Edward Snowden

Edward Snowden, a former employee of federal contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, disclosed information regarding the National Security Agency’s blanket surveillance of United States citizens. He exposed a secretive data-mining program that collects the phone records, email exchanges, and internet histories of hundreds of millions of people around the globe. In June 2013, Snowden fled the U.S., passing through Hong Kong on his way to Moscow, where he still resides under the protection of political asylum. Countries around the world, including U.S. allies in Europe, condemn the U.S. for its extensive surveillance operations. Before Snowden fled (his passport soon to be revoked by U.S. authorities), The Guardian and The Washington Post revealed that he was the source of the massive national security revelations. His story was portrayed in the Oscar-winning documentary Citizenfour and in the Oliver Stone film Snowden.