Address to investigative panel of the European Parliament looking into
the nature and scope of U.S. surveillance conducted by the National Security
Agency and its partner agencies in Europe. Following the statement are answers
to written questions posed by the panel to Mr. Snowden. The original statement
is available here as a pdf.
– Introductory Statement:
I would like to thank the European Parliament for the invitation to provide
testimony for your inquiry into the Electronic Mass Surveillance of EU Citizens.
The suspicionless surveillance programs of the NSA, GCHQ, and so many others
that we learned about over the last year endanger a number of basic rights
which, in aggregate, constitute the foundation of liberal societies.