So I think we all know by now that what the NSA is doing is technically "legal", and Snowden's actions are "illegal".
However what the NSA is doing is unethical, and Snowden's actions are ethical. That's because the law is unjust, and (apparently) violates the US constitution. Also a lot of people are very upset about the secret "interpretations" of the law.
See also: Gandhi, Mandela, Luther King Jr, et. al.
"If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so."
So I think we all know by now that what the NSA is doing is technically "legal", and Snowden's actions are "illegal".
However what the NSA is doing is unethical, and Snowden's actions are ethical. That's because the law is unjust, and (apparently) violates the US constitution. Also a lot of people are very upset about the secret "interpretations" of the law.
See also: Gandhi, Mandela, Luther King Jr, et. al.
"If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so."
- Thomas Jefferson