Positive Effects of Edward Snowden's Whistleblowing

In an article that includes an in depth interview of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, journalist Barton Gellman makes the observation:

On Dec. 16, in a lawsuit that could not have gone forward without the disclosures made possible by Snowden, U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon described the NSA’s capabilities as “almost Orwellian” and said its bulk collection of U.S. domestic telephone records was probably unconstitutional.

The next day, in the Roosevelt Room, an unusual delegation of executives from old telephone companies and young Internet firms told President Obama that the NSA’s intrusion into their networks was a threat to the U.S. information economy. The following day, an advisory panel appointed by Obama recommended substantial new restrictions on the NSA, including an end to the domestic call-records program.

It sounds like the beginning of a happy ending.  I'm just waiting to hear that Snowden is fully exonerated and allowed to return to the U.S. without fear of prosecution. 

HT: Egalicontrarian