In a recent series of leaked classified documents, it has been shown that the National Surveillance Agency (NSA) and its British counterpart, the GCHQ, are among the "worst offenders" of mass surveillance without any form of oversight, according to a letter by Edward Snowden, published by the German magazine Der Spiegel.
Snowden's open letter is titled "A Manifesto for the Truth," and it comes after leaks of NSA spying has soiled U.S. and Europe relations amid allegations that the U.S. and U.K. spy programs monitored communications from world leaders.
"The world has learned a lot in a short amount of time about irresponsibly operated security agencies and, at times, criminal surveillance programs. Sometimes the agencies try to avoid controls," Snowden wrote, according to Der Spiegel.
"While the NSA and GCHQ (the British national security agency) appear to be the worst offenders -- at least according to the documents that are currently public -- we cannot forget that mass surveillance is a global problem and needs a global solution."
In a recent interview, Edward Snowden, 30, admitted that he was the source behind the NSA leaks that captivated the world. The leaked information revealed the NSA's secret spy program that monitors U.S. citizens and other people across the globe. The leaked information also revealed that companies such as Microsoft and Skype were working closely with the department.
Edward Snowden said he is ready to testify about Washington's alleged wiretapping of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's phone. The alleged move to monitor Angela Merkel's phone could strain U.S. and Germany relations unless something substantial is done about it. It may even require an apology from President Barrack Obama to set things right in Germany and Europe overall.
In June of 2013, the Guardian shocked the world when it revealed leaked documents that pointed out how the NSA is spying on Americans. From there, the Guardian released several documents highlighting what the NSA has been up to.
It is not certain if anything much will amount from the leaked documents, but the way things are right now, we could see an end to excessive electronic surveillance, data collection, and other snooping techniques worldwide.
