Edward Snowden to virtually tour Australia in May

Famous whistleblower Edward Snowden will conduct a virtual tour of Australia in May to discuss privacy in the age of mass surveillance.

Think Inc has organised six events named ‘An Evening with Edward Snowden’, which will take place in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Canberra.

Snowden will appear via video link to discuss how and why he exposed the US NSA’s secret project to seize private records from normal civilians. The revelation led to a national scandal and shined a light on the privacy implications of state surveillance policies.

Snowden will also extend his critique to the Australian Government’s own surveillance initiatives.

He commented that “just months ago, an aggressive new ‘bulk collection’ program came into effect in Australia, mandating the indiscriminate interception of private records without regard to an individual’s guilt or innocence”.

He said this kind of mass surveillance radically redefines the balance of power between citizen and state. “A battle is beginning, and the internet and democracy hang in the balance.”

The events will run from 20 May to 29 May, with tickets already on sale.

Think Inc also organised the recent Australian tours of Dr Neil deGrasse Tyson, Sam Harris, Maajid Nawaz and Dr Cornel West.

Image courtesy of DonkeyHotey under CC