Snowden at SXSW: The NSA set fire to the future of the Internet

Edward Snowden appearing live via Google Hangouts video at South by Southwest Interactive in Austin, Texas. Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET

Edward Snowden accused the National Security Agency and the US government today of "setting fire to the future of the Internet."

In a high-profile video appearance at the South by Southwest festival -- his video was beamed over Google Hangout from Russia to Austin, Texas, apparently jokingly through "seven proxies" -- Snowden touched on myriad topics, ranging from privacy to the ramifications of government spying, as he answered questions from the Internet at large via Twitter.

"The NSA...they're setting fire to the future of the Internet. And the people in this room, you guys are the firefighters. We need you to help us fix this," Snowden said.

Moderator Ben Wizner, the director of the ACLU's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, said that Snowden's actions have led to a "reinvigorated" interest in government oversight.

"Sometimes it needs serious sweeping, and Ed Snowden's been the broom," Wizner said.

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One of the first questions that Wizner asked Snowden was why he was addressing the technorati at South by Southwest instead of the policy wonks in Washington, D.C.

"The tech community are the ones who could help fix this situation, more than people in Washington," Snowden said. "There's a tech response needed. It's the makers, thinkers, and the dev community who can help make sure we're safe."

Christopher Soghoian, a privacy advocate and principal technologist at the American Civil Liberties Union, was onstage with Wizner in Austin. He agreed with Snowden that the tech community and technology companies have improved their use of encryption, which often have been lackadaisical about implementing it.

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Snowden at SXSW: The NSA set fire to the future of the Internet