After Donald Trump becoming the president many people have been talking about how he would affect different things.
Privacy is one of those things because the security agencies based in the US are known for their surveillance hobbies. The new elected president would definitely have some sort of impact on privacy and how the spying activities would continue in the future.
Edward Snowden, the man who made the world serious about their personal information available on the internet, will host a live stream event on StartPage–a Dutch search engine–on November 10 (4:30pm Eastern Time). Obviously, Snowden is the right person to talk about privacy considered his past experience.
In this event, he will talk about Donald Trump and privacy issues. Notably, Edward Snowden is expecting a presidential pardon.
[Update]
In the interview, Snowden talked about various topics ranging from the new president-elect to his condition and what needs to be done in future. He said that technology, instead of running after legislation, should be used to achieve privacy. When we think the law is not efficient enough to protect our rights, we should start supporting the corporations, groups, and individuals–the ones who are trying to enforce your rights through science, math, and technology so that the governments start respecting your rights. “No amount of violence, no amount of military force will ever solve a math problem,” he said.
When asked about Trump
Snowden did not follow the event to talk specifically about the new president. He kept a safe distance from the name Donald Trump. But, he was prepared for such questions. When the PGP protocol creator Phil Zimmermann asked him about Trump, Snowden said he would be getting a powerful surveillance infrastructure. But, we should not set our focus on a single leader or government.
“We should be cautious about putting too much faith or fear in elected officials,” said Snowden.
“We’re never farther than an election away from a change in leader, from a change in policy, a change in the way the powers we have constructed into a system are used. So what we need to think about now is not how do we defend against a president Donald Trump, but how do we protect the rights of everyone, everywhere, without regard to jurisdictions, without regard to borders?”
Snowden did not directly talk about the impact of Trump’s presidency but he expressed his belief in one of the answers:
“Despite the challenges we have in the United States, despite the changes in government, despite some of the very concerning statements made by our new President-elect, this is a nation that will strive to get better.”
“This is a dark moment in our nation’s history – but it is not the end of history. and if we work together, we can build something better.”