--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By creating a self-policing…" description: "\"By creating a self-policing, self-reporting, sort of self-monitoring culture through law, through statute, and imposing that on the academic world, I t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/360/edward-snowden-555_academic_by-creating-a-self-policing-self-reporti_2274513.jpg" --- # By creating a self-policing, self-reporting, sort of… ![“By creating a self-policing, self-reporting, sort of self-monitoring culture through law, through statute, and imposing that on the academic world, I think not only are we losing a significant measure of freedom in academic traditions and in our civil society, but we're actually making ourselves…” quote by Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/360/edward-snowden-555_academic_by-creating-a-self-policing-self-reporti_2274513.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/360/edward-snowden-555_academic_by-creating-a-self-policing-self-reporti_2274513.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/360/edward-snowden-555_academic_by-creating-a-self-policing-self-reporti_2274513.jpg) > “By creating a self-policing, self-reporting, sort of self-monitoring culture through law, through statute, and imposing that on the academic world, I think not only are we losing a significant measure of freedom in academic traditions and in our civil society, but we're actually making ourselves less competitive with every other country around the world that does not do that. Because that's where researchers are going to go and that's where academics are going to go. And ultimately, that's where breakthroughs are going to occur.” [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Excessive regulation of academia erodes freedom and hampers global competitiveness, driving talent elsewhere. **In simple terms:** Too many rules hurt research and freedom. Key Takeaway Protect academic autonomy to stay competitive. Themes freedom competition research policy globalization Mood concerned critical Type political analytical When to use this quote - university governance - government policy - international collaboration Key Concepts regulation self‑monitoring brain drain innovation Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance oversight with freedom? - What safeguards preserve innovation? A Different Perspective Over‑regulation may stifle necessary ethical standards. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Academic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic/) [Around the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/around-the-world/) [Breakthrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breakthrough/) [Civil society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-society/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Creating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creating/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Freedom Academic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-academic-5284563/) [Imposing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imposing/) [Imposing Academic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imposing-academic-5284564/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Losing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/losing/) [Monitoring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monitoring/) [Other countries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/other-countries/) [Policing Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policing-self-2090449/) [Researchers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/researchers/) [Researchers Going](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/researchers-going-5284565/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self Policing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-policing-4631802/) [Significant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/significant/) [Statutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/statutes/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“He sees that only the gospel can really help us avoid the painful excesses in the tug-of-war between the need for liberty and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-a-maxwell/he-sees-that-only-the-gospel-can-really-help-us-avoid-the-painful/) [Neal A. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-a-maxwell/) > [We want to have markets that are self-policing through competition. The Internet community doesn't want the government coming in and regulating it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barr/we-want-to-have-markets-that-are-self-policing-through-competition/) [William Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barr/) > [“If allowed to be, the heart is self-policing, and a reasonable measure of guilt guards against corruption.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/if-allowed-to-be-the-heart-is-self-policing-and-a-reasonable-measure/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [ \[I watch\] all that stuff - Game of Thrones and all the other series. How about House of Cards? As for Boardwalk Empire -… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/i-watch-all-that-stuff-game-of-thrones-and-all-the-other-series-how/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [We have to make a distinction between members of the Jewish community who sincerely are trying to follow the laws, statutes and commandments of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-farrakhan/we-have-to-make-a-distinction-between-members-of-the-jewish-community/) [Louis Farrakhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-farrakhan/) > [He needs no library, for he has not done thinking; no church, for he is himself a prophet; no statute book, for he hath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/he-needs-no-library-for-he-has-not-done-thinking-no-church-for-he-is/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [ The state has a right to do that \[outlaw contraceptives\], I have never questioned that the state has a right to do that. It… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/the-state-has-a-right-to-do-that-outlaw-contraceptives-i-have-never/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [To deny one's self, to take up the cross, denotes something immeasurably grander than self-imposed penance or rigid conformity to a Divine statute. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-lorimer/to-deny-one-s-self-to-take-up-the-cross-denotes-something/) [George C. Lorimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-lorimer/) > [It would be a narrow conception of jurisprudence to confine the notion of 'laws' to what is found written on the statute books, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/it-would-be-a-narrow-conception-of-jurisprudence-to-confine-the/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [Lawyers are necessary in a community. Some of you...take a different view; but as I am a member of that legal profession, or was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-howard-taft/lawyers-are-necessary-in-a-community-some-of-you-take-a-different/) [William Howard Taft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-howard-taft/) > [A business is not defined by its name, statutes, or articles of incorporation. It is defined by the business mission. Only a clear definition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/a-business-is-not-defined-by-its-name-statutes-or-articles-of/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [There must be a law if there is to be liberty. Try to play a piano and you will run into laws as fixed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-rogers/there-must-be-a-law-if-there-is-to-be-liberty-try-to-play-a-piano-and/) [Adrian Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-rogers/) > [From the time of the North Briton of the unprincipled Wilkes , a notion has been entertained that the moral spine in Scotland is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galt/from-the-time-of-the-north-briton-of-the-unprincipled-wilkes-a-notion/) [John Galt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galt/) > [More importantly, the Court forgets that ours is a government of laws and not of men. That means we are governed by the terms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/more-importantly-the-court-forgets-that-ours-is-a-government-of-laws/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [Nothing is more disgusting than the crowing about liberty by slaves, as most men are, and the flippant mistaking for freedom of some paper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/nothing-is-more-disgusting-than-the-crowing-about-liberty-by-slaves/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More by Edward Snowden > [It is afraid of an informed, angry public demanding the constitutional government it was promised - and it should be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/it-is-afraid-of-an-informed-angry-public-demanding-the-constitutional/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [Much of what I saw in Geneva really disillusioned me about how my government functions and what its impact is in the world. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/much-of-what-i-saw-in-geneva-really-disillusioned-me-about-how-my/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [If it comes to a question of law, the charges they brought against me - the Espionage Act - is called the quintessential political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-it-comes-to-a-question-of-law-the-charges-they-brought-against-me/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [The NSA and Israel wrote Stuxnet together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/the-nsa-and-israel-wrote-stuxnet-together/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [As a general rule, so long as you have any choice at all, you should never route through or peer with the UK under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/as-a-general-rule-so-long-as-you-have-any-choice-at-all-you-should/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [ \[Brazil\] went to the UN and said, "We need new standards for this." We need to take a look at what they're calling "data… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/brazil-went-to-the-un-and-said-we-need-new-standards-for-this-we-need/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [You are also asked to take an oath, and that's the oath of service. The oath of service is not to secrecy, but to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/you-are-also-asked-to-take-an-oath-and-that-s-the-oath-of-service-the/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [We need to think about encryption not as this sort of arcane, black art. It's a basic protection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/we-need-to-think-about-encryption-not-as-this-sort-of-arcane-black/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [A lot of people in 2008 voted for Obama. I did not vote for him. I voted for a third party. But I believed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/a-lot-of-people-in-2008-voted-for-obama-i-did-not-vote-for-him-i/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [Too often we forget that social and political movements don't happen overnight. They don't bring change immediately - you have to build a critical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/too-often-we-forget-that-social-and-political-movements-don-t-happen/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [ There was a real choice when \[Barack Obama\] became president. It was a very difficult choice - to say, "We're not going to hold… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/there-was-a-real-choice-when-barack-obama-became-president-it-was-a/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [We've learned that we've allowed technological capabilities to dictate policies and practices, rather than ensuring that our laws and values guide our technological capabilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/we-ve-learned-that-we-ve-allowed-technological-capabilities-to/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [It's much easier, I think, to protect communications while they're in transit at least, than it is to enforce legislation in every country in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/it-s-much-easier-i-think-to-protect-communications-while-they-re-in/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [If an adversary didn't target our power plants but they did target the core routers, the backbones that tie our internet connections together, entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-an-adversary-didn-t-target-our-power-plants-but-they-did-target/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [I care more about the country than what happens to me. But we can't allow the law to become a political weapon or agree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/i-care-more-about-the-country-than-what-happens-to-me-but-we-can-t/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) [Explore all 478 Edward Snowden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) ## More Academic quotes > [When I went to college, as much as my parents emphasized academic achievement, they emphasized marriage even more. They told me that the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/when-i-went-to-college-as-much-as-my-parents-emphasized-academic/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [Instead of explaining the sober facts of mechanics and electricity, I want to say a few words about the debt which we owe to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-bloch/instead-of-explaining-the-sober-facts-of-mechanics-and-electricity-i/) [Felix Bloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-bloch/) > [The Carnegie Foundation is well aware of the fact that their reports frequently find their way to dusty archives in academic institutions, but occasionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-everett-koop/the-carnegie-foundation-is-well-aware-of-the-fact-that-their-reports/) [C. Everett Koop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-everett-koop/) > [Marx, however imperfectly he worked out the details, set himself the task of discovering the law of motion of capitalism, and if there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/marx-however-imperfectly-he-worked-out-the-details-set-himself-the/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [Now know I well what people sought formerly above all else when they sought Teachers of virtue. Good sleep they sought for themselves, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/now-know-i-well-what-people-sought-formerly-above-all-else-when-they/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Because my graduate academic training at law school was not one that included most of the intellectual traditions I find useful for understanding the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/because-my-graduate-academic-training-at-law-school-was-not-one-that/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [An academic discipline, or any other semiotic domain, for that matter, is not primarily content, in the sense of facts and principles. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-paul-gee/an-academic-discipline-or-any-other-semiotic-domain-for-that-matter/) [James Paul Gee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-paul-gee/) > [“In the end, ethical interpretation of the Bible means to think critically about how our practices of textual engagement might help us to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/in-the-end-ethical-interpretation-of-the-bible-means-to-think/) [Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/) > [Perhaps art criticism cannot be reformed in a logical sense because it was never well-formed in the first place. Art criticism has long been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elkins/perhaps-art-criticism-cannot-be-reformed-in-a-logical-sense-because/) [James Elkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elkins/) > [And I'm the first one to tell people to break the rules. But you can only break the rules once you know what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-gunn/and-i-m-the-first-one-to-tell-people-to-break-the-rules-but-you-can/) [Tim Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-gunn/) > [Nietzsche's ideas and plans: for example, the idea of giving up the whole wretched academic world to form a secular monastic community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-jaspers/nietzsche-s-ideas-and-plans-for-example-the-idea-of-giving-up-the/) [Karl Jaspers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-jaspers/) > [Quality afterschool programs provide safe, engaging and fun learning experiences to help children and youth develop their social, emotional, physical, cultural and academic skills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-stabenow/quality-afterschool-programs-provide-safe-engaging-and-fun-learning/) [Debbie Stabenow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-stabenow/) > [The unary Photograph has every reason to be banal, 'unity' of composition being the first rule of vulgar (and notably, of academic) rhetoric: 'The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/the-unary-photograph-has-every-reason-to-be-banal-unity-of/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [Doctoral training is devoted almost entirely to learning to do research, even though most Ph.Ds who enter academic life spend far more time teaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/doctoral-training-is-devoted-almost-entirely-to-learning-to-do/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [I am not an academic who happens to have written a novel. I am a novelist who happens to be quite good academically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/i-am-not-an-academic-who-happens-to-have-written-a-novel-i-am-a/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) [Browse all 958 Academic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "By creating a self-policing, self-reporting, sort of self-monitoring culture through law, through statute, and imposing that on the academic world, I think not only are we losing a significant measure of freedom in academic traditions and in our civil society, but we're actually making ourselves less competitive with every other country around the world that does not do that. Because that's where researchers are going to go and that's where academics are going to go. And ultimately, that's where breakthroughs are going to occur.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Snowden" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/by-creating-a-self-policing-self-reporting-sort-of-self-monitoring/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Academic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/by-creating-a-self-policing-self-reporting-sort-of-self-monitoring/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/360/edward-snowden-555_academic_by-creating-a-self-policing-self-reporti_2274513.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/360/edward-snowden-555_academic_by-creating-a-self-policing-self-reporti_2274513.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/360/edward-snowden-555_academic_by-creating-a-self-policing-self-reporti_2274513.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“By creating a self-policing, self-reporting, sort of self-monitoring culture through law, through statute…” — Edward Snowden", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Edward Snowden", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "By creating a self-policing, self-reporting, sort...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/by-creating-a-self-policing-self-reporting-sort-of-self-monitoring/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/by-creating-a-self-policing-self-reporting-sort-of-self-monitoring/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```