Breaching privacy and the heartstrings of 9/11

Warwick’s One World Week Forum kicked off last Monday with a debate on the meaning of privacy in the digital age, what we can do to protect it, and who should be able to access the information we put online. The focus, predictably but justly, was on the Snowden revelations. The first three speakers spoke persuasively about keeping our information safe; with Jean-Michel Correiu of IBM arguing that internet users need to take personal responsibility in being aware what information we provide about ourselves and understanding what happens to it. He again and again made the point that we do have some control, an idea that has been lost in the recent media hype.

But it was the final speaker who, despite fundamentally disagreeing with him, I think gave the most interesting talk; if only because his argument went against the grain of the liberal discourse on privacy which we have all become accustomed to over the last six months. David Gioe, a former FBI and CIA analyst who currently studies and teaches at Cambridge, argued that the loss of some privacy was a very small price to pay for security and that, by turning public opinion against the NSA, Edward Snowden was nothing but a traitor. Gioe made his argument well, showing us images of the falling Twin Towers as he described the continuing threat of terrorism. But he underestimated his audience, arguing that we are too young to remember the horror of 9/11 and how the world changed in a single day.

In reality, we are the 9/11 generation

In reality, we are the 9/11 generation. Although we were perhaps too young to understand at the time, there was no chance of us escaping the endless media returns to those haunting images of the towers falling. We have grown up in a world where Western foreign policy has centred on a war on terrorism, epitomised by failed and bloody wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Perhaps this is what made me sceptical about his claim that collecting me- ta-data did actually help the NSA stop attacks, especially as he had to concede that other methods had been more useful and that he could not think of any instances where this had been the case.

Moreover, even if one accepted this argument, Mr Gioe refused to address a further issue which was the lack of public knowledge of the government’s spying. Would openness about the NSA’s activities really have undermined its work? I don’t think so. In a country like America, which is known for its ideals of accountable government, such secrecy is unacceptable. The government has abused the trust of its own citizens, and lost credibility when lecturing foreign regimes on the subject of civil liberties.

Mr Gioe’s apparent lack of understanding for these viewpoints was shocking. It was also somewhat ironic that he could defend the programme on the grounds that it protects values which it fundamentally undermines. He saw no problem with the administration’s use of secret courts, ignoring a core component of justice which is for it to be done it has to be seen to be done. The audience seemed largely unconvinced by Mr Gioe’s arguments, with the majority of questions from the floor addressed to him. His institutional bias was all too clear. Someone even asked if he has used pictures of 9/11 to “pull on our heartstrings” – a charge he denied but which seemed very possible.

Being forced to critique your own opinion is one of the benefits of going to debates,

After all, the world has had to move on. Nevertheless, it was refreshing to hear opposing viewpoints, and it was undoubtedly brave of Mr Gioe to take on the consensus. In much of the media, the NSA is dehumanised, but he provided an insider’s account towards the reasons behind its ethos. Mr Gioe’s absence would have left the forum bland and conventional; instead the audience was definitely left with food for thought. Being forced to critique your own opinion is one of the benefits of going to debates, so the One World Team should be congratulated on achieving this. The event was undoubtedly a success.

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