Hi, and Merry Christmas. I'm honoured to have the chance to speak with you and your family
this year. Recently, we learned that our governments working in concert have created a system of
worldwide mass surveillance, watching everything we do.
Whistleblower Edward Snowden warns of the dangers posed by a loss of privacy in a message
broadcast on Channel 4 on Christmas Day.
Great Britain's George Orwell warned us of the danger of this kind of information. The
types of collection in the book- microphones, video cameras, TVs that watch us are nothing
compared to what we have available today. We have sensors in our pockets that track
us everywhere we go. Think about what this means for the privacy of the average person.
The two-minute message was thought to be recorded in Moscow, where Snowden has been granted
temporary asylum. He went on to talk about his worries for the future.
A child born today will grow up with no conception of privacy at all. They'll never know what
it means to have a private moment to themselves, an unrecorded and unanalysed thought. And
that's a problem because privacy matters. Privacy is what allows us to determine who
we are, and who we want to be. The conversation occurring today will determine the amount
of trust we can place both in the technology that surrounds us and the government that
regulates it. Together, we can find a better balance. End mass surveillance, and remind
the government that if it really wants to know how we feel, asking is always cheaper
than spying.
Channel 4's Alternative Message has been going since 1993. Previous speakers include the
president of Iran and the cartoon character Marge Simpson.
For everyone out there listening, thank you and Merry Christmas.