After making an appearance at South by Southwest (SXSW), Edward Snowden showed up at the TED 2014 conference in Vancouver on Tuesday. Although he had to appear on a robot, Snowden was one of the biggest people at the event and he used the platform to promote the use of encryption by websites.
The former NSA employee who stole documents from the agency and has been releasing them through a variety of sources, said that more revelations are on the way and that some of the most important ones are not yet available.
Due to the nature of his “crimes”, Snowden is considered a threat to the United States which has forced him to remain hidden in Russia as he awaits a more permanent residence.
There are absolutely more revelations to come. Some of the most important [publishing] to be done is yet to come. – Edward Snowden
While speaking at SXSW, Snowden relied on Google Hangouts but this time, he showed up at TED with a Beam robot from Suitable Tech.
Snowden also spoke about the fact that it does not matter who he is or what his opinions are but rather how people want the internet to look in the coming decades.
Who I am really doesn’t matter at all. If I’m the worst person in the world, you can hate me and move on. What really matters is the kind of Internet we want, the kind of relationship with society… I wouldn’t use words like hero or traitor. I’m an American and a citizen. – Edward Snowden
Many of the troubles present during the SXSW appearance, where Snowden’s live Hangouts feed would freeze or disappear, were gone this time. TED organizer Chris Anderson asked Snowden a variety of questions on stage and brought up topics as though it were an interview rather than a traditional TED talk.
Summary: Edward Snowden made an appearance at TED 2014. He told the audience that websites should implement encryption and that some of the most important NSA documents have yet to be released.
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