Journalism of Courage
Former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden,who revealed details of electronic surveillance by American and British spy services,warned of the dangers posed by a loss of privacy in a message broadcast to Britain on Christmas Day.
In a two-minute video recorded in Moscow,where Snowden has been granted temporary asylum,he spoke of concerns over surveillance in an age of huge technological advancement.
We have sensors in our pockets that track us everywhere we go. Think about what this means for the privacy of the average person.
A child born today will grow up with no conception of privacy at all, said Snowden. Theyll never know what it means to have a private moment to themselves,an unrecorded,unanalysed thought. And thats a problem because privacy matters,privacy is what allows us to determine who we are and who we want to be.
The Alternative Christmas Message,broadcast annually on Britains Channel 4 television since 1993,mimics the format of the yearly address to the nation by Queen Elizabeth.
Previous participants have included then President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2008 and popular cartoon characters Marge and Lisa Simpson in 2004.
On Tuesday,Snowden – who disclosed thousands of confidential documents – said in an interview published in the Washington Post that he had achieved what he set out to do.
