Snowden: Every society in the world benefited from debate

Former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden said he does not regret his leaks about mass surveillance programs, saying it sparked a needed public debate on spying. He maintained “every society in the world has benefited” from the debate on surveillance. In a Google Hangout from Russia to the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas, Snowden said he revealed the programs of the US National Security Agency (NSA) to foster “a better civic understanding” about what had been secret programs. He also said every society in the world “has benefited” from the debate on surveillance. The festival also featured questions from Twitter, among them a question from Tim Berners-Lee, creator of the World Wide Web, who asked how to make the intelligence system more accountable. Snowden said “the key factor is accountability” and that Congress needed a watchdog to oversee the NSA. Snowden is charged with espionage in the US, and received temporary asylum in Russia.

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