Mass surveillance didn’t stop Paris attacks: Snowden
US whistleblower Edward Snowden says government mass-surveillance programs are ineffective because they are "burying people under too much data," citing the recent attacks in Paris as an example.
Mass surveillance has not stopped a single attack in the United States, Snowden said in an interview broadcast by Dutch TV channel NOS on Wednesday.
"It didn't stop the attacks in London, didn't stop the attacks in Spain, didn't stop the attacks in Boston," he said from Moscow.
"France passed one of the most intrusive, expensive surveillance laws in all of Europe last year and it did not stop the attack,” Snowden said, referring to a controversial French law passed in December 2013 that facilitates police and intelligence agencies' access to telephone and Internet data.
On January 7, 12 people were killed during an attack on the Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris.
"The problem with mass surveillance is that you are burying people under too much data," he explained.
Since June 2013, Snowden has disclosed thousands of classified documents he acquired while working as a contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA).
Snowden’s disclosures of NSA spying programs inside the US and around the world have led to a global uproar. His release of NSA files has been called the most significant leak in US history.
He is charged with espionage in the United States and was granted asylum by Russia in August 2013.
AHT/AGB
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