Edward Snowden Talks About the State of American Surveillance With Vice Co-Founder Shane Smith

Edward Snowden explained the state of American surveillance in an episode of Vice News. Snowden told Vice co-founder Shane Smith how a person’s cellphone could be used to spy on them, and showed him how to disable it. The episode also looked at several of the programs governments can use to spy on their own people.

When NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden leaked details of massive government surveillance programs in 2013, he ignited a raging debate over digital privacy and security. That debate came to a head this year, when Apple refused an FBI court order to access the iPhone of alleged San Bernardino Terrorist Syed Farook. Meanwhile, journalists and activists are under increasing attack from foreign agents. To find out the government’s real capabilities, and whether any of us can truly protect our sensitive information, VICE founder Shane Smith heads to Moscow to meet the man who started the conversation, Edward Snowden.