Summary

Snowden’s documents show that the NSA is not alone in its massive collection of electronic information on its own citizens and people living in foreign countries. The NSA is part of what is referred to as the Five Eyes alliance, an alliance between the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. These groups work together to surveil electronic communications in their own countries and others.

The NSA was headed by General Keith B. Alexander until the Snowden controversy prompted his departure. Alexander began a program in 2005 whose principal goal was to collect as much electronic communications information as possible from all around the world, including from United States citizens. Alexander’s philosophy was, ‘collect it all,’ a philosophy that was not only picked up and used throughout the NSA, but throughout the Five Eyes alliance as well.

The NSA collects...