In an interview with PRI, Strauss Center Director and UT Law Professor Robert Chesney discussed Edward Snowden’s legacy and the changes resulting from his revelations. In the interview, To see the changes Edward Snowden wrought, just look at your smartphone, Chesney explained that rather than statutory or legal responses, the biggest change resulting from Snowden’s disclosure is the nature of the relationship between the private sector and the intelligence community.

As Chesney explains, cooperation between the private sector and the government is crucial for the intelligence community to do their job. However, pressure on companies to be more protective of privacy has led to a “sea change” in the way the private sector responds to requests for cooperation from the government. Chesney points to recent decisions of companies like Apple and Google to encrypt new devices as the default setting as indicative of a private sector that is more aware and protective of privacy and less willing to continue handing over data to the government.

In response to Snowden, Chesney concludes that changes in privacy protection are more likely to result from altering the devices themselves than from statutory changes. Ultimately, the pace of legislative versus private sector change notwithstanding, Chesney concludes that the effects of Snowden’s revelations are impossible to ignore.