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> Julian's freedom is our freedom. A little too heavy handed. Yeah it seems like from the outside he was potentially overly punished, pending further details t

> Julian's freedom is our freedom. A little too heavy handed. Yeah it seems like from the outside he was potentially overly punished, pending further details that may never materialize, but “his freedom is our freedom” is pretty extreme given what he did. He’s not relatable.

dmix 2y ago
Yes the world is clearly a worse place because of Snowden, without him just imagine the true power the national security state could have achieved and how much safer we’d all feel.
- georgeplusplus 2y ago
  I don’t know, did he really change really anything? It doesn’t feel like it at least. Outside of the tech community, he’s not really known except for being that guy who leaked things.
  - dmix 2y ago
    You don’t have to become a celebrity that every random person on the street knows to try to do some good in the world, whether it works or not. And objectively the internet is a safer place thanks to the Snowden NSA leaks which were directly inspired, not just ideologically but technically in how it was done, by Assange. You can look at the mass adoption of encrypted messaging and HTTPS adoption statistics (which grew exponentially directly after the leaks to become near standard), and plenty of other metrics to see that. Wikileaks was the spawn of many good things, even despite it’s flaws.
    - newzisforsukas 2y ago
      > You can look at the mass adoption of encrypted messaging and HTTPS adoption statistics (which grew exponentially directly after the leaks to become near standard), and plenty of other metrics to see that. I don't think increased TLS adoption was caused by Snowden or Wikileaks. It was because of the HTTP/2 protocol and Lets Encrypt taking off. You can read about that history here: https://opensource.com/business/16/8/lets-encrypt https://opensource.com/business/16/8/lets-encrypt According to Aas, they decided to start LetsEncrypt in 2012. Before Snowden leaked anything. Similarly, one could argue that encrypted messaging became popular because of the work done on projects like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Good_Privacy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Good_Privacy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NaCl_(software) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NaCl_(software) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whisper_Systems https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whisper_Systems https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WhatsApp https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WhatsApp (which added "encryption" in August 2012).
  - imiric 2y ago
    A single person doesn't have the power to change how a government system has worked for decades. Snowden merely made the truth public, but change can only happen if the majority of people want it, and even then have to fight hard for it. The sad reality is that most people don't care, and have even less of a desire to fight for it. Governments love complacency.
  - SuperNinKenDo 2y ago
    He gave others the opportunity to change things. Some have taken up the opportunity to varying degrees of success, most haven't. One man takes their place in history and tries to do the most good they have the opportunity to do. Hard to argue Snowden didn't do that. We should ask ourselves if we can or ever will be able to say the same.
- Larrikin 2y ago
  What if I respect what Snowden did and believe he should be pardoned and at the same time believe Assange should have been prosecuted.
- Aeglaecia 2y ago
  literally nobody gives a fuck about the prostitution of their agency , I myself am grateful to be aware of it , but cant help feeling it only becomes worse by the day ... tldr not sure of the sum effect of having awareness raised here
  - imiric 2y ago
    Cypher: You know, I know this steak doesn't exist. I know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious. After nine years, you know what I realize? [Takes a bite of steak] Cypher: Ignorance is bliss.
- d0mine 2y ago
  Yes, he is a true hero of NSA. The secrets were too big to allow just anybody to leak them.

dmix 2y ago

Yes the world is clearly a worse place because of Snowden, without him just imagine the true power the national security state could have achieved and how much safer we’d all feel.

georgeplusplus 2y ago
I don’t know, did he really change really anything? It doesn’t feel like it at least. Outside of the tech community, he’s not really known except for being that guy who leaked things.
- dmix 2y ago
  You don’t have to become a celebrity that every random person on the street knows to try to do some good in the world, whether it works or not. And objectively the internet is a safer place thanks to the Snowden NSA leaks which were directly inspired, not just ideologically but technically in how it was done, by Assange. You can look at the mass adoption of encrypted messaging and HTTPS adoption statistics (which grew exponentially directly after the leaks to become near standard), and plenty of other metrics to see that. Wikileaks was the spawn of many good things, even despite it’s flaws.
  - newzisforsukas 2y ago
    > You can look at the mass adoption of encrypted messaging and HTTPS adoption statistics (which grew exponentially directly after the leaks to become near standard), and plenty of other metrics to see that. I don't think increased TLS adoption was caused by Snowden or Wikileaks. It was because of the HTTP/2 protocol and Lets Encrypt taking off. You can read about that history here: https://opensource.com/business/16/8/lets-encrypt https://opensource.com/business/16/8/lets-encrypt According to Aas, they decided to start LetsEncrypt in 2012. Before Snowden leaked anything. Similarly, one could argue that encrypted messaging became popular because of the work done on projects like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Good_Privacy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Good_Privacy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NaCl_(software) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NaCl_(software) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whisper_Systems https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whisper_Systems https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WhatsApp https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WhatsApp (which added "encryption" in August 2012).
- imiric 2y ago
  A single person doesn't have the power to change how a government system has worked for decades. Snowden merely made the truth public, but change can only happen if the majority of people want it, and even then have to fight hard for it. The sad reality is that most people don't care, and have even less of a desire to fight for it. Governments love complacency.
- SuperNinKenDo 2y ago
  He gave others the opportunity to change things. Some have taken up the opportunity to varying degrees of success, most haven't. One man takes their place in history and tries to do the most good they have the opportunity to do. Hard to argue Snowden didn't do that. We should ask ourselves if we can or ever will be able to say the same.
Larrikin 2y ago
What if I respect what Snowden did and believe he should be pardoned and at the same time believe Assange should have been prosecuted.
Aeglaecia 2y ago
literally nobody gives a fuck about the prostitution of their agency , I myself am grateful to be aware of it , but cant help feeling it only becomes worse by the day ... tldr not sure of the sum effect of having awareness raised here
- imiric 2y ago
  Cypher: You know, I know this steak doesn't exist. I know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious. After nine years, you know what I realize? [Takes a bite of steak] Cypher: Ignorance is bliss.
d0mine 2y ago
Yes, he is a true hero of NSA. The secrets were too big to allow just anybody to leak them.