TED talks: here’s how we take back the internet – Edward Snowden

We need to rethink the role the internet has in our lives and the laws that protect it, argues whistleblower Edward Snowden in this week’s featured TED talk.

Snowden, a former employee of the CIA, gained international attention when he disclosed thousands of classified documents revealing the operations of the US National Security Agency (NSA) to media outlets. The latest document he released suggested that the NSA monitored communications of delegates at the Copenhagen climate summit.

Speaking at TED2014 in Vancouver, Canada, via a telepresence robot, he said there were more “important” documents to be released. Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the internet, later joined him on stage and described him as a “hero”.

Snowden called for a fundamental rethink of the role of the internet in our lives, concluding, “Your rights matter, because you never know when you’re going to need them.”

To watch this video on the TED website, click here.