NSA leaker Edward Snowden to address Toronto school from Russia

U.S. fugitive Edward Snowden is set to address hundreds of high school students at a world affairs conference being held Monday night at a Toronto private school.

The former NSA contractor is the keynote speaker at the annual World Affairs Conference, which was organized by students from Upper Canada College and Branksome Hall in Toronto.

The moderated discussion is called Privacy vs. Security: A Discussion of Personal Privacy in the Digital Age.

Snowden, who now lives in asylum in Russia, will be joined by journalist Glenn Greenwald via video link from Brazil.

Snowden fled the U.S. in 2013, after leaking thousands of classified documents. Greenwald, then a journalist for a British daily newspaper, worked with Snowden to expose American espionage secrets. The leak sparked a global discussion on government, mass surveillance and privacy.

The 31-year-old remains a polarizing figure in the U.S., with some viewing him as a courageous whistleblower, while others slam him for potentially endangering public safety.

In Toronto, his involvement in the student-run conference has sparked a similar division within the UCC community.

On the schools website, a commenter who identified himself as a UCC alumnus expressed his concern with having a self-admitted thief as keynote speaker.

By condoning his participation at the WAC, UCC is lending its name to legitimization of his actions. I fear this will have negative repercussions for the schools reputation and it is not a lesson that I personally want my son to receive, the commenter wrote.

Another commenter suggested the school take a more balanced approach.

Continue reading here:
NSA leaker Edward Snowden to address Toronto school from Russia