Edward Snowden may be living in temporary asylum, but the NSA whistleblower will still get a chance to enjoy Austin’s South By Southwest Interactive Festival.
The former NSA contractor is scheduled to speak at this week’s festival, but he won’t be making an appearance in person at a conference on Monday. Instead, the technologist will participate remotely via video from Moscow.
If you recall, Snowden faces felony charges in the U.S. after revealing the agency’s mass surveillance program by leaking thousands of classified documents to media outlets.
According to Market Watch, the festival also included a Saturday Skype interview with Julian Assange, the controversial founder of Wikileaks.
Assange told the crowd that the “ NSA has grown to be a rogue agency,” and that it was up to the people to reign in government surveillance, according to reports.
Assange is known as the editor-in-chief and founder of WikiLeaks, which publishes submissions of secret information, and faces sexual-assault allegations in Sweden and possible extradition to the U.S. on charges of leaking confidential documents. He has been granted asylum in the Ecuadoran embassy in London.
In addition, Christopher Soghoian, principal technologist at the American Civil Liberties Union, will be speaking to Snowden along with Snowden’s legal adviser, the ACLU’s Ben Wizner.
SOURCE: Market Watch | VIDEO SOURCE: News, Inc.
