Edward Snowden just made an impassioned argument for why privacy is the most important right
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Edward Snowden came to Hollywood Wednesday night, although via webcam.
The American NSA whistleblower, who's currently living in Russia, joined a Q&A for a screening in New York City of the new Oliver Stone-directed film "Snowden," about Snowden's life and his decision to leak NSA documents in 2013 exposing the extent of government surveillance on private citizens.
The real Snowden joined Stone, star Joseph Gordon-Levitt (playing Snowden in the film), Shailene Woodley (playing Snowden's girlfriend Lindsay Mills, who has joined him in Russia), and interviewer Matt Zoller Seitz in a conversation that was telecast in theaters across the country.
At one point, Seitz said to Snowden, "There are still people who hear your story and respond, 'Well, you can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs. If you aren't doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about.'" In other words, the thinking sometimes goes, surveillance is necessary for national security and shouldn't concern law-abiding citizens.
When asked what he says to that argument, Snowden gave a lengthy and passionate response taking down exactly that kind of thinking.
"The common argument we have — if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear — the origins of that are literally Nazi propaganda," Snowden said. (Note: While the quote is widely attributed to Nazi Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels, its exact origins appear to be unclear.)
"So when we hear modern politicians, modern people repeating that reflexively without confronting its origins, what it really stands for, I think that's harmful," he continued.
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Snowden also said that the "if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear" argument "doesn't make sense." He believe privacy is in fact the "fountainhead" of rights, from which other freedoms flow.
"Because privacy isn’t about something to hide. Privacy is about something to protect. That’s who you are," he said. "Privacy is baked into our language, our core concepts of government and self in every way. It’s why we call it 'private property.' Without privacy you don’t have anything for yourself."
When people tell him they don't fear surveillance because they have nothing to hide, Snowden says he tells them: "Arguing that you don’t care about privacy because you have nothing to hide is like arguing that you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say."
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Read Snowden's full remarks about privacy below:
"One of the most important things I think we all have a duty collectively in society to think about is when we’re directed to think a certain way and accept a certain argument reflexively without actually tackling it.
"The common argument we have — if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear — the origins of that are literally Nazi propaganda. This is not to equate the actions of our current government to the Nazis, but that is the literal origin of that quote. It's from the Minister of Propahganda Joseph Goebbels.
"So when we hear modern politicians, modern people repeating that reflexively without confronting its origins, what it really stands for, I think that's harmful.
"And if we actually think about it, it doesn’t make sense. Because privacy isn’t about something to hide. Privacy is about something to protect. That’s who you are. That's what you believe in. Privacy is the right to a self. Privacy is what gives you the ability to share with the world who you are on your own terms. For them to understand what you’re trying to be and to protect for yourself the parts of you you’re not sure about, that you’re still experimenting with.
"If we don’t have privacy, what we’re losing is the ability to make mistakes, we’re losing the ability to be ourselves. Privacy is the fountainhead of all other rights. Freedom of speech doesn’t have a lot of meaning if you can’t have a quiet space, a space within yourself, your mind, your community, your friends, your family, to decide what it is you actually want to say.
"Freedom of religion doesn’t mean that much if you can’t figure out what you actually believe without being influenced by the criticisms of outside direction and peer pressure. And it goes on and on.
"Privacy is baked into our language, our core concepts of government and self in every way. It’s why we call it 'private property.' Without privacy you don’t have anything for yourself.
"So when people say that to me I say back, arguing that you don’t care about privacy because you have nothing to hide is like arguing that you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say."
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