Here's the thing. Whistleblowers do get protection... but mostly protection from retaliation for their whistleblowing. But if a proper investigation is obstructed, how are we to be certain they are a legitimate whistleblower (there are rules that need to be followed) and not just some guy spilling classified info? I would maintain that it was not Lavabit's place to render a verdict of not guilty and defy the court order. If the cops show up at my house with a search warrant for my wife's closet, I don't get to just tell them I don't think she did it and close the door on them.
I guess the question is "at what point is it morally correct to resist government powers, even if those powers are legally granted?".
All would agree it comes at some point (insert references to morally repugnant dictatorships etc).
Even democratically elected governments cross the line (insert historical references to 1930's Europe).
Even "good" governments cross the line (insert reference to numerous examples of legal persecutions of minority groups in most democracies).
Sometimes civil disobedience is a the morally correct thing to do. Was it in this case? Personally, I'm not sure either way.
While I agree 100% that Lavabit's actions were unlawful, just saying "there are rules" isn't enough to convince me that those same actions were "wrong".
I think a better question is "at what point does anyone get to tell anyone else that their morals must match?"
I'm glad we can agree that Lavabit's action were unlawful... but please don't quote me out of context. "There are rules" was with regard to there being certain rules that need to be followed in order to qualify as a legitimate whistleblower. If you would like to argue that those rules need not be followed then I'll respectfully decline.
Yes. Lets. Oh... we already do. Why not this time? Should we let 4chan or Reddit define it? Who then? Not every single person in every single department in every single 3-letter org is a corrupt asshole just waiting for their chance to stick it to some innocent.
Of course they are not. That is not how tyranny works. It works by everyone doing there part, asshole or not. The tyranny is ingrained in the system itself so its seems just normal.
And we can all see what is normal in the US today.
