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 considered bringing forward information about these surveillance programs prior to the election, but I held off because I believed that [Barack] Obama was genuine when he said he was going to change things. I wanted to give the democratic process time to work.

We hack everyone everywhere. We like to make a distinction between us and the others. But we are in almost every country in the world. We are not at war with these countries.

The sad truth is that societies that demand whistleblowers be martyrs often find themselves without either, and always when it matters the most.

I'm saying we need to be aware of it, and we need to be able to distinguish when political developments are occurring that are contrary to the public interest.

If we don't do anything, if we go along with the status quo, we are going to have a mass surveillance world.

I think the public still isn't aware of the frequency with which the cyber-attacks, as they're being called in the press, are being used by governments around the world, not just the US.