Snowden, Greenwald: US spying wider

American whistleblower Edward Snowden and independent journalist Glenn Greenwald have warned that US spying activities are more intrusive than eavesdropping on phone conversations and reading emails.

Snowden and Greenwald urged caution against more intrusive US spying activities as they spoke via teleconference at a downtown Chicago hotel ballroom at Amnesty International USAs annual human rights meeting on Saturday.

Metadata is what allows an actual enumerated understanding, a precise record of all the private activities in all of our lives. It shows our associations, our political affiliations and our actual activities, said Snowden, speaking from Russia where he was granted temporary asylum last year.

Greenwald, whose reporting of documents leaked by Snowden helped expose the scope and scale of US spying activities, also said, My hope and my belief is that as we do more of that reporting and as people see the scope of the abuse as opposed to just the scope of the surveillance they will start to care more.

Greenwald, who was speaking from Brazil, could face legal action if he returns to the US, with the Director of National Intelligence James Clapper suggesting journalists who helped bring to light US spying programs are Snowdens accomplices.

Documents leaked by Snowden have shown, among other things, how the US National Security Agency collects phone records of all American citizens and tracks the online communications of all people around the world.

His revelations also showed the US government eavesdropped on phone calls of at least 35 world leaders, spied on Russias leadership with the help of Sweden, spied on the 2010 G8 and G20 summits in Toronto as well as the 2009 G20 summit in London with the help of the host countries governments.

Snowden faces espionage charges in the US and even some former US officials (click here and here) have suggested that he should be hanged if convicted of treason.

In January, Greenwald said it is stunning and extremist if the Obama administration now views journalists as accomplices in what it regards as Snowdens crimes.

Amnesty International is campaigning to end mass spying by Washington and is calling on US Congress to take action to rein in the US governments spying programs.

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Snowden, Greenwald: US spying wider