Edward Snowden Quotes

There have been times throughout American history where what is right is not the same as what is legal. Sometimes to do the right thing you have to break the law.

Arguing that you don't care about privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say.

Your rights matter, because you never know when you're going to need them.

It is afraid of an informed, angry public demanding the constitutional government it was promised - and it should be.

I don't want to live in a world where there's no privacy, and therefore no room for intellectual exploration and creativity.

Truth is coming, and it cannot be stopped.

Privacy matters; privacy is what allows us to determine who we are and who we want to be.

The US government still has no idea what documents I have because encryption works

We need to think about encryption not as this sort of arcane, black art. It's a basic protection.

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

Because, remember, I didn't want to change society. I wanted to give society a chance to determine if it should change itself.

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.

I don't want to live in a world where everything that I say, everything I do, everyone I talk to, every expression of creativity or love or friendship is recorded.

I have been to the darkest corners of government, and what they fear is light.

The NSA has built an infrastructure that allows it to intercept almost everything.

I would rather be without a state than without a voice.

It's really hard to take that step-not only do I believe in something, I believe in it enough that I'm willing to set my own life on fire and burn it to the ground.

If you’re not acting on your beliefs, then they probably aren’t real.

Allowing the U.S. government to intimidate its people with threats of retaliation for revealing wrongdoing is contrary to the public interest.

A child born today will grow up with no conception of privacy at all.

There can be no faith in government if our highest offices are excused from scrutiny - they should be setting the example of transparency.

Properly implemented strong crypto systems are one of the few things that you can rely on.

I had been looking for leaders, but I realized that leadership is about being the first to act.

Privacy is a function of liberty.

I’m neither traitor nor hero. I’m an American.

We don't have to ask for our privacy, we can take it back.

My perspective is if you're not willing to be called a few names to help out your country, you don't care enough.

You can't come up against the world's most powerful intelligence agencies and not accept the risk.

The people at the NSA aren't trying to ruin your life. They're not trying to put you in authoritarian dystopia. These are normal people trying to do good work in hard circumstances.

These [NSA] programs were never about terrorism: they're about economic spying, social control, and diplomatic manipulation. They're about power.

As for labeling someone a whistleblower, I think it does them - it does all of us - a disservice, because it "otherizes" us.

I went to St. Petersburg - St. Petersburg is awesome.

The US government is not going to be able to cover this up by jailing or murdering me. Truth is coming, and it cannot be stopped.

What is right is not always the same as what is legal

If I defected at all, I defected from the government to the public

My sole motive is to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them.

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

Radicalism and extremism, while they are dangers, they exist in every society on some level.

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.

I will be satisfied if the federation of secret law, unequal pardon and irresistible executive powers that rule the world that I love are revealed even for an instant.

If I had to guess what the future's going to look like for me - assuming it's not an orange jumpsuit in a hole - I think I'm going to alternate between tech and policy.

We are no longer citizens, we no longer have leaders. We're subjects, and we have rulers.

The true measurement of a person's worth isn't what they say they believe in, but what they do in defense of those beliefs. If you're not acting on your beliefs, then they probably aren't real.

All the governments just want to have more power when it comes to economic espionage, diplomatic manipulation and political influence.

You will never be completely free from risk if you're free. The only time you can be free from risk is when you're in prison.

I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong.

The government has granted itself power it is not entitled to. There is no public oversight. The result is people like myself have the latitude to go further than they are allowed to.

Even if you're not doing anything wrong, you are being watched and recorded.

I do not want to live in a world where everything I do and say is recorded. That is not something I am willing to support or live under.

And that's not something I'm willing to support, it's not something I'm willing to build and it's not something I'm willing to live under.