Edward Snowden To Broadcast Christmas Message

Former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden

U.S. intelligence leaker Edward Snowden has recorded a Christmas Day message in which he says that mass surveillance as revealed by his disclosures should be stopped.

The message was recorded for Britain's Channel 4 television station, which for years has been broadcasting alternative messages to the Queen's Christmas message shown by other British television stations.

Snowden's message is to be broadcast at 4:15 Greenwich Meantime on December 25.

It was filmed in Russia, where Snowden has been granted temporary asylum.

In excerpts released ahead of the broadcast, Snowden says, "A child born today will grow up with no conception of privacy at all."

Snowden goes on to say that "privacy matters; privacy is what allows us to determine who we are and who we want to be."

Earlier this year, the former U.S. National Security Agency contractor sent shockwaves around the world by revealing the extent of Washington's electronic eavesdropping.


Based on reporting by AFP and guardian.co.uk