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Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower now living in exile in Russia and the subject of Oscar-winning documentary Citizenfour, took to Reddit on Monday for an AMA (“Ask Me Anything”).
With the site’s users piling in to ask their questions, here’s what we found out.
1. He quite liked Neil Patrick Harris' joke
To be honest, I laughed at NPH. I don't think it was meant as a political statement, but even if it was, that's not so bad. My perspective is if you're not willing to be called a few names to help out your country, you don't care enough.
2. He misses home, but Moscow isn't so bad
Moscow is the biggest city in Europe. A lot of people forget that. Shy of Tokyo, it's the biggest city I've ever lived in. I'd rather be home, but it's a lot like any other major city.
3. He's not sure how we can elect better politicians
One of the biggest problems in governance today is the difficulty faced by citizens looking to hold officials to account when they cross the line. We can develop new tools and traditions to protect our rights, and we can do our best to elect new and better representatives, but if we cannot enforce consequences on powerful officials for abusive behaviour, we end up in a system where the incentives reward bad behaviour post-election.
That's how we end up with candidates who say one thing but, once in power, do something radically different. How do you fix that? Good question.
4. He thinks his work has brought about a lot of change
He suggested that a lot of the changes aren't visible yet because they're happening at an engineering level, but one of the biggest changes he noted was in awareness.
Before 2013, if you said the NSA was making records of everybody's phonecalls and the GCHQ was monitoring lawyers and journalists, people raised eyebrows and called you a conspiracy theorist.
Those days are over.
5. He praised every “underpaid and overworked student out there” working on improving privacy
You are the noble Atlas lifting up the globe in our wildly inequitable current system.
- Snowden
6. Sometimes people have to break the law to make the world a better place
He pointed to changes in society over the ages and the illegal methods needed to make them happen - prohibition, gay marriage, slavery, the American Revolution. He also suggested that a distinction needs to be made between legality and morality.
The law doesn't defend us; we defend the law. And when it becomes contrary to our morals, we have both the right and the responsibility to rebalance it toward just ends.
Where would we be today if the government, enjoying powers of perfect surveillance and enforcement, had - entirely within the law - rounded up, imprisoned, and shamed all of these lawbreakers?
7. He's adamant he's not a Russian spy
If I were a spy for the Russians, why the hell was I trapped in any airport for a month? I would have gotten a parade and a medal instead.
8. He doesn’t want people to believe what he says, but to simply question everything
While claiming that the NSA effectively brainwashes its employees, he explained:
I want you to look around and decide for yourself what you believe, independent of what people say, independent of what's on TV, and independent of what your classified emails might claim.
9. He doesn’t blame people for downloading pirate copies of Citizenfour
I don't have a commercial interest in the film, so I can't speak for the film-makers, but I know what it's like to be a student with no money.
10. Despite describing Snowden as a “hero of our generation”, some people still can’t spell his name properly
You can read Snowden's whole AMA - alongside film-maker and journalist Laura Poitras and journalist Glenn Greenwald - on Reddit.
More: Here is what Edward Snowden has to say about Citizenfour's Oscar win
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