Filmmaker from NSA Leaks Case Emerges from Behind the Camera

I know the article touches on this point, but I thought it worth saying directly. The fact that this journalist had long been publicly singled out for extra scrutiny under the current programs is a damning indictment of them. Whether she was targeted for political reasons or simply because the dragnet was too wide - neither explanation is compatible with the basic requirements for a functioning democracy.<p>If the people whose job it is to speak truth to power are being persecuted by the system then we are no better today than we were 50 years ago when the FBI used their surveillance of Martin Luther King to try to intimidate him into silence.

Can someone elaborate on the &#x27;encrypted online conversation&#x27; they mention in the article?

More isolated heroes surfacing, coalescing, and encouraging popular outrage and opposition.

I remember reading about this filmmaker in a previous NYT article. It bothers me immeasurably that this sort of harassment (is there any other way to describe it?) happens to people simply because they are trying to shed light on things the government would rather keep in the shadows.