US President Barack Obama deserves credit for having addressed the public’s anxiety about the growing reach of the National Security Agency. But his speech on Friday offered only a modest down payment on a more effective system of oversight. Edward Snowden should be prosecuted for having leaked highly sensitive details about how US intelligence protects America’s national security – a legitimate activity of any government. There will be more leaks to come. But his disclosures have shed light on the exponential growth of US data surveillance, which has sparked understandable public concern. There is no contradiction between Mr Obama’s call for Mr Snowden to be brought to justice and his first stab at responding to the more disquieting elements of what has been revealed. Let us hope he follows up in the coming months with more concrete solutions.
针对民众对美国国家安全局(NSA)触手伸得越来越长的担忧，美国总统巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)做出了回应，这值得称赞。不过，说到构建更为有效的情报监控体系，他上周五的讲话不过是预付了一小笔“定金”。爱德华•斯诺登(Edward Snowden)曝光了一些有关美国情报机构如何维护国家安全的高度敏感信息，应为此受到起诉。而这种收集信息的行为对任何政府而言都是合法的。未来还会有更多信息被曝光出来，但斯诺登的爆料让我们得以了解美国数据监控规模的跳跃式增长，这理所当然地引发了公众的担忧。奥巴马呼吁将斯诺登绳之以法，与他首次尝试应对斯诺登所披露信息中比较令人不安的情况，这两者并不矛盾。希望他在未来几个月里拿出更切实的解决方案。