The greatest fear that I have regarding the outcome for America of these disclosures is that nothing will change.
Edward SnowdenWe can't simply scare people into giving up their rights, on the basis, oh, this protects us from terrorism.
Edward SnowdenEver since I've been here [in Russia], my life has been consumed with work that's actually fulfilling and satisfying.
Edward SnowdenIf even one country, an Iceland for example, defects from this global legislative bargain and says no, we're not going to enforcement mass surveillance here. We're not going to do that. That's where all of the data centres, all the service providers in the world will relocate to. And I think that gives us a real chance to see a more liberal than authoritarian future.
Edward SnowdenIf an adversary didn't target our power plants but they did target the core routers, the backbones that tie our internet connections together, entire parts of the United States could be cut off. That would have a tremendous impact on us as a society and it would have a policy backlash.
Edward Snowden