Strauss Center Director and UT Law Professor Bobby Chesney published an op-ed, “Beyond Snowden: Breaking the security-privacy stalemate,” in the Austin American Statesman today. The article discusses Edward Snowden, the National Security Agency, and the American public’s shifting relationship to issues of privacy and security. In the six months since the scandal broke, Chesney has written extensively on the controversy surrounding Snowden’s revelations in blog posts on Lawfare (the blog he co-founded) and in the New Republic.

Just last week, Chesney discussed his expectations for the President’s speech on NSA surveillance programs. In an interview entitled “What You Should Listen for from President Obama’s NSA Announcement,” Chesney told KUT’s David Brown he anticipated the President would “walk a very narrow tightrope” between preserving the ability of the NSA to pursue the Administration’s priorities and addressing the privacy concerns of the American public. Chesney discussed the potential for NSA surveillance policies to negatively affect American industry and competitiveness, but noted that such concerns are wrapped in more complicated issues regarding the overall NSA mission. Ultimately, Chesney urged restraint with respect to potential policy changes, emphasizing it is “imperative” to fully understand their impact first.