Snowden hopes NSA leaks will improve government transparency

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has said he hopes that the leaks of classified documents will lead to greater transparency by governments for the citizens

Snowden said that he chose to defy his obligations when he learned the scope of surveillance programmes conducted without being disclosed to the society, News24 reports

Snowden, who is living in Russia under temporary asylum, said he took the risk of publicising the data because of the dangers that he saw of a surveillance state

Snowden said that he believes encryption and the ability to be free of surveillance are fundamental rights.