Cyberspace: Post-Snowden

Just as the world was beginning to understand the various dimensions of cyberspace in general, and internet governance in particular, it received the rude shock of the Snowden revelations about the global surveillance carried out by the United States National Security Agency (NSA) in the name of counterterrorism. All kinds of electronic communications of US citizens and non-citizens alike were monitored. Phone tapping and electronic interception were part of this huge operation to collect a haystack of data in the hope of detecting terrorist links to protect national security. The stories that are emerging from the NSA documents made available by Edward Snowden since June 2013 in the Guardian, the New York Times, Der Spiegel and the Washington Post continue to surprise, enrage or shame people depending upon the nation or group that they belong to. The whole world, including those who work for spy agencies, is surprised at the enormity of the scale of surveillance.