Edward Snowden Speaks to World Affairs Conference 2015

By: Upper Canada College

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Edward Snowden Speaks to World Affairs Conference 2015 - Video

Speaking from an undisclosed location in Russia, American whistleblower Edward Snowden warned Toronto high school students to be wary of the federal governments proposed anti-terror bill.

The problem with mass surveillance is when you collect everything, you understand nothing, he said via a Google Hangout connection on Monday evening.

The Harper bill to increase the power of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service fundamentally changes the balance of power between the citizen and the state.

Speaking alongside journalist Glenn Greenwald, Snowden delivered the keynote speech at the Upper Canada College to open the private schools World Affairs Conference, an annual, student-run conference.

Their talk touched on many of the aspects that have become synonymous with Snowden s leaks from the American National Security Agency surveillance, national security and democracy including insight into last weeks revelation that CSEC collected massive amounts of data on file uploads in Canada.

Is it really possible for governments to do their jobs, in finding terrorist plots, Greenwald said. Or are they just collecting so much information on so many people including people who have done nothing wrong that they become incapable of finding what they say theyre looking for?

Snowden also touched on some aspects of his life since he became internationally wanted, and warrants were issued for his arrest by his government.

I actually work more now than I ever did before. I work seven days a week, practically, Snowden said. Its now about 4:30 in the morning, I guess, and I havent been to sleep yet. But its tremendously satisfying. Im able to have so much impact.

Snowden said he works with NGOs and civil-liberties groups around the world and consults with international computer science and security experts. He also often gives talks like this one, including a debate at Harvard.

He also took time to praise the questions directed to him by students. Faced with a question on the rise of China in a global context, he remarked, First of all, wow. High school students? These are better questions than I get from members of Parliament.

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Be wary of Harper’s anti-terror bill, Edward Snowden ...

Edward Snowden, the fugitive American who leaked state secrets, wants Canadians to know that anti-terrorism laws are easy to pass but very hard to undo.

We saw on Friday the Prime Minister of Canada proposed a new law, Mr. Snowden told a teenaged Toronto audience via an Internet link on Monday night.

He told the high school students that they should always be extraordinarily cautious and press for answers, whenever governments rely on fear and panic to set up powers that can be exercised in secret.

On Friday, the Conservative government introduced legislation that would empower Canadian authorities to disrupt suspected terrorist threats and remove extremist posts from the Internet. At the same time, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been resisting calls to step up scrutiny of Canadas spy agencies.

Mr. Snowden was speaking to a crowd of more than 1,000 students at Torontos Upper Canada College via a Google Hangouts link from his exile in Russia. More people watched on the Internet, and it was the first time he directly addressed a Canadian audience.

The event was organized after a student relayed a request to Mr. Snowden through a lawyer at the American Civil Liberties Union. The U.S. government is seeking to arrest Mr. Snowden, who was charged with espionage after he fled the United States in the spring of 2013.

The former U.S. National Security Agency contractor had taken with him a trove of top-secret documents about electronic eavesdropping, which he passed to journalists. The documents are now the subject of continuing leaks.

Students pressed Mr. Snowden to do more to reveal the inner workings of Canadas NSA counterpart, the Communications Security Establishment. Mr. Snowden countered that does not directly engage himself in the reporting process.

Last week, a leaked CSE document revealed that Canadian analysts have been scouring free file upload Internet sites in hopes of unearthing manuals related to jihadi activity.

The agency, which collects foreign intelligence signals for Canada, is technically banned from spying on domestic communications.

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Edward Snowden urges caution over Ottawa’s proposed security law

Karolyn Coorsh, CTVNews.ca Published Monday, February 2, 2015 10:18AM EST Last Updated Monday, February 2, 2015 9:00PM EST

U.S. fugitive Edward Snowden addressed hundreds of high school students at a world affairs conference held Monday night at a Toronto private school.

The former NSA contractor was 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, dubbed Privacy vs. Security: A Discussion of Personal Privacy in the Digital Age, saw Snowden answer questions via video teleconference from Russia, where he now lives in asylum. He was joined by journalist Glenn Greenwald via video link.

Approximately 900 community members mostly students -- attended the event, which was also livestreamed on UCCs website. The Q&A lasted approximately 90 minutes.

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.

Since then, Snowden has worked with civil liberties groups and lectured on privacy rights.

During Mondays Q&A, Snowden touched on Canadas new anti-terror legislation, warning Canadian citizens to be very careful when government tries to set up such powers.

The new legislation, tabled last Friday, would give the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) powers to interfere in suspected terrorists activities on Canadian soil, including disrupting bank transactions and travel plans to thwart a terror attack.

Once we let these powers get rolling, its very difficult to stop that pull through, Snowden said.

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NSA leaker Edward Snowden addresses Toronto school from Russia

By Adam Miller, The Canadian Press

TORONTO - Former U.S. intelligence contractor turned whistleblower Edward Snowden says citizens of the world, including Canadians, should be "extraordinarily cautious" when their governments try to pass new laws under the guise of an increased threat of terrorism.

Legislation tabled last Friday would give the Canadian Security Intelligence Service powers to actively disrupt threats, not just collect information about them.

Snowden, who remains in Russia after leaking U.S. National Security Agency documents, says citizens of any country should have concerns about this type of legislation.

"I would say we should always be extraordinarily cautious when we see governments trying to set up a new secret police within their own countries," Snowden said Monday night during a video conference organized by Upper Canada College in Toronto.

Intelligence powers used by governments in ways related to political ideologies, radicalization, influence of governments and how people develop their politics are cause for concern, the former NSA analyst added.

"We need to be very careful about this because this is a process that is very, very easy to begin. It always happens in time of fear and panic emergency legislation they say we're facing extraordinary threats and again if you look at the statistics while the threats are there, they're typically not as significant as presented."

"Once we let these powers get rolling its very difficult to stop that pull though," Snowden said. "So I would say that we need to use extraordinary scrutiny in every society, in every country, in every city, in every state to make sure that the laws we live under are the ones we truly want and truly need."

Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney has said he believes that the Security Intelligence Review Committee which reports to Parliament has the expertise to keep an eye on CSIS.

Glenn Greenwald, who received documents from Snowden and reported about them for The Guardian newspaper, told the conference that Canadians have a greater chance of dying from being struck by lightning or slipping in a bathtub than from a terrorist attack.

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Edward Snowden urges caution on terror bill

Speaking from an undisclosed location in Russia, American whistleblower Edward Snowden warned Toronto high school students to be wary of the federal governments proposed anti-terror bill.

The problem with mass surveillance is when you collect everything, you understand nothing, he said via a Google Hangout connection on Monday evening.

The Harper bill to increase the power of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service fundamentally changes the balance of power between the citizen and the state.

Speaking alongside journalist Glenn Greenwald, Snowden delivered the keynote speech at the Upper Canada College to open the private schools World Affairs Conference, an annual, student-run conference.

Their talk touched on many of the aspects that have become synonymous with Snowden s leaks from the American National Security Agency surveillance, national security and democracy including insight into last weeks revelation that CSEC collected massive amounts of data on file uploads in Canada.

Is it really possible for governments to do their jobs, in finding terrorist plots, Greenwald said. Or are they just collecting so much information on so many people including people who have done nothing wrong that they become incapable of finding what they say theyre looking for?

Snowden also touched on some aspects of his life since he became internationally wanted, and warrants were issued for his arrest by his government.

I actually work more now than I ever did before. I work seven days a week, practically, Snowden said. Its now about 4:30 in the morning, I guess, and I havent been to sleep yet. But its tremendously satisfying. Im able to have so much impact.

Snowden said he works with NGOs and civil-liberties groups around the world and consults with international computer science and security experts. He also often gives talks like this one, including a debate at Harvard.

He also took time to praise the questions directed to him by students. Faced with a question on the rise of China in a global context, he remarked, First of all, wow. High school students? These are better questions than I get from members of Parliament.

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Be wary of Harper’s anti-terror bill, Edward Snowden warns Toronto students