Edward Snowden
Edward Snowden
Edward Joseph "Ed" Snowdenis an American computer professional, former Central Intelligence Agencyemployee, and former contractor for the United States government who copied and leaked classified information from the National Security Agencyin 2013 without prior authorization. His disclosures revealed numerous global surveillance programs, many run by the NSA and the Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance with the cooperation of telecommunication companies and European governments...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionOther
Date of Birth21 June 1983
CityElizabeth City, NC
CountryUnited States of America
I'm not a spy for Russia or China or any other country for that matter.
The only thing I fear is the harmful effects on my family, who I won't be able to help any more. That's what keeps me up at night.
We have got a CIA station just up the road - the consulate here in Hong Kong - and I am sure they are going to be busy for the next week. And that is a concern I will live with for the rest of my life, however long that happens to be.
They are intent on making every conversation and every form of behavior in the world known to them.
Even if you're not doing anything wrong, you are being watched and recorded.
I've been a spy for almost all of my adult life - I don't like being in the spotlight.
I'm not a spy, which is the real question
The United States has faced threats from criminal groups, from terrorists, from spies throughout our history, and we have limited our responses. We haven't resorted to total war every time we have a conflict around the world, because that restraint is what defines us. That restraint is what gives us the moral standing to lead the world.
I do not expect to see home again.
It's critical how we want to use these spy programs, these electronic capabilities, where we want to draw the line, and who should approve these programs, these decisions, and at what level, for engaging in operations that could lead us as a nation into a war.
I believe that at this point in history, the greatest danger to our freedom and way of life comes from the reasonable fear of omniscient State powers kept in check by nothing more than policy documents.
I had been looking for leaders, but I realized that leadership is about being the first to act.
I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong.
The NSA has built an infrastructure that allows it to intercept almost everything.