Edward Joseph Snowden is an American-born and naturalized Russian former computer intelligence consultant who leaked highly classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013, when he was an employee and subcontractor.
His illegal disclosures revealed numerous global surveillance programs, many run by the NSA and the Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance with the cooperation of telecommunication companies and European governments, and prompted a cultural discussion about national security and individual privacy.
In early 2016, Snowden became the president of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, a San Francisco–based nonprofit organization that aims to protect journalists from hacking and government surveillance. He also has a job at an unnamed Russian IT company.
In 2017, he married Lindsay Mills. On September 17, 2019, his memoir Permanent Record was published. On September 2, 2020, a U.S. federal court ruled in United States v. Moalin that the U.S. intelligence’s mass surveillance program exposed by Snowden was illegal and possibly unconstitutional.
Edward Snowden Age
39 years
Edward Snowden Education
Mononucleosis caused him to miss high school for almost nine months. Rather than returning to school, he passed the GED test and took classes at Anne Arundel Community College.
Although Snowden had no undergraduate college degree, he worked online toward a master’s degree at the University of Liverpool, England, in 2011
Edward Snowden Movie
The film Snowden, based on Snowden’s leaking of classified US government material, directed by Oliver Stone and written by Stone and Kieran Fitzgerald, was released in 2016.
The documentary Citizenfour directed by Laura Poitras won Best Documentary Feature at the 87th Academy Awards.
Edward Snowden Books
Permanent Record
Edward Snowden Location
In October 2020, Snowden was granted permanent residency in Russia.
Edward Snowden Twitter
@Snowden