Opposition to Leakers - Government Whistleblowers Expose Classified Information

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Recommended: Security is more important than freedom

Are government whistleblowers acting in the public interest, or do they endanger the public by exposing classified information? Just as government transparency has waned in recent years, there have been several instances of very public national intelligence whistle-blowing. Large scale leaks such as those published by The Guardian and WikiLeaks have prompted debate on issues of government secrecy, as well as the balance between security and liberty. High profile whistleblowers like Bradley Manning, Julian Assange, and Edward Snowden have, at great personal risk, leaked classified information to the public in the interest of transparency. Leaked media and documents range from embarrassing, to potentially dangerous. Heightened levels of secrecy and surveillance in the name of fighting terrorism have led to increasing distrust of the American government both at home and abroad. Since 9/11, the number of classified government documents has increased from 8 million to 76 million per year (“We Steal Secrets”). Meanwhile, the US intercepts 60 thousand phone and email communications every second (“We Steal Secrets”). NSA revelations leaked by Edward Snowden in 2013 revealed levels of government surveillance previously unknown and done with little oversight. Government whistleblowers perform an important public service by exposing secrets and should be protected from prosecution.
In this climate of deteriorating government transparency, whistleblowers expose corruption to the public which may otherwise never come to light. In recent history, whistleblowers have been vital in revealing government corruption. In one of the first large scale leaks, “the whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg leaked US government files known as the Pentagon Papers, whi...

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...r of exposing government secrecy when necessary.

Works Cited

Harris, Paul. “WikiLeaks has caused little lasting damage, says US state department”. The Guardian. 1 January 2011. n. pag. Web. 27 February 2014.
Mulrine, Anna. "Bradley Manning trial: Leakers Julian Assange and Daniel Ellsberg weigh in." Christian Science Monitor 26 July 2013. General OneFile. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.
Pilger, John. "Understanding The Prism Leaks Is Understanding The Rise Of A New Fascism." New Statesman 142.5163 (2013): 36. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.
We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks. Assange, Julian, Gibney, Alex. 2013. Universal City, CA: Universal Home Video, 2013.
Wise, David. "Leaks and the law: the prosecution of Thomas Drake highlights the tension between government secrecy and the public's right to know" Smithsonian 2011: 90. Academic OneFile. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.

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