against Nixon injunction
• Exposes the “Credibility Gap”
Ellsberg on Trial• Ellsberg and friend
Anthony Russo put on trial for violating Espionage Act, theft, and conspiracy in summer of 1971
• Mistrial due to “improper government conduct” (illegal wire-tapping, tampering with judge)
Unintended Result: The Watergate Scandal
• Nixon admin. (not implicated in Pentagon Papers) use “Plumbers” to break into office of Ellsberg’s psychiatrist
• Wiretapping and break-ins precedent for Watergate that leads to Nixon’s resignation in 1974…and increases Credibility Gap further
Exposure of FBI’s COINTELPRO Program
• Also takes place in Vietnam War era
• COunter INTELligence PROgram
• J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI, and domestic spying on “subversives”
• On Hoover’s “Enemies” List: MLK and Civil Rights leaders, homosexuals, anti-war activists
COINTELPRO Shut Down in 1971 • Impact of break-in of FBI
office in PA in March 1971– 1971 – new documentary by
Laura Poitras, journalist in contact with Snowden
• Surveillance and other intelligence issues taken up by the Church Committee in 1975– post-VN, Watergate– Frank Church (D-Idaho)
Church Committee: Review of U.S. Intelligence Agencies