There are cyber threats out there, this is a dangerous world, and we have to be safe, we have to be secure no matter the cost.

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.

We are a representative democracy. But how did we get there? We got there through direct action. And that's enshrined in our Constitution and in our values.

I don't think there's anything, any threat out there today that anyone can point to, that justifies placing an entire population under mass surveillance.

There are times throughout history and it doesn't take long for either an American or a German, to think about times in the history of their country where the law provided the Government to do things which were not right.

Much of what I saw in Geneva really disillusioned me about how my government functions and what its impact is in the world. I realised that I was part of something that was doing far more harm than good.

Any analyst at any time can target anyone. Any selector, anywhere I, sitting at my desk, certainly had the authorities to wiretap anyone, from you or your accountant, to a federal judge, to even the President