Edward Snowden gave the world lots of presents this year, and he took to the United Kingdom’s Channel 4 yesterday to remind us all about it.
For the channel’s annual “Alternative Christmas Message,” the former NSA contractor said that what the NSA is using for surveillance are far beyond those imagined in George Orwell’s 1984.
“The types of collection in the book—microphones and video cameras, TVs that watch us—are nothing compared to what we have available today,” he said. “We have sensors in our pockets that track us everywhere we go. Think about what this means for the privacy of the average person.”
Snowden’s message was little more than a recap of what he’s been saying for months. When he originally unveiled the NSA’s PRISM program back in June, Snowden said the first leaks were just the tip of the iceberg. That turned out to pretty much be the case, as he’s been leaking new information piecemeal since then, though the general themes have stayed the same (you are pretty much never safe from the NSA).
With Snowden telling the Washington Post earlier this week he’s “already won” and that his “mission is already accomplished,” it’s time to see whether he’s got any more aces up his sleeves or if his Christmas message was part of a farewell tour that’s seen him ask for asylum in Brazil, Germany, and anywhere else that might have him.
Regardless of whether Snowden continues to be relevant into 2014, he certainly made his mark this year: He was the spark that started numerous protests around the country and the world, he exposed programs that many suspected but few could prove, and he certainly caused plenty of headaches for President Obama, the NSA, and the federal government in general. Earlier this month, a federal judge said that the NSA data collection programs were likely unconstitutional, and an advisory committee suggested that the NSA cut back on those programs.
Whether Snowden’s leaks caused any real change is still an unanswered question, and it’s something he addressed Wednesday: “A child born today will grow up with no conception of privacy at all. They’ll never know what it means to have a private moment to themselves, an unrecorded, unanalyzed thought. And that’s a problem because privacy matters; privacy is what allows us to determine who we are and who we want to be,” he said. “Together we can find a better balance, end mass surveillance, and remind the government that if it really wants to know how we feel, asking is always cheaper than spying. For everyone out there listening [ed note: The NSA, maybe?], thank you and Merry Christmas.”
Merry Christmas, indeed. Here’s the full text of his greeting.
Hi and Merry Christmas. I'm honored to have a chance to speak with you and your family this year. Recently we learned that our governments, working in concert, have created a system of worldwide system of mass surveillance watching everything we do. Great Britain's George Orwell warned us of the danger of this kind of information.
The types of collection in the book -– microphones and video cameras, TVs that watch us –- are nothing compared to what we have available today. We have sensors in our pockets that track us everywhere we go. Think about what this means for the privacy of the average person.
A child born today will grow up with no conception of privacy at all. They'll never know what it means to have a private moment to themselves an unrecorded, unanalyzed thought. And that's a problem because privacy matters; privacy is what allows us to determine who we are and who we want to be.
The conversation occurring today will determine the amount of trust we can place both in the technology that surrounds us and the government that regulates it.
Together we can find a better balance, end mass surveillance, and remind the government that if it really wants to know how we feel, asking is always cheaper than spying.
For everyone out there listening, thank you and Merry Christmas.