Edward Snowden by Gary Watkins

Edward Snowden is a former CIA employee and NSA contractor who, in 2013, leaked thousands of classified documents revealing the extent of global mass surveillance programs run by the U.S. National Security Agency and its allies. His disclosures—first published by The Guardian and The Washington Post—exposed operations such as PRISM (direct access to user data from major tech companies) and the bulk collection of Americans' phone metadata, sparking worldwide debate about privacy, government overreach, and the balance between security and civil liberties. Facing Espionage Act charges in the United States, Snowden fled to Hong Kong and then Russia, where he was granted asylum in 2013, permanent residency in 2020, and Russian citizenship in 2022. Now living in Moscow with his family, he remains an influential voice on digital privacy, cryptography, and surveillance reform, while continuing to argue that his actions were justified to inform the public about unconstitutional practices.