Naming Edward Snowden’s Actions as “Heroic” or “Villainous”: Implications for Interpreting First Amendment Trends

Abstract

This essay examines the implications of stakeholder naming of Edward Snowden’s classified National Security Agency documents release. In naming Snowden’s activities as “heroic” or “villainous,” stakeholders are negotiating a context for accepting or rejecting his message and maintaining or revising the current trend that has favored increased governmental surveillance and secrecy over free expression and privacy protections since the events of 9/11. However, the inability of stakeholders to agree upon a name for Snowden has limited attention to Snowden’s message and hindered any potential trend reversal that might shift how US courts interpret his actions and of the First Amendment.