LEWISBURG – Edward Snowden, exiled whistleblower behind the 2013 NSA surveillance revelations appeared virtually at Bucknell University Monday. Snowden appeared to discuss several topics with students including internet privacy, why he spoke up in the manner he did and the issues surrounding government surveillance.
When discussing surveillance, Snowden says it isn’t just government but Google as well as Social Media websites such as Facebook and Instagram. While discussing ways to avoid being tracked, Snowden says it’s improbable to stop it. “You don’t want to be comparing your sophistication, your skills, your budget against the intersecting or against these really intelligent services or these entire arms of industry; you’re going to lose,” he says.
Bucknell students inquired about what can be done to stop businesses from tracking data, “Either we change the way we communicate to make it not profitable from anyone spying on us so the companies don’t make money off of it. The governments don’t gain an advantage from it. It costs more to invade our privacy than the effort to do so.”
These changes only come from the will a vocal society. Snowden says, “We have to change the whole structure. But that’s not going to change unless we demand it. Alright, reform is never a gift, it is something that is never granted, it is something that is won. It is something that you must fight for and you will struggle, you will sacrifice but things get better because of them.”
The sponsors said the event was co-sponsored by the Bucknell Program for American Leadership, a faculty association dedicated to Bucknell’s mission of encouraging ‘different cultures and diverse perspectives’ in the liberal arts tradition, and by the Open Discourse Coalition, an alumni foundation upholding thoughtful dialogue at Bucknell and in higher education.
