Quotes by Edward Snowden

These programs were never about terrorism: theyre about economic spying, social control, and diplomatic manipulation. Theyre about power.

Wed do well to remember that at the end of the day, the law doesnt 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.

I was right outside the NSA [on 9/11], so I remember the tension on that day. I remember hearing on the radio, the planes hitting, and I remember thinking my grandfather, who worked for the FBI at the time, was in the Pentagon when the plane hit it...I take the threat of terrorism seriously, and I think we all do. And I think its really disingenuous for the government to invoke and sort-of scandalize our memories to sort-of exploit the national trauma that we all suffered together and worked so hard to come through -- and to justify programs that have never been shown to keep us safe, but cost us liberties and freedoms that we dont need to give up, and that our Constitution says we should not give up.

Under observation, we act less free, which means we effectively are less free.

Study after study has show that human behavior changes when we know we’re being watched. Under observation, we act less free, which means we effectively *are* less free.

Arguing that you dont care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you dont care about free speech because you have nothing to say.

Ultimately, if people lose their willingness to recognize that there are times in our history when legality becomes distinct from morality, we arent just ceding control of our rights to government, but our agency in determining our futures.

I wanted to fight in the Iraq war because I felt like I had an obligation as a human being to help free people from oppression.

I have been a systems engineer, systems administrator, a senior adviser for the Central Intelligence Agency, a solutions consultant and a telecommunications information systems officer.

You cant come forward against the worlds most powerful intelligence agencies and be completely free from risk.

No one would argue that its in the United States interest to have independent knowledge of the plans and intentions of foreign countries. But we need to think about where to draw the line on these kind of operations so were not always attacking our allies, the people we trust, the people we need to rely on, and to have them in turn rely on us.

Bathtub falls and police officers kill more Americans than terrorism, yet weve been asked to sacrifice our most sacred rights for fear of falling victim to it.

There can be no faith in government if our highest offices are excused from scrutiny - they should be setting the example of transparency.

They still have negligent auditing, they still have things going for a walk, and they have no idea where theyre coming from, and they have no idea where theyre going. And if thats the case, how can we, as the public, trust the NSA with all of our information, with all of our private records, the permanent record of our lives?

Thats the beauty of the Internet is that were no longer tied to our communities by physical connections.

Being a patriot doesnt mean prioritizing service to government above all else. Being a patriot means knowing when to protect your country, knowing when to protect your Constitution, knowing when to protect your countrymen, from the violations of and encroachments of adversaries. And those adversaries dont have to be foreign countries.

I cant in good conscience allow the U.S. government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine theyre secretly building.

What the government wants is something they never had before. They want total awareness. The question is, is that something we should be allowing?

I have had no contact with the Chinese government. I only work with journalists.

Every person remembers some moment in their life where they witnessed some injustice, big or small, and looked away because the consequences of intervening seemed too intimidating. But theres a limit to the amount of incivility and inequality and inhumanity that each individual can tolerate. I crossed that line. And Im no longer alone.