Edward Snowden Inspires Global Treaty for Online Privacy

Whistleblowers who bravely show us how states work in the shadows are a public good, and the documents leaked by Edward Snowden made crystal clear how far surveillance had gone off the rails in the United States. The same is true internationally: Angela Merkel, Dilma Rousseff— nobody is safe and secure in their communications. The pontiff has a lot on his plate these days, but this issue strikes close to home; after all, the NSA spied on his communications during the Vatican conclave that elevated him to the papacy. Papal blessing or not, the cat is out of the bag on this proposal — and soon, hopefully, the NSA and its partners in global surveillance will no longer get a pass on hoovering up our data, dick pics and otherwise.