Image for Ars Technica: Meet John Tye: the kinder, gentler, and by-the-book whistleblower

Ars Technica: Meet John Tye: the kinder, gentler, and by-the-book whistleblower

This former U.S. state-department employee is blowing the whistle on a little-known executive order that allows the NSA to "incidentally" sweep up the private information of Americans. His story is fascinating, especially given the reaction to Edward Snowden over the past year. Article by Cyrus Farivar for Ars Technica During Tye’s first conversation with Ars on Monday, his lawyer also on the line so he opened the conversation with a well-rehearsed caveat: he would not release any classified information. “If you hear something that sounds like I am talking about classified activities or NSA activities, I want to tell you right now you misheard what I said, and you should ask me for a clarification because that’s not what I am going to be talking about,” he said.

This former U.S. state-department employee is blowing the whistle on a little-known executive order that allows the NSA to "incidentally" sweep up the private information of Americans. His story is fascinating, especially given the reaction to Edward Snowden over the past year.

Article by Cyrus Farivar for Ars Technica

During Tye’s first conversation with Ars on Monday, his lawyer also on the line so he opened the conversation with a well-rehearsed caveat: he would not release any classified information.

“If you hear something that sounds like I am talking about classified activities or NSA activities, I want to tell you right now you misheard what I said, and you should ask me for a clarification because that’s not what I am going to be talking about,” he said.

Tye hasn’t leaked classified documents à la Snowden in part because he doesn’t want to go to prison. More practically though, he has no such documents to give—rather, he only has the information in his head that he learned while being a government employee. Tye has sort of set himself up, intentionally or not, as the anti-Snowden, but many national security watchers don’t see it quite that way.

- Read more at Ars Technica



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