When we have some horrible terrorist attacks happen in some country we see in the recording that follows, that the intelligence community already knew about these people in advance. We know that these countries were involved in intelligence sharing premiums, that they benefited from mass surveillance, and yet they didn't stop the attacks. Yet at the same time we immediately see intelligence officials running to the newspapers and claiming that we need more surveillance, that we need more intrusion, that we need more expense of powers because it could have stopped an attack.

All this is a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing because it helps people establish what they value; they understand the sort of ideas they identify with. The curse is that they aren't challenged in their views. The Internet becomes an echo chamber. Users don't see the counterarguments.

You can't come up against the world's most powerful intelligence agencies and not accept the risk.

Do we want to emulate China in the way that China emulates the West? I think, for most Americans, the answer to that question would be no.

When it comes to the internet, when it comes to the United States' technical economy, we have more to lose than any other nation on earth.

The NSA has built an infrastructure that allows it to intercept almost everything.

Even if you're not doing anything wrong, you are being watched and recorded.