No system of mass surveillance has existed in any society that we know of to this point that has not been abused. -Edward Snowden Society
No one would argue that it's 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 we're 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. -Edward Snowden Knowledge
We're losing our way as a society. If we don't stand up, if we don't say what we think those rights should be, and if we don't protect them, we will very soon find out that we do not have them. -Edward Snowden Society
You can't come forward against the world's most powerful intelligence agencies and be completely free from risk. -Edward Snowden Intelligence
What the government wants is something they never had before. They want total awareness. The question is, is that something we should be allowing? -Edward Snowden Government
That's the beauty of the Internet is that we're no longer tied to our communities by physical connections. -Edward Snowden Beauty
I can't 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 they're secretly building. -Edward Snowden Freedom
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. -Edward Snowden War
Being a patriot doesn't 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 don't have to be foreign countries. -Edward Snowden Government
There can be no faith in government if our highest offices are excused from scrutiny - they should be setting the example of transparency. -Edward Snowden Faith
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. -Edward Snowden Intelligence
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 there's a limit to the amount of incivility and inequality and inhumanity that each individual can tolerate. I crossed that line. And I'm no longer alone. -Edward Snowden Alone
There can be no faith in government if our highest offices are excused from scrutiny - they should be setting the example of transparency. -Edward Snowden Government
I have had no contact with the Chinese government. I only work with journalists. -Edward Snowden Government
They still have negligent auditing, they still have things going for a walk, and they have no idea where they're coming from, and they have no idea where they're going. And if that's 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? -Edward Snowden Trust
No one would argue that it's 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 we're 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. -Edward Snowden Trust
Bathtub falls and police officers kill more Americans than terrorism, yet we've been asked to sacrifice our most sacred rights for fear of falling victim to it. -Edward Snowden Fear
I can't 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 they're secretly building. -Edward Snowden Government
I grew up with the understanding that the world I lived in was one where people enjoyed a sort of freedom to communicate with each other in privacy, without it being monitored, without it being measured or analyzed or sort of judged by these shadowy figures or systems, any time they mention anything that travels across public lines. -Edward Snowden Freedom
