Reactions to global surveillance disclosures

Shortly after the disclosures were published, President Obama asserted that the American public had no cause for concern because "nobody is listening to your telephone calls",{{cite news|title=Obama: "Nobody is listening to your telephone calls"|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/obama-nobody-is-listening-to-your-telephone-calls/|publisher=CBS News|access-date=July 9, 2013}} and "there is no spying on Americans".{{cite web|title=Obama To Leno: 'There Is No Spying On Americans'| publisher=NPR| date=7 August 2013 |url=http://m.npr.org/news/front/209692380|access-date=August 14, 2013| last1=Henderson | first1=Greg }}

{{Main|Proposed reforms of mass surveillance by the United States#Congressional calls for the resignation of James Clapper|l1=Congressional calls for the resignation of James Clapper}}

File:Ron Wyden and James Clapper - 6 June 2013.webm

On June 21, 2013, the Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper issued an apology for giving erroneous testimony under oath to the United States Congress. Earlier in March that year, Clapper was asked by Senator Ron Wyden to clarify the alleged surveillance of U.S. citizens by the NSA:

{{blockquote |Senator Wyden: "Does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?"

Director Clapper: "No, Sir."{{cite news|last=Kessler|first=Glenn|title=James Clapper's 'least untruthful' statement to the Senate|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/james-clappers-least-untruthful-statement-to-the-senate/2013/06/11/e50677a8-d2d8-11e2-a73e-826d299ff459_blog.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=August 13, 2013|date=July 3, 2013}}}}

In an interview shortly after Snowden's disclosures were first published, Clapper stated that he had misunderstood Wyden's question and answered in what he thought was the "least untruthful manner".[http://www.nbcuni.com/corporate/newsroom/nbc-news-exclusive-transcript-of-andrea-mitchells-interview-with-director-of-national-intelligence-james-clapper/ NBC News Exclusive Transcript of Andrea Mitchell's Interview with Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, June 9, 2013]. Retrieved July 3, 2014. Later, in his letter of apology, Clapper wrote that he had only focused on Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act during his testimony to Congress, and therefore, he "simply didn't think" about Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which justifies the mass collection of telephone data from U.S. citizens. Clapper said: "My response was clearly erroneous—for which I apologize".{{cite web|title=DNI Clapper Letter on Misunderstandings Arising from his March 12th Appearance Before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence|url=http://www.dni.gov/files/documents/2013-06-21%20DNI%20Ltr%20to%20Sen.%20Feinstein.pdf|publisher=Director of National Intelligence|access-date=July 9, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130716051451/http://www.dni.gov/files/documents/2013-06-21%20DNI%20Ltr%20to%20Sen.%20Feinstein.pdf|url-status=live|archive-date=July 16, 2013}}

{{blockquote|Look, for the longest time I was in fear that I couldn't actually say the phrase "computer network attack". This stuff is hideously over-classified. And it gets into the way of a mature public discussion as to what it is that we as a democracy want our nation to be doing up here in the cyber domain.|Former director of NSA and CIA, Michael Hayden.Recorded in the Gibney document on Stuxnet, Zero Days.}}

To increase transparency and because it is in the public interest the Director of National Intelligence authorized the declassification and public release of the following documents pertaining to the collection of telephone metadata pursuant to Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act on July 31, 2013.{{cite web|last=Turner|first=Shawn|title=DNI Clapper Declassifies and Releases Telephone Metadata Collection Documents|url=http://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases/191-press-releases-2013/908-dni-clapper-declassifies-and-releases-telephone-metadata-collection-documents|publisher=Director of Public Affairs Office of the Director of National Intelligence|access-date=August 17, 2013|date=July 31, 2013}} These documents were:

1. Cover Letter and 2009 Report on the National Security Agency’s Bulk Collection Program for USA PATRIOT Act Reauthorization{{cite news|title=Cover Letter and 2009 Report on the National Security Agency's Bulk Collection Program for USA PATRIOT Act Reauthorization|url=http://www.dni.gov/files/documents/2009_CoverLetter_Report_Collection.pdf|access-date=August 17, 2013|publisher=U.S. Department of Justice Office of Legal Affairs|date=December 14, 2009|author=Assistant Attorney General Roland Weich}}
2. Cover Letters and 2011 Report on the National Security Agency's Bulk Collection Program for USA PATRIOT Act Reauthorization{{cite news|title=Cover Letters and 2011 Report on the National Security Agency's Bulk Collection Program for USA PATRIOT Act Reauthorization|url=http://www.dni.gov/files/documents/2011_CoverLetters_Report_Collection.pdf|access-date=August 17, 2013|publisher=U.S. Department of Justice Office of Legal Affairs|date=February 2, 2011|author=Assistant Attorney General Roland Weich}}
3. Primary Order for Business Records Collection Under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act{{cite web|last=Vinson|first=Roger|title=United States Foreign Intelligence Surveilllance Court Docket-Nr: BR 13–80 Primary Order for Business Records Collection Under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act|url=http://www.dni.gov/files/documents/PrimaryOrder_Collection_215.pdf|work=United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court|publisher=Office of Director of National Intelligence|access-date=August 17, 2013|date=April 25, 2013}}

On July 19, 2013, Human Rights Watch sent a letter to the Obama administration, urging it to allow companies involved in the NSA's surveillance to report about these activities and to increase government transparency.{{cite web|title=US: Increase Transparency on Surveillance|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/07/18/us-increase-transparency-surveillance|publisher=Human Rights Watch|access-date=August 20, 2013|date=2013-07-18}}

{{main|Global surveillance and journalism}}

; Press censorship

In June 2013, British government officials issued a confidential DA-Notice to several press organizations, with the aim of restricting their ability to report on these leaks.{{cite news|last=Halliday|first=Josh|title=MoD serves news outlets with D notice over surveillance leaks|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/17/defence-d-bbc-media-censor-surveillance-security|work = The Guardian|access-date=June 27, 2013|location=London|date=June 17, 2013}} That same month, the United States Army barred its personnel from access to parts of the website of The Guardian after that site's publication of Snowden's leaks.[http://www.montereyherald.com/local/ci_23554739/restricted-web-access-guardian-is-army-wide-officials "Restricted Web access to the Guardian is Armywide, say officials"], Philipp Molnar, Monterey Herald, June 27, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2014. The entire Guardian website was blocked for personnel stationed throughout Afghanistan, the Middle East, and South Asia.{{cite news|last=Ackerman|first=Spencer|author-link=Spencer Ackerman|title=US military blocks entire Guardian website for troops stationed abroad|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/01/us-military-blocks-guardian-troops|newspaper=The Guardian|date=July 1, 2013|location=London}}

According to a survey undertaken by the human rights group PEN International, these disclosures have had a chilling effect on American writers. Fearing the risk of being targeted by government surveillance, 28% of PEN's American members have curbed their usage of social media, and 16% have self-censored themselves by avoiding controversial topics in their writings.{{cite news|last=Matt Sledge|title=NSA 'Chilling' Effect Feared By Writers|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/13/nsa-writers_n_4267716.html|work=The Huffington Post|access-date=November 14, 2013|date=November 13, 2013}}{{cite web|title=PEN American Center Report Shows Impact of NSA Surveillance on American Writers|url=http://www.pen.org/press-release/2013/11/13/pen-american-center-report-shows-impact-nsa-surveillance-american-writers|publisher=PEN American Center|access-date=November 14, 2013|date=2013-11-13}}

; Detention without charge

On August 18, 2013, David Miranda, partner of journalist Glenn Greenwald, was detained for nine hours under Schedule 7 of the United Kingdom's Terrorism Act of 2000. Miranda was returning from Berlin, carrying 58,000 GCHQ documents on a single computer file to Greenwald in Brazil. Greenwald described Miranda's detention as "clearly intended to send a message of intimidation to those of us who have been reporting on the NSA and GCHQ".{{cite news|title=David Miranda Heathrow detention: No 10 'kept abreast of operation'|work=BBC News|date=August 20, 2013|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23769324}}{{cite news | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/07/glenn-greenwald-edward-snowden-documents_n_3716424.html | work=Huffington Post | last=Boadle | first=Anthony | title=Glenn Greenwald: Snowden Gave Me 15–20,000 Classified Documents| date=August 6, 2013 | access-date=August 9, 2013}}{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/18/david-miranda-detained-uk-nsa | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Glenn | last=Greenwald | title=Glenn Greenwald: detaining my partner was a failed attempt at intimidation | date=August 19, 2013}}{{cite news|title=White House knew Glenn Greenwald's partner David Miranda would be detained|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/19/world/europe/greenwald-partner-detained|publisher=CNN|access-date=August 20, 2013|date=August 20, 2013}} The Metropolitan Police and Home Secretary Theresa May called Miranda's detention "legally and procedurally sound".{{cite news|title=Guardian says Britain made it destroy Snowden material|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-security-snowden-guardian-idUSBRE97I10E20130820|work=Reuters|access-date=August 20, 2013|date=August 20, 2013}} However, Lord Falconer of Thoroton, who helped introduce the bill in the House of Lords, said that under the act, police can only detain someone "to assess whether they are involved in the commission, preparation or instigation of terrorism." He said, "I am very clear that this does not apply, either on its terms or in its spirit, to Mr Miranda."[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/21/david-miranda-law-detention-heathrow David Miranda's detention had no basis in law, says former lord chancellor | World news]. The Guardian. (August 21, 2013). Antonio Patriota the Brazilian Minister of External Relations said that Miranda's detention was "not justifiable". The reasons for Miranda's detention were sought from the police by British politicians and David Anderson Q.C., the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation.{{cite news|title=US given 'heads up' on David Miranda detention|work=BBC News|date=August 19, 2013|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23761918}} The United States government later said that British officials had given them a "heads up" about Miranda's detention, while adding that the decision to detain him had been a British one.

;Destruction of evidence

The Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger said the newspaper had received legal threats from the British government and was urged to surrender all documents leaked by Snowden. Security officials from the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) later made a visit to the newspaper's London headquarters to ensure that all computer hard drives containing Snowden's documents were destroyed.{{cite news|last=Rusbridger|first=Alan|title=David Miranda, schedule 7 and the danger that all reporters now face|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/19/david-miranda-schedule7-danger-reporters|access-date=August 21, 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|date=August 19, 2013}}

;Editing of interview transcript

After the NSA Director of Compliance John Delong was interviewed by The Washington Post regarding these disclosures, the White House sent a "prepared" statement to The Post and ordered that "none of Delong's comments could be quoted on the record". The Post refused to comply.{{cite news|title=NSA statements to The Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/nsa-statements-to-the-post/2013/08/15/f40dd2c4-05d6-11e3-a07f-49ddc7417125_story.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=August 20, 2013|first=Barton|last=Gellman|date=August 16, 2013}}{{cite news|last=Lloyd Grove|title=At the Obama White House: Transparency Transhmarency|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/08/23/at-the-obama-white-house-transparency-transhmarency.html|newspaper=The Daily Beast|access-date=September 23, 2013|date=2013-08-23}}

;Criminal investigation

A criminal investigation of these disclosures, by Britain's Metropolitan Police Service, was reported in November 2013.{{cite web|last=RAPHAEL SATTER|title=UK Pursuing Criminal Investigation Into NSA Leaks|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/uk-pursuing-criminal-investigation-nsa-leaks-20867504|publisher=ABC News|access-date=November 13, 2013}}

;Comments

On August 18, 2013, Amnesty International asserted that if journalists maintain their independence and report critically about governments, they too may be "targeted" by the British government.{{cite web|title=UK: Detention of Guardian journalist's partner at Heathrow unlawful and unwarranted|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/news/uk-detention-guardian-employee-heathrow-unlawful-and-unwarranted-2013-08-18|publisher=Amnesty International|access-date=August 20, 2013}}

On August 20, 2013, Index on Censorship argued that the British government's "threat of legal action" against The Guardian was a "direct attack on press freedom in the UK".{{cite web|title=Forcing The Guardian to destroy materials is a direct attack on press freedom|url=http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2013/08/forcing-the-guardian-to-destroy-materials-is-a-direct-attack-on-press-freedom/|publisher=Index on Censorship|access-date=August 20, 2013|date=2013-08-20}}

On September 4, 2013, U.N. Special Rapporteur Frank La Rue stressed that the "protection of national security secrets must never be used as an excuse to intimidate the press into silence."{{cite web|title=UK: "National security concerns must never justify intimidating journalists into silence," warn UN experts|url=http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=13678&LangID=E|publisher=Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights|access-date=September 4, 2013}}

{{main|Evo Morales grounding incident}}

Five Latin American countries—Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Venezuela—voiced their concerns to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon after the plane of Bolivia's President Evo Morales was denied entry by a number of western European countries, and was forced to reroute to Austria based on "suspicion that United States whistleblower Edward Snowden was on board". Ban said it was important to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future and emphasized that "A Head of State and his or her aircraft enjoy immunity and inviolability".{{cite web|title=Latin American nations voice concerns to Ban over rerouting of Bolivian leader's plane|url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=45374&Cr=Latin+America&Cr1=#.UhN673-_S28 |publisher=United Nations |access-date=August 20, 2013|date = 2013-07-09}}

{{main|Lavabit}}

On August 8, 2013, Lavabit, a Texas-based secure email service provider reportedly used by Snowden, abruptly announced it was shutting down operations after nearly 10 years of business.{{cite news|last=Poulsen|first=Kevin|title=Edward Snowden's email provider shuts down amid secret court battle|url=https://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/08/lavabit-snowden/|newspaper=Wired|date=August 8, 2013}} The owner, Ladar Levison, posted a statement online saying he would rather go out of business than "become complicit in crimes against the American people." He also said that he was barred by law from disclosing what he had experienced over the preceding 6 weeks, and that he was appealing the case in the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Multiple sources speculated that the timing of the statement suggested that Lavabit had been targeted by the US government in its pursuit of information about Snowden.{{cite news|last=Associated Press|title=Texas-based secure email service linked to NSA leaker Edward Snowden abruptly shuts down|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/texas-based-email-service-linked-to-nsa-leaker-edward-snowden-abruptly-shuts-down/2013/08/08/eda45a30-006c-11e3-8294-0ee5075b840d_story.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=August 8, 2013}}{{dead link|date=August 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}{{cite news|last=Masnick|first=Mike|title=Edward Snowden's email provider, Lavabit, shuts down to fight gov't intrusion|url=http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130808/13092724113/ed-snowdens-email-provider-lavabit-shuts-down-to-fight-us-govt-intrusion.shtml|newspaper=Techdirt|date=August 8, 2013}}{{cite news|last=Hill|first=Kashmir|title=Email company reportedly used by Edward Snowden shuts down rather than hand over data to the Feds|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2013/08/08/email-company-reportedly-used-by-edward-snowden-shuts-down-rather-than-hand-data-over-to-feds/|newspaper=Forbes|date=August 8, 2013}}{{cite magazine|last=Schneier|first=Bruce|title=The real, terrifying reason why British authorities detained David Miranda|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/08/the-real-terrifying-reason-why-british-authorities-detained-david-miranda/278952/|magazine=The Atlantic|date=August 22, 2013}} The following day, a similar email service, Silent Circle, preemptively shut down in order to "prevent spying".{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/aug/09/lavabit-email-edward-snowden-shuts-down |title=Lavabit privacy row: second email service closes 'to prevent spying' | Technology |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2013-08-09 |last1=Arthur |first1=Spencer Ackerman Charles |last2=Moscow |first2=Alec Luhn in }} Snowden said about the Lavabit closure, "Ladar Levison and his team suspended the operations of their 10-year-old business rather than violate the Constitutional rights of their roughly 400,000 users. The President, Congress, and the Courts have forgotten that the costs of bad policy are always borne by ordinary citizens, and it is our job to remind them that there are limits to what we will pay." He said that "internet titans" like Google should ask themselves why they weren't "fighting for our interests the same way small businesses are."{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/09/lavabit-shutdown-snowden-silicon-valley |title=Email service used by Snowden shuts itself down, warns against using US-based companies|work=The Guardian |date=August 9, 2013|author=Glenn Greenwald}}

In March 2014, The New York Times reported that revelations of NSA spying had cost U.S. tech companies, including Microsoft and IBM, over $1 billion. A senior analyst at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said it was "clear to every single tech company that this is affecting their bottom line," and predicted that the U.S. cloud computing industry could lose $35 billion by 2016. Forrester Research, an independent technology and market research company, said losses could be as high as $180 billion, or 25 percent of industry revenue.{{cite news|last=Miller|first=Claire Cain|title=Revelations of N.S.A. Spying Cost U.S. Tech Companies|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/22/business/fallout-from-snowden-hurting-bottom-line-of-tech-companies.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=March 21, 2014}}

U.S. Army General Keith Alexander, then director of the NSA, said in June 2013, "These leaks have caused significant and irreversible damage to our nation's security." He added that "the irresponsible release of classified information about these programs will have a long-term detrimental impact on the intelligence community's ability to detect future attacks."{{cite web|last=Roulo|first=Claudette|title=Leaks Damage National Security, NSA Director Says|url=https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/id/120387/|publisher=American Forces Press Service|access-date=July 8, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130713135623/http://www.defense.gov/News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=120387|archive-date=July 13, 2013|url-status=live}}()

In August, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey said that Snowden "has caused us some considerable damage to our intelligence architecture. Our adversaries are changing the way that they communicate."{{cite news |url= https://abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/video/joint-chiefs-chairman-gen-martin-dempsey-week-19865953. |title=Transcript for Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey on 'This Week' |date=August 4, 2013 |first=Martha |last=Raddatz |work=ABC News 'This Week' |access-date=August 14, 2013}}

In October, former GCHQ director Sir David Omand, speaking of how useful for Russia's intelligence services Snowden's stay in Russia could be, told the BBC: "Part of me says that not even the KGB in its heyday of Philby, Burgess and Maclean in the 1950s could have dreamt of acquiring 58,000 highly classified intelligence documents."{{cite news |last= Corera|first=Gordon|title=Edward Snowden revelations: Can we trust the spying state? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24399213|date=October 4, 2013 |work=BBC News}} Snowden stated that he had not leaked any documents to Russia.{{cite news| url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/10/edward-snowden-russia_n_3573844.html | work=HuffPost | first=Michael | last=Calderone | title=Snowden Refutes Anonymous Media Claims About Him | date=July 10, 2013}}

Also in October, Andrew Parker, director general of the UK Security Service, maintained that the exposing of intelligence techniques had given extremists the ability to evade the intelligence agencies; he said, "It causes enormous damage to make public the reach and limits of GCHQ techniques. Such information hands the advantage to the terrorists. It is the gift they need to evade us and strike at will."{{cite news |last=Whitehead |first=Tom|title=GCHQ leaks have 'gifted' terrorists ability to attack 'at will', warns spy chief |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/10365026/GCHQ-leaks-have-gifted-terrorists-ability-to-attack-at-will-warns-spy-chief.html|date=October 9, 2013 |work=The Telegraph |location=London}}

That same month, the Financial Times editorialized that security chiefs were "right to be alarmed, knowing that terrorists can change their modus operandi in response to new information on their capabilities" and there was "no firm evidence that the intelligence agencies are using these new collection capabilities for malign ends."{{cite web |title= The security threat posed by Snowden|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9b4b5afe-30dc-11e3-b991-00144feab7de.html#undefined|date=October 9, 2013 |work=The Financial Times}}

{{main|Proposed reforms of mass surveillance by the United States}}

{{See also|Commentary on Edward Snowden's disclosure}}

On June 9, 2013, U.S. Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper, referring to the surveillance activities lately reported in The Washington Post and The Guardian, stressed the activities were lawful, conducted under authorities approved by the U.S. Congress, and that "significant misimpressions" had resulted from the articles published; he called the disclosures of "intelligence community measures used to keep Americans safe" "reckless".{{cite news |url= https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-security-clapper-idUSBRE9570GL20130609 |title= Spy agency seeks criminal probe into leaks |last1=Gardner |first1=Timothy |first2=Mark |last2=Hosenball |date=June 9, 2013 |work=Reuters|access-date=June 9, 2013}} He condemned the leaks as having done "huge, grave damage" to the U.S. intelligence capabilities.{{cite news |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/06/09/clapper-leaks-are-literally-gut-wrenching-leaker-being-sought/ |title=Clapper: Leaks are 'literally gut-wrenching,' leaker being sought |first1=Aaron |last1=Blake |date=June 9, 2013 |access-date=August 8, 2013 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}

File:Whitehouse pardon Edward Snowden petition.png petition to pardon Snowden at the White House website]]

That same day, a We the People petition was launched via the whitehouse.gov website seeking "a full, free and absolute pardon for any crimes [Snowden] has committed or may have committed related to blowing the whistle on secret NSA surveillance programs."{{cite news |title='Pardon Edward Snowden' petition seeks White House response |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-security-petition-idUSBRE95910820130611 |work=Reuters|first=Deborah |last=Zabarenko |date=June 10, 2013 |access-date=April 11, 2015}} The petition attained 100,000 signatures within two weeks, thus meeting the threshold and requiring an official response from the White House.{{cite news |title=Petition to Pardon Snowden to Receive White House Response |publisher=ABC News |date=June 24, 2013 |url=https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/06/petition-to-pardon-snowden-to-receive-white-house-response/}} The White House answered on July 28, 2015, declining to pardon Snowden. In a response written by Lisa Monaco, Obama's homeland security and terrorism advisor, the White House said Snowden's disclosures had severe consequences for national security and that he should come home to be judged by a jury of his peers.{{cite web |url=https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/07/28/2-years-white-house-finally-responds-snowden-pardon-petition/ |title=After Two Years, White House Finally Responds to Snowden Pardon Petition — With a "No" |website=The Intercept |date=July 28, 2015 |first=Dan |last=Froomkin}}

Also in June 2013, the U.S. military blocked access to parts of The Guardian website related to government surveillance programs for thousands of defense personnel across the country,[http://www.montereyherald.com/local/ci_23554739/restricted-web-access-guardian-is-army-wide-officials "Restricted Web access to the Guardian is Armywide, say officials"], Philipp Molnar, Monterey Herald, June 27, 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2014. and to The Guardian{{'}}s entire website for personnel stationed in Afghanistan, the Middle East, and South Asia.{{cite news |last1= Ackerman |first1= Spencer|author-link=Spencer Ackerman| last2= Roberts| first2=Dan |url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/28/us-army-blocks-guardian-website-access |title= US army blocks access to Guardian website to preserve 'network hygiene' |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London |date=June 28, 2013 |access-date=June 29, 2013}} A spokesperson described the filtering as a routine "network hygiene" measure intended to mitigate unauthorized disclosures of classified information onto the Department of Defense's unclassified networks.

In August 2013, U.S. President Barack Obama said that he had called for a review of U.S. surveillance activities even before Snowden had begun revealing details of the NSA's operations.{{cite news|last=Wolf|first=Z. Byron|title=Fact-checking Obama's claims about Snowden|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/12/politics/obama-snowden-whistleblower|publisher=CNN|date=August 13, 2013}} Obama announced that he was directing DNI Clapper "to establish a review group on intelligence and communications technologies" that would brief and later report to the president.{{cite news|last=Farivar|first=Cyrus|title=Obama's 'outside experts' surveillance review panel has deep ties to gov't|url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/08/obamas-reported-outside-experts-surveillance-review-panel-has-deep-ties-to-govt/|newspaper=Ars Technica|date=August 23, 2013}} In December, the task force issued 46 recommendations that, if adopted, would subject the NSA to additional scrutiny by the courts, Congress, and the president, and would strip the NSA of the authority to infiltrate American computer systems using "backdoors" in hardware or software. Panel member Geoffrey R. Stone said there was no evidence that the bulk collection of phone data had stopped any terror attacks.

On October 31, 2013, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry stated that "in some cases" the NSA had "reached too far" in some of its surveillance activities, and promised that it would be stopped.[http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/230197991.html Kerry: Some NSA surveillance work reached 'too far' and will be stopped]. Star Tribune (November 1, 2013).[http://www.dw.de/us-surveillance-by-nsa-has-sometimes-reached-too-far-says-kerry/a-17198098 US surveillance by NSA has sometimes 'reached too far,' says Kerry]. DW.DE (October 31, 2013).

In January 2014, James Clapper gave public testimony to a session of the Senate Intelligence Committee. He asked that "Snowden and his accomplices" return the purloined NSA documents. When Clapper was asked whether the word "accomplices" referred to journalists, Clapper's spokesperson Shawn Turner responded, "Director Clapper was referring to anyone who is assisting Edward Snowden to further threaten our national security through the unauthorized disclosure of stolen documents related to lawful foreign intelligence collection programs."

{{cite news

|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/29/james-clapper-condemns-snowden-senate-testimony

|title=James Clapper calls for Snowden and 'accomplices' to return NSA documents

|last=Ackerman

|first=Spencer

|date=2014-01-29

|newspaper=The Guardian

}}

Also in January 2014, a review by the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) concluded that the NSA's collection of every U.S. phone record on a daily basis violates the legal restrictions of the statute cited to authorize it. "The Section 215 bulk telephone records program," PCLOB reported, "lacks a viable legal foundation under Section 215 [of the Patriot Act], implicates constitutional concerns under the First and Fourth Amendments, raises serious threats to privacy and civil liberties as a policy matter, and has shown only limited value. As a result, the Board recommends that the government end the program."{{cite web|title=Report on the Telephone Records Program Conducted under Section 215 |url=http://www.pclob.gov/All%20Documents/Report%20on%20the%20Telephone%20Records%20Program/PCLOB-Report-on-the-Telephone-Records-Program.pdf |agency=Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board|date=January 23, 2014}} The White House rejected the findings, saying "We simply disagree with the board's analysis on the legality of the program."{{cite news|title=White House rejects review board finding that NSA data sweep is illegal|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/white-house-rejects-review-board-finding-that-nsa-data-sweep-is-illegal/|work=Fox/AP|access-date=January 29, 2014|date=January 23, 2014}} A second PCLOB review, in July 2014, concluded that the NSA's surveillance program targeting foreigners overseas is lawful, under Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, and effective but that certain elements push "close to the line" of being unconstitutional.{{cite news|last=Nakashima|first=Ellen|title=Independent panel: NSA surveillance program targeting foreigners is lawful|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/independent-panel-nsa-surveillance-program-targeting-foreigners-is-lawful/2014/07/01/2b749fa2-018c-11e4-b8ff-89afd3fad6bd_story.html|newspaper=The Washington Post| date=July 1, 2014}} The July report said that the Board was "impressed with the rigor of the government’s efforts to ensure that it acquires only those communications it is authorized to collect, and that it targets only those persons it is authorized to target. Moreover, the government has taken seriously its obligations to establish and adhere to a detailed set of rules regarding how it handles U.S. person communications that it acquires under the program."[http://www.pclob.gov/All%20Documents/Report%20on%20the%20Section%20702%20Program/PCLOB-Section-702-Report.pdf Report on the Surveillance Program Operated Pursuant to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board p. 103, 2 July 2014

Reactions to the global surveillance disclosures among members of the U.S. Congress initially were largely negative.{{cite news|last=Reeve|first=Elspeth|title=Washington turns on the NSA blinders to target weird 'IT guy' leaker instead|url=http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2013/06/edward-snowden-washington-response/66063/|newspaper=The Atlantic Wire|date=June 10, 2013|access-date=November 30, 2013|archive-date=November 14, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131114225357/http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2013/06/edward-snowden-washington-response/66063/|url-status=dead}} Speaker of the House John Boehner{{cite news |title=John Boehner: Edward Snowden Is A 'Traitor' |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=June 11, 2013 |last= LoGiurato |first= Brett |url= http://www.sfgate.com/technology/businessinsider/article/JOHN-BOEHNER-Edward-Snowden-Is-A-Traitor-4593261.php |access-date=June 11, 2013}} and senators Dianne Feinstein{{cite news |last1=Herb |first1=Jeremy |last2=Sink |first2=Justin |title=Sen. Feinstein calls Snowden's NSA leaks an 'act of treason' |newspaper=The Hill |url=https://thehill.com/policy/defense/152964-sen-feinstein-calls-snowdens-nsa-leaks-an-act-of-treason/ |date=June 10, 2013}} and Bill Nelson{{cite news|last=Nelson|first=Bill|title=This man is a traitor|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/man-traitor-article-1.1369682|newspaper=New York Daily News|location=New York|date=June 11, 2013}} called Snowden a traitor, and several senators and representatives joined them in calling for Snowden's arrest and prosecution.{{cite news |title=Edward Snowden: Ex-CIA leaker drops out of sight, faces legal battle |agency=Reuters |work=The Chicago Tribune |date=June 10, 2013 |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2013/06/10/edward-snowden-ex-cia-leaker-drops-out-of-sight-faces-legal-battle/ |access-date=June 12, 2013}}{{cite news |title=DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz: Snowden is a coward |first=Aaron|last=Blake|newspaper=The Washington Post |date=June 11, 2013 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/06/11/dnc-chair-debbie-wasserman-schultz-snowden-is-a-coward/ |access-date=June 13, 2013}} Arizona Senator John McCain criticized politicians who voted in favor of the PATRIOT Act but were outraged by the NSA spying on phone calls by saying, "We passed the Patriot Act. We passed specific provisions of the act that allowed for this program to take place, to be enacted in operation. Now, if members of Congress did not know what they were voting on, then I think that that's their responsibility a lot more than it is the government's."{{cite news| url=http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/06/09/senators-should-have-known-about-snooping-says-mccain/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130612015828/http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/06/09/senators-should-have-known-about-snooping-says-mccain/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=June 12, 2013 | work=CNN| title=Senators should have known about snooping, says McCain | date=June 9, 2013}}

In July 2013, the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations unanimously adopted an amendment by Senator Lindsey Graham to the "Fiscal Year 2014 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill"{{USBill|113|s|1372|site=yes}}. [http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s1372 S. 1372] at GovTrack. [http://www.opencongress.org/bill/113-s1372/ S. 1372] at OpenCongress. that would have sought sanctions against any country offering asylum to Snowden.{{cite news|title=U.S. lawmakers want sanctions on any country taking in Snowden|first=Patricia|last=Zengerle|work=Reuters|date=July 25, 2013|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-security-congress-idUSBRE96O18220130725}}{{cite news|title=U.S. Senate advances law pressuring Russia not to give Snowden asylum|agency=Xinhua|date=July 26, 2013|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-07/26/c_132574418.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729174835/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-07/26/c_132574418.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 29, 2013}}{{cite podcast|title=FY14 Full Committee Markup of State-Foreign Operations, and Financial Services General Government Bills|date=July 25, 2013|publisher=United States Senate Committee on Appropriations|time=1:10:08|url=http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/webcasts.cfm?method=webcasts.view&id=591353fa-8fd0-41e9-9d7e-6adf0ab76537}}

Also in July 2013, Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) and Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) proposed the "Amash–Conyers Amendment" to the National Defense Authorization Act.{{cite news|last=Ehrenfreund|first=Max|title=House proposal to curtail NSA in response to Edward Snowden's leaks fails narrowly|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/house-proposal-to-curtail-nsa-in-response-to-edward-snowdens-leaks-fails-narrowly/2013/07/25/b7117338-f54d-11e2-9434-60440856fadf_story.html|access-date=July 29, 2013|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=July 25, 2013}} If passed, the amendment would have curtailed "the ongoing dragnet collection and storage of the personal records of innocent Americans." The House rejected the amendment by a vote of 205–217.{{cite news|title=The Amash Amendment Fails, Barely|url=http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2013/07/amash-amendment-fails-despite-democratic-support/67584/|access-date=July 29, 2013|newspaper=The Atlantic Wire|date=July 24, 2013|author1=Abby Ohlheiser|author2=Philip Bump|name-list-style=amp|archive-date=July 28, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728092208/http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2013/07/amash-amendment-fails-despite-democratic-support/67584/|url-status=dead}} An analysis indicated that those who voted against the amendment received 122% more in campaign contributions from defense contractors than those who voted in favor.{{cite news|url=https://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/07/money-nsa-vote/|title =Lawmakers Who Upheld NSA Phone Spying Received Double the Defense Industry Cash|last=Kravets |first=David|date =July 26, 2013 |access-date=August 3, 2013|magazine=Wired}}

In September 2013, Senators Mark Udall, Richard Blumenthal, Rand Paul and Ron Wyden introduced a "sweeping surveillance reform" proposal.{{cite web|last=Serwer|first=Adam|title=New calls for surveillance reform after Snowden|url=http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/new-calls-surveillance-reform-after|publisher=MSNBC|access-date=October 18, 2013|date=September 25, 2013}} Called the most comprehensive proposal to date, the "Intelligence Oversight and Surveillance Reform Act" seeks to end the bulk collection of communication records made legal in section 215 of the Patriot Act and to reign in other "electronic eavesdropping programs".{{cite news|last=Zengerle|first=Patricia|title=U.S. lawmakers seek to end bulk NSA telephone records collection|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cybersecurity-law-congress-idUSBRE98O1BU20130925|work=Reuters|access-date=October 18, 2013|date=September 25, 2013}} Wyden told The Guardian the Snowden disclosures have "caused a sea change in the way the public views the surveillance system". The draft bill is a blend of 12 similar proposals as well as other legislative proposals.{{cite news|title=NSA reform bill to trim back US surveillance unveiled in Congress|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/25/nsa-reform-bill-surveillance-congress|access-date=October 18, 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|date=September 25, 2013|author1=Paul Lewis |author2=Dan Roberts |name-list-style=amp |location=Washington}}

In October 2013, Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner, author of the Patriot Act, introduced a proposal to the House of Representatives called the USA Freedom Act to end the bulk collection of Americans' metadata and reform the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court.{{cite news|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/10/10/patriot-act-author-seeks-usa-freedom-act-to-rein-in-nsa|title='Patriot Act' Author Seeks 'USA Freedom Act' to Rein In NSA|newspaper=U.S. News & World Report|date=October 10, 2013|first=Tom|last=Risen}} Senators introduced two different reform proposals. One, the USA Freedom Act (H.R. 3361/ S. 1599),{{cite news|last=Roberts|first=Dan|title=The USA Freedom Act: a look at the key points of the draft bill|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/10/the-usa-freedom-act-a-look-at-the-key-points-of-the-draft-bill|access-date=November 1, 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|date=October 10, 2013}}{{cite news|last=Risen|first=Tom|title=Freedom Act to End NSA Data Collection Introduced|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/10/29/freedom-act-to-end-nsa-data-collection-introduced|access-date=November 1, 2013|newspaper=U.S. News & World Report|date=October 29, 2013}}{{cite web|last=Sensenbrenner|first=Congressman Jim|title=The USA FREEDOM Act|url=http://sensenbrenner.house.gov/legislation/theusafreedomact.htm|access-date=November 1, 2013}}{{cite web|title=Bill Summary & Status - 113th Congress (2013 - 2014) - H.R.3361 - CRS Summary|url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d113:HR03361:@@@D&summ2=m&|work=Congressional Research Service|publisher=THOMAS (Library of Congress)|access-date=18 December 2013|date=29 October 2013|archive-date=8 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008210438/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d113:HR03361:@@@D&summ2=m&|url-status=dead}} would effectively halt “bulk” records collection under the USA Patriot Act, while it also would require a warrant to deliberately search for the e-mail and phone call content of Americans that is collected as part of a surveillance program targeting foreigners located overseas. Another proposal is the FISA Improvements Act that would preserve the program while strengthening privacy protections. It would also codify the requirement that analysts 'have a “reasonable articulable suspicion” that a phone number is associated with terrorism' in order to query the NSA phone records database; require that the FISA court promptly review each such determination, and limit the retention period for phone records. Both proposals call for the introduction of a special advocate to promote privacy interests before the FISA court.{{cite news|last=Nakashima|first=Ellen|title=NSA bills set up a choice in Congress: End bulk collection of phone records or endorse it|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/nsa-bills-set-up-a-choice-in-congress-end-bulk-collection-of-phone-records-or-endorse-it/2013/10/28/99007880-3fd5-11e3-a751-f032898f2dbc_story.html|access-date=November 1, 2013|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=October 29, 2013}}

In April 2014, The Washington Post reported that some federal judges holding low-level positions had been balking at sweeping requests by law enforcement for cellphone and other sensitive personal data. The Post called it "a small but growing faction, including judges in Texas, Kansas, New York and Pennsylvania," and said the judges deemed the requests overly broad and at odds with basic constitutional rights. Although some rulings were overturned, said the Post, their decisions have shaped when and how investigators can seize information detailing the locations, communications and online histories of Americans. Albert Gidari Jr., a partner at Perkins Coie who represents technology and telecommunications companies, told the Post that these judges "don't want to be the ones who approve an order that later becomes public and embarrassing…. Nobody likes to be characterized as a rubber stamp." According to the Post, some legal observers have called this "the Magistrates' Revolt," which began several years ago; however, it gained power amid mounting public anger about government surveillance capabilities after the NSA disclosures.{{cite news|title=Low-level federal judges balking at law enforcement requests for electronic evidence|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/low-level-federal-judges-balking-at-law-enforcement-requests-for-electronic-evidence/2014/04/24/eec81748-c01b-11e3-b195-dd0c1174052c_story.html|work=The Washington Post|access-date=25 April 2014|first1=Ann E.|last1=Marimow|first2=Craig|last2=Timberg|date=April 25, 2014}}

In the wake of the NSA leaks, conservative public interest lawyer and Judicial Watch founder Larry Klayman filed a lawsuit claiming that the federal government had unlawfully collected metadata for his telephone calls and was harassing him (see Klayman v. Obama), and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit against Director of National Intelligence James Clapper alleging that the NSA's phone records program was unconstitutional (see ACLU v. Clapper). Once the judge in each case had issued rulings seemingly at odds with one another, Gary Schmitt (former staff director of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence) wrote in The Weekly Standard, "The two decisions have generated public confusion over the constitutionality of the NSA's data collection program—a kind of judicial 'he-said, she-said' standoff."

{{citation

|url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/tale-two-judges_773264.html

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106022300/http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/tale-two-judges_773264.html

|url-status=dead

|archive-date=January 6, 2014

|title=A Tale of Two Judges

|last=Schmitt

|first=Gary

|date=2014-01-13

|publisher=The Weekly Standard

|quote=The NSA on trial.

|access-date=March 9, 2014

}}

{{Main|Fourth Amendment Protection Act}}

In 2014, legislators in several USA states introduced bills based upon a model act, written by anti-surveillance activists, called the "Fourth Amendment Protection Act". The bills seek to prohibit the respective state government from co-operating with the NSA in various ways: the Utah bill would prohibit provision of water to NSA facilities;

{{citation

|url=http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9245232/California_lawmakers_move_to_bar_state_help_to_NSA

|title=California lawmakers move to bar state help to NSA

|last=Vijayan

|first=Jaikumar

|date=2014-01-07

|publisher=Computer World

|quote=The Utah bill aims to prohibit state and local agencies from providing water to a giant new NSA data center near Salt Lake City.

}}

the California bill would prohibit state universities from conducting research for the NSA;

{{cite press release

|url=http://offnow.org/2014/01/06/california-lawmakers-introduce-fourth-amendment-protection-act/

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109020323/http://offnow.org/2014/01/06/california-lawmakers-introduce-fourth-amendment-protection-act/

|url-status=usurped

|archive-date=January 9, 2014

|title=California Lawmakers Introduce Fourth Amendment Protection Act, push back against NSA spying

|date=2014-01-06

|quote= Blocks public universities from serving as NSA research facilities or recruiting grounds.

}}

and the Kansas bill would require a search warrant for data collection.

{{citation

|url=http://www.shawneedispatch.com/news/2014/jan/06/shawnee-legislator-files-fourth-amendment-protecti/

|title=Shawnee legislator files Fourth Amendment Protection Act

|last=Rothschild

|first=Scott

|date=2014-01-06

|publisher=Shawnee Dispatch

|quote=[...] would prevent state/local agencies in Kansas from searching or obtaining personal electronic data [...] without a warrant [...]

}}

The disclosures have inspired public protests.

{{main|Restore the Fourth}}

After the June 2013 release, a political movement known as "Restore the Fourth" was formed in the United States and rapidly gained momentum. In early July, Restore the Fourth was responsible for protests in more than 80 cities including Seattle, San Francisco, Denver, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City. These protests were loosely coordinated via online messaging services and involved protesters from all over the United States.{{cite news|last=Heather|first=Kelly|title=Protests against the NSA spring up across U.S.|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/04/tech/web/restore-nsa-protests|publisher=CNN|access-date=August 13, 2013|date=July 5, 2013}}

File:Stop watching us 0503.JPG

On October 26, 2013, an anti-NSA rally called "Stop Watching Us" was held in Washington, D.C., billed by organizers as the "largest rally yet to protest mass surveillance". A diverse coalition of over 100 advocacy groups organized the event and attracted thousands of protesters calling for an end to mass surveillance.{{cite news|author1=Bart Jansen |author2=Carolyn Pesce |name-list-style=amp |title=Anti-NSA rally attracts thousands to march in Washington|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/26/nsa-dc-rally/3241417/|newspaper=USA Today|access-date=October 27, 2013|date=October 26, 2013}} Speakers included former governor Gary Johnson and NSA whistleblower Thomas Drake.{{cite news|author=Bart Jansen and Carolyn Pesce, USA TODAY |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/26/nsa-dc-rally/3241417/ |title=Anti-NSA rally attracts thousands to march in Washington |newspaper=USA Today |date=October 26, 2013 |access-date=November 1, 2013}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/26/nsa-rally-stop-watching-washington-snowden|title=Thousands gather in Washington for anti-NSA 'Stop Watching Us' rally|first=Jim|last=Newell|date=26 October 2013|newspaper=The Guardian}}

{{Main|The Day We Fight Back}}

{{Update section|date=April 2020}}

"The Day We Fight Back" was a protest against mass surveillance by the National Security Agency (NSA){{cite news |url=http://www.pcworld.com/article/2086880/advocacy-groups-plan-day-of-protest-against-nsa-surveillance.html |title=Advocacy groups had a day of protest against NSA surveillance |work=PC World |first=Grant |last=Gross |date=January 10, 2014 |access-date=January 14, 2014}}{{cite news |url=http://www.ibtimes.com/reddit-mozilla-others-protest-nsa-spying-honor-aaron-swartz-day-we-fight-back-1538148 |title=Reddit, Mozilla And Others To Protest NSA Spying, Honor Aaron Swartz On 'The Day We Fight Back' |work=International Business Times |first=Eric |last=Brown |date=January 14, 2014 |access-date=January 14, 2014}} on February 11, 2014. The 'day of action' primarily took the form of webpage banner-advertisements urging viewers to contact their lawmakers over issues surrounding cyber surveillance and a free Internet. By February 10, more than 5,700 websites and organizations had signed up to show support by featuring The Day We Fight Back banners for 24 hours.{{cite news| url=http://swampland.time.com/2014/02/10/the-day-we-fight-back-protests-nsa-surveillance/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140211053756/http://swampland.time.com/2014/02/10/the-day-we-fight-back-protests-nsa-surveillance/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=February 11, 2014 |title='The Day We Fight Back' Protests NSA Surveillance |magazine=Time}}

File:The Day We Fight Back - banner.jpg

As February 11 drew to a close, The New York Times posted a blog titled "The Day the Internet Didn't Fight Back," reporting that "the protest on Tuesday barely registered. Wikipedia did not participate. Reddit … added an inconspicuous banner to its homepage. Sites like Tumblr, Mozilla and DuckDuckGo, which were listed as organizers, did not include the banner on their homepages. The eight major technology companies—Google, Microsoft, Facebook, AOL, Apple, Twitter, Yahoo and LinkedIn- only participated Tuesday insofar as having a joint website flash the protest banner.{{cite news |url=http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/11/the-day-the-internet-didnt-fight-back/ |title=The Day the Internet Didn't Fight Back |work=The New York Times |series=Bits |first=Nicole |last=Perlroth |date=February 11, 2014 |access-date=March 4, 2014}}

{{clear}}

An analysis released by the New America Foundation in January 2014 reviewed 225 terrorism cases since the September 11 attacks found that the NSA's bulk collection of phone records "has had no discernible impact on preventing acts of terrorism," and that U.S. government claims of the program's usefulness were "overblown."{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/nsa-phone-record-collection-does-little-to-prevent-terrorist-attacks-group-says/2014/01/12/8aa860aa-77dd-11e3-8963-b4b654bcc9b2_story.html | newspaper=The Washington Post | first=Ellen | last=Nakashima | title=National Security | date=January 12, 2014}}{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/01/13/262098004/review-of-terrorism-cases-finds-nsa-spying-helped-very-little|title=Review Of Terrorism Cases Finds NSA Spying Helped Very Little|publisher=NPR|date=13 January 2014 |last1=Peralta |first1=Eyder }}

On June 17, 2013, nearly two weeks after the first disclosure was published, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a daily briefing, "We believe the United States should pay attention to the international community's concerns and demands and give the international community the necessary explanation."{{cite news|title=China asks U.S. to explain Internet surveillance|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-security-china-idUSBRE95G06R20130617|work=Reuters|access-date=October 24, 2013|date=June 17, 2013}}

The South China Morning Post published a poll of Hong Kong residents conducted while Snowden was still in Hong Kong that showed that half of the 509 respondents believed the Chinese government should not surrender Snowden to the United States if Washington raises such a request; 33 percent of those polled think of Snowden as a hero, 12.8 percent described him as a traitor, 36 percent said he was neither.{{cite news |url= http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1261483/one-2-hongkongers-say-snowden-should-not-be-surrendered-us |title=Hongkongers don't want Snowden handed over to the US, according to poll |newspaper=South China Morning Post |location=Hong Kong |first=Joshua |last=But |date=June 16, 2013 |access-date=June 17, 2013}}

{{multiple image

| align = right

| footer = Hong Kong demonstration at US Consulate on June 15 in support of Snowden

| width = 150

| image1 = Protesters rally in Hong Kong to support Edward Snowden 01.jpg

| alt1 =

| image2 = Protesters rally in Hong Kong to support Edward Snowden 02.jpg

| alt2 =

| image3 = Protesters rally in Hong Kong to support Edward Snowden 10.jpg

| alt3 =

}}

Referring to Snowden's presence in the territory, Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-Ying assured that the government would "handle the case of Mr Snowden in accordance with the laws and established procedures of Hong Kong [and] follow up on any incidents related to the privacy or other rights of the institutions or people in Hong Kong being violated."{{cite news |url= http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1261593/cy-leung-breaks-silence-snowden-case-we-will-follow-privacy-claims |title=HK, US govt lawyers 'not working together' on Snowden, say sources as CY breaks silence |newspaper=South China Morning Post |location=Hong Kong |date=June 16, 2013}} Pan-democrat legislators Gary Fan and Claudia Mo said that the perceived U.S. prosecution against Snowden will set "a dangerous precedent and will likely be used to justify similar actions" by authoritarian governments.{{cite news |url= http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/kyodo-news-international/130615/hk-lawmakers-petition-obama-leniency-against-whistlebl |title=H.K. lawmakers petition Obama for leniency against whistleblower |work=Kyodo News International |date=June 13, 2013 |last=Fraser |first=Niall |access-date=June 15, 2013}}

During Snowden's stay, the two main political groups, the pan-democrats and Pro-Beijing camp, found rare agreement to support Snowden.{{cite news|last=Ma|first=Mary|date=June 20, 2013|url=http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=49&art_id=134784&sid=39840738&con_type=1&d_str=20130620&isSearch=1&sear_year=2013|title=Ip in security minister's shoes|work=The Standard|location=Hong Kong|quote=However, surrounding the Snowden case is something never before seen in local politics. Not only are the pan-democrat and pro-establishment camps singing off the same song sheet, the pan-democrats and mainland propagandists are humming a similar tune.}}{{cite news|last=Lau|first=Stuart|date=June 24, 2013|url=http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1267574/edward-snowden-passing-snowstorm-made-allies-hong-kong-foes|title=Hong Kong's political foes made allies amid Edward Snowden storm|postscript=. Print title: "Passing snowstorm made allies of foes".|work=South China Morning Post|location=Hong Kong|access-date=June 24, 2013|quote=Snowden's arrival in the city gave Hong Kong a rare place in the global geopolitical spotlight and ushered in near-unprecedented political solidarity as pan-democrats and Beijing loyalists lined up to take a shot at an unlikely target: the United States.}} The pro-Beijing DAB party even organised a separate march to Government headquarters for Snowden.

The People's Daily and the Global Times editorials of June 19 stated respectively that the central Chinese government was unwilling to be involved in a "mess" caused by others, and that the Hong Kong government should follow the public opinion and not concern itself with Sino-US relations.{{cite news|last=Zuo|first=Mandy|date=June 20, 2013|url=http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1264604/newspaper-commentaries-suggest-beijing-wants-hong-kong-handle-snowden-its|title=Beijing wants Hong Kong to handle Snowden on its own, party newspapers suggest|postscript=. In print as "Articles highlight possible Beijing role".|work=South China Morning Post|location=Hong Kong|access-date=June 20, 2013}} A Tsinghua University communications studies specialist, Liu Jianming, interpreted the two articles as suggesting that the mainland government did not want further involvement in the case and that the Hong Kong government should handle it independently.

After Snowden left Hong Kong, Chinese-language newspapers such as the Ming Pao and the Oriental Daily expressed relief that Hong Kong no longer had to shoulder the burden of the Snowden situation.{{cite news |author= Lai Ying-kit |url= http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1268012/edward-snowdens-depature-seen-relief-chinese-language-newspapers |title=Edward Snowden's depature {{sic|nolink=y}} seen as a relief: Chinese-language newspapers |work=South China Morning Post |location=Hong Kong |date=June 24, 2013 |access-date=June 24, 2013}} Mainland experts said that, although the Central Government did not want to appear to be intervening in the matter, it was inconceivable that the Hong Kong government acted independently in a matter that could have far-reaching consequences for Sino-US relations. One expert suggested that, by doing so, China had "returned the favor" for their not having accepted the asylum plea from Wang Lijun in February 2012.{{cite news |title= Beijing made final decision, say analysts |page=2 |work=South China Morning Post |location=Hong Kong |date=June 25, 2013}} The official Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece, the People's Daily denied the US government accusation that the PRC central government had allowed Snowden to escape, and said that Snowden helped in "tearing off Washington's sanctimonious mask."{{cite news |last=Kaiman |first=Jonathan |date=June 25, 2013 |url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/25/peoples-daily-savages-us-over-snowden |title=China's state newspaper praises Edward Snowden for 'tearing off Washington's sanctimonious mask' |work=The Guardian|location=London |access-date=June 25, 2013}}

On November 2, 2013, the Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman summoned the ambassadors of Australia and the United States to protest an alleged American-led spying network in Asia.{{cite news|title=Malaysia protests at 'US and Australia spying' in Asia|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-24784895|work=BBC News|date=November 2, 2013}}

Early in July 2013, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Cecilia Malmström, wrote to two U.S. officials that "mutual trust and confidence have been seriously eroded and I expect the U.S. to do all that it can to restore them".{{cite news|title=European Union threatens to stop sharing data with United States over spying reports |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/eu-threatens-stop-sharing-data-u-s-spying-reports-article-1.1391702|work=Daily News|access-date=July 8, 2013}}

On October 20, 2013, a committee at the European Parliament backed a measure that, if enacted, would require American companies to seek clearance from European officials before complying with United States warrants seeking private data. The legislation has been under consideration for two years. The vote is part of efforts in Europe to shield citizens from online surveillance in the wake of revelations about a far-reaching spying program by NSA.[https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/22/business/international/eu-panel-backs-plan-to-shield-online-data.html "Rules Shielding Online Data From N.S.A. and Other Prying Eyes Advance in Europe"], James Kanter and Mike Scott, New York Times, October 21, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2013.

The European Council meeting at the end of October 2013 in its statement signed by all 28 EU leaders while stressing that "intelligence gathering is a vital element in the fight against terrorism" and noting "the close relationship between Europe and the USA and the value of that partnership", said that this must "be based on respect and trust," a lack of which "could prejudice the necessary cooperation in the field of intelligence gathering".{{cite web|title=EU-US spying row stokes concern over anti-terror campaign |url=http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/us-intelligence.r38|work=EU Business|date=October 26, 2013|access-date=October 26, 2013}}{{cite news|title=EU says distrust of US on spying may harm terror fight |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24668286|work=BBC News|date=October 25, 2013|access-date=October 26, 2013}}

On December 23, 2013, the European Parliament released the results{{cite web|last=Moreas|first=Claude|title=DRAFT REPORT on the US NSA surveillance programme, surveillance bodies in various Member States and their impact on EU citizens' fundamental rights and on transatlantic cooperation in Justice and Home Affairs. (2013/2188(INI))|url=http://www.statewatch.org/news/2014/jan/ep-draft-nsa-surveillance-report.pdf|publisher=European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs|access-date=13 January 2014|date=23 December 2013}} of its inquiry into the NSA activities.{{cite news|title=NSA and GCHQ activities appear illegal, says EU parliamentary inquiry|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/09/nsa-gchq-illegal-european-parliamentary-inquiry|access-date=14 January 2014|newspaper=The Guardian|date=9 January 2014|author1=Nick Hopkins |author2=Ian Traynor |name-list-style=amp }} "The European Parliament's committee inquiry into the spying scandal," Deutsche Welle reported, "was the first of this scale. No individual EU country has looked into the scandal this thoroughly and no EU government has been as explicit in its criticism of the US government." The draft report covered the preceding six months and was, said Deutsche Welle, "hard on all sides—including governments and companies in the EU." Presented by Claude Moraes, British Member of the European Parliament from the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, the report found what it called "compelling evidence of the existence of far-reaching, complex and highly technologically advanced systems designed by US and some Member States' intelligence services to collect, store and analyze communication and location data and metadata of all citizens around the world on an unprecedented scale and in an indiscriminate and non-suspicion-based manner." The fight against terrorism, said the report, can "never in itself be a justification for untargeted, secret and sometimes even illegal mass surveillance programs."{{cite web|last=Haase|first=Nina|title=EU report reveals massive scope of secret NSA surveillance|url=http://www.dw.de/eu-report-reveals-massive-scope-of-secret-nsa-surveillance/a-17352243|publisher=Deutsche Welle|access-date=13 January 2014}} Moraes and his fellow rapporteurs considered it "very doubtful that data collection of such magnitude is only guided by the fight against terrorism, as it involves the collection of all possible data of all citizens; points therefore to the possible existence of other power motives such as political and economic espionage."

On October 21, 2013, France summoned Charles Rivkin, the U.S. Ambassador to France, to clarify and explain the NSA's surveillance of French citizens.{{cite news|title=France summons U.S. ambassador over spying report|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-nsa-idUSBRE99K04920131021|work=Reuters|access-date=October 24, 2013|date=October 21, 2013}} Speaking to journalists, President François Hollande said, "We cannot accept this kind of behaviour between partners and allies. We ask that this immediately stop."{{cite web|last=Michael Mainville|title=France warns US spying claims threaten trade talks|url=https://sg.news.yahoo.com/frances-hollande-tells-us-immediately-stop-spying-005339477.html|publisher=AFP|date=July 2, 2013}} According to The Wall Street Journal, data allegedly collected by the NSA in France was actually collected by French intelligence agencies outside France and then shared with the United States.

File:View from Reichstag to Brandenburg Gate and US Embassy.JPG in Berlin, the seat of the German parliament. In the background, behind the Brandenburg Gate, the United States Embassy can be seen. The grey structure on the embassy's roof (top right corner of the photograph) is thought to contain surveillance equipment, possibly used to tap into mobile phones.{{cite news|title=NSA-Spähskandal: So funktionieren die Abhöranlagen in US-Botschaften|journal=Spiegel Online|date=October 28, 2013|url=http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/netzpolitik/nsa-spaehskandal-so-funktionieren-die-abhoeranlagen-in-us-botschaften-a-930392.html|access-date=October 30, 2013|last1=Lischka|first1=Konrad|last2=Kremp|first2=Matthias}} ]]

File:Berlin 2013 PRISM Demo.jpg against PRISM in Berlin, Germany, 2013]]

According to The Wall Street Journal, "The outcry over NSA eavesdropping has been most pronounced in Germany, a country whose history of dictatorship has left the population particularly sensitive to violations of personal privacy."{{cite news| url=https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303874504579372832399168684?mg=reno64-wsj |title=NSA Flap Strains Ties With Europe |work=The Wall Street Journal}} It was revealed that, beginning in 2002, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone has been on an NSA target list.{{Cite web |date=2013-10-26 |title=NSA surveillance: Merkel's phone may have been monitored 'for over 10 years' |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/26/nsa-surveillance-brazil-germany-un-resolution |access-date=2022-04-17 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}

On July 1, 2013, the German Foreign Ministry summoned Philip D. Murphy, the U.S. Ambassador to Germany, over allegations that the NSA had spied on institutions of the European Union.{{cite news|title=German Foreign Ministry Summons US Ambassador Over NSA Spying Claims|url=https://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20130701-702136.html|publisher=The Wall Street Journal|date=July 1, 2013|quote=Seeking clarification on the matter, the foreign ministry has called the U.S. ambassador to Germany, Philip Murphy, for a meeting later Monday, a spokesman for the ministry said.}}

In early August 2013, Germany canceled largely symbolic Cold War-era administrative agreements with Britain, the United States and France, which had granted the Western countries which had troops stationed in West Germany the right to request surveillance operations to protect those forces.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23553837|title=Germany ends spy pact with US and UK after Snowden|publisher=BBC News|date=August 2, 2013}} At the end of August, under the orders of the German domestic intelligence agency, a federal police helicopter conducted a low-altitude flyover of the United States Consulate in Frankfurt, apparently in search of suspected clandestine eavesdropping facilities. A German official called it a symbolic "shot across the bow."[http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/german-helicopter-searched-for-nsa-listening-post-in-frankfurt-a-921257.html German Helicopter Searched For NSA Listening Post In Frankfurt] Spiegel Online.

On October 24, 2013, EU heads of state met to discuss a proposed data protection law. The representatives of Italy, Poland and France wanted the law to be passed before the May 2014 European Parliament elections. Germany, represented by Angela Merkel, and the UK, represented by David Cameron, favored a slower implementation; their wishes prevailed. About the "Five Eyes" espionage alliance, Merkel remarked, "Unlike David, we are unfortunately not part of this group."

{{citation

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|title=Appearances and Reality: Merkel Balks at EU Privacy Push

|last=Schmitz

|first=Gregor Peter

|date=2013-10-28

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Also on October 24, the Foreign Ministry summoned John B. Emerson, the U.S. Ambassador to Germany, to clarify allegations that the NSA had tapped into Chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile phone.{{cite web|title=German foreign minister summons US ambassador over Merkel spying allegations|url=http://www.dw.de/german-foreign-minister-summons-us-ambassador-over-merkel-spying-allegations/a-17180294|publisher=Deutsche Welle|access-date=October 24, 2013}}{{cite news|title=NSA spying allegations: Are US allies really shocked?|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24676392|publisher=BBC News|date=October 26, 2013|access-date=October 26, 2013}}

While the German government had hoped for a "no spy" agreement with the U.S., by January 2014 it was reported that Germany had "given up hope" of securing such a treaty.{{cite web|url=http://www.thelocal.de/20140114/germany-gives-up-hope-of-no-spy-deal-with-nsa-usa|title=Germans abandon hope of US 'no-spy' treaty|date=14 January 2014}} The Foreign Office's Philipp Mißfelder declared that "the current situation in transatlantic relations is worse than it was at the low-point in 2003 during the Iraq War".{{cite web | url=http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/01/17/22338261-us-germany-relations-hit-new-low-amid-nsa-spying-scandal-official-says?lite | title=World News }}

The German Parliamentary Committee investigating the NSA spying scandal was started on March 20, 2014, by the German Parliament in order to investigate the extent and background of foreign secret services spying in Germany and to search for strategies on how to protect German telecommunication with technical means.{{Cite web|last=Chase|first=Jefferson|title=NSA spying scandal committee presents controversial final report|url=https://www.dw.com/en/nsa-spying-scandal-committee-presents-controversial-final-report/a-39453668|access-date=2020-11-07|publisher=Deutsche Welle|language=en-GB|date=2017-06-28}}

It was revealed that Germany's BND intelligence service has covertly monitored European defence interests and politicians inside Germany at the request of the NSA."[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/11562072/German-spies-monitored-European-targets-for-the-US-against-German-interests.html German spies 'monitored European targets for the US against German interests']". The Daily Telegraph. 24 April 2015.

Italy's Prime Minister Enrico Letta asked John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State, to clarify if the NSA had illegally intercepted telecommunications in Italy.{{cite web|title=Italy Presses Kerry Over US Surveillance|date=23 October 2013 |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/reu-italy-presses-kerry-over-us-surveillance/1775519.html|publisher=Voice of America|access-date=October 24, 2013}} On October 23, 2013, the Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano told reporters, "We have a duty to [provide] clarity to Italian citizens—we must obtain the whole truth and tell the whole truth, without regard for anyone."{{cite web|title=Letta quizzes Kerry on US spy claims|url=http://www.gazzettadelsud.it/news/english/66340/Letta-quizzes-Kerry-on-US-spy-claims.html|publisher=Gazzetta del Sud|access-date=October 24, 2013}}

On October 25, 2013, the Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy summoned James Costos, the U.S. Ambassador to Spain, to clarify reports about the NSA's surveillance of the Spanish government.{{cite web|title=Spanish PM summons U. S. ambassador over NSA spying|url=http://www.agi.it/flash-news/articles/201310251547-cro-ren1041-spanish_pm_summons_u_s_ambassador_over_nsa_spying|publisher=Agenzia Giornalistica Italia|access-date=October 27, 2013}} Spanish EU Minister Íñigo Méndez de Vigo said such practices, if true, were "inappropriate and unacceptable". An EU delegation was to meet officials in Washington to convey their concerns.{{cite news |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24708410 |title=NSA surveillance: Spain demands US explain 'monitoring' |work=BBC News |date=October 28, 2013 |access-date=October 28, 2013}} According to The Wall Street Journal, data allegedly collected by the NSA in Spain was actually collected by Spanish intelligence agencies outside Spain and then shared with the United States.{{cite news|title=U.S. Says France, Spain Aided NSA Spying|url=https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304200804579165653105860502|access-date=October 29, 2013|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|author1=Adam Entous |author2=Siobhan Gorman |name-list-style=amp |date=October 29, 2013}} On October 29, The Washington Post reported that an anonymous "senior Obama administration official" had also described such an arrangement with Spain.{{cite news|title=NSA chief says NATO allies shared phone records with the U.S. spy agency|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/top-intelligence-officials-called-to-testify-on-nsa-surveillance-programs/2013/10/29/e9e9c250-40b7-11e3-a751-f032898f2dbc_story.html|access-date=October 30, 2013|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=October 29, 2013|author1=Ellen Nakashima |author2=Karen DeYoung |name-list-style=amp }}

{{See also|Mass surveillance in the United Kingdom}}

British Foreign Minister William Hague admitted that Britain's GCHQ was also spying and collaborating with the NSA, and defended the two agencies' actions as "indispensable."[https://www.theguardian.com/uk/video/2013/jun/09/data-snooping-law-abiding-citizens-nothing-fear-hague-video "Data snooping: law-abiding citizens have 'nothing to fear', says Hague – video"]. The Guardian (London). June 9, 2013.[https://www.theguardian.com/politics/video/2013/jun/10/nsa-prism-hague-gchq-video "NSA Prism programme: William Hague makes statement on GCHQ – video"]. The Guardian (London). June 10, 2013.{{cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/jun/25/germany-uk-gchq-internet-surveillance |title= GCHQ surveillance: Germany blasts UK over mass monitoring |work=The Guardian |location= London |date=June 26, 2013 |author1=Travis, Alan |author2=Connolly, Kate |author3=Watt, Nicholas }} British Prime Minister David Cameron issued a veiled threat to resort to prior restraint, through high court injunctions and DA-Notices, if The Guardian did not obey his demands to stop reporting its revelations on spying by GCHQ and the NSA,{{cite news | last = Watt | first = Nicholas |date = October 28, 2013 | title = David Cameron makes veiled threat to media over NSA and GCHQ leaks | url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/28/david-cameron-nsa-threat-newspapers-guardian-snowden | access-date = November 3, 2013 | newspaper = The Guardian }} a development that "alarmed" the Committee to Protect Journalists{{cite web | title = CPJ alarmed by Cameron's threat against UK press | url = http://cpj.org/2013/10/cpj-alarmed-by-camerons-threat-against-uk-press.php | access-date = November 3, 2013 | publisher = cpj.org | date = October 29, 2013 }} and spurred 70 of the world's leading human rights organizations to write an open letter to the newspaper expressing their concern about press and other freedoms in the UK.{{cite news | last1 = Taylor | first1 = Matthew | last2 = Hopkins | first2 = Nick | date = November 3, 2013 | title = UK government reaction to NSA leaks eroding freedom, rights groups warn | url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/03/uk-reaction-nsa-leaks-human-rights | access-date = November 3, 2013 | newspaper = The Guardian }}{{cite news | last = Jouleva | first = Gergana| title = Human rights groups' open letter to David Cameron on surveillance | url = https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/03/human-rights-groups-letter-david-cameron | access-date = November 3, 2013 | newspaper = The Guardian |display-authors=etal}}

In 2014 the Director of GCHQ authored an article in the Financial Times on the topic of internet surveillance, stating that "however much [large US technology companies] may dislike it, they have become the command and control networks of choice for terrorists and criminals" and that GCHQ and its sister agencies "cannot tackle these challenges at scale without greater support from the private sector", arguing that most internet users "would be comfortable with a better and more sustainable relationship between the [intelligence] agencies and the tech companies". Since the 2013 surveillance disclosures, large US technology companies have improved security and become less co-operative with foreign intelligence agencies, including those of the UK, generally requiring a US court order before disclosing data.{{cite news |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/c89b6c58-6342-11e4-8a63-00144feabdc0.html |title=The web is a terrorist's command-and-control network of choice |author=Robert Hannigan |newspaper=Financial Times |date=3 November 2014 |access-date=3 November 2014}}{{cite news |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/4a35c0b2-636e-11e4-9a79-00144feabdc0.html |title=Tech groups aid terror, says UK spy chief |author1=Sam Jones |author2=Murad Ahmed |name-list-style=amp |newspaper=Financial Times |date=3 November 2014 |access-date=3 November 2014}}

On October 24, 2013, the Mexican Foreign Minister José Antonio Meade Kuribreña met with U.S. Ambassador Earl Anthony Wayne to discuss allegations reported by Der Spiegel that the NSA hacked the emails of former president Felipe Calderón while in office.{{cite web|title=Mexico foreign minister meets US envoy over spy claims|url=http://mobile.nation.co.ke/news/Mexico-foreign-minister-meets-US-envoy-over-spy-claims/-/1950946/2047620/-/format/xhtml/-/g9qrh7/-/index.html|publisher=AFP|date=October 25, 2013}}

Former Foreign Minister Bob Carr remarked that the U.S. would be critical of any other nation that failed to prevent the release of such sensitive documents. "Certainly if it had gone the other way," said Carr, "if there'd been some official in Canberra, some contractor in Canberra, who allowed a slew of material as sensitive as this to be plastered over the world's media, America would be saying very stern things to someone they'd be regarding as a woefully immature ally and partner."[http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-19/indonesia-gives-australia-two-days-to-explain-spying-row/5101050 Spying row: Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono accuses Tony Abbott of taking claims too lightly]

On November 1, 2013, the Foreign Ministry of Indonesia summoned Australia's Ambassador Greg Moriarty to explain his country's surveillance of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and other Indonesian political leaders.{{cite web|title=Indonesia Summons Australian Ambassador Over US Spying Allegations|date=November 2013 |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/indonesia-summons-australian-ambassador-over-us-spying-allegations/1781254.html|publisher=Voice of America|access-date=November 4, 2013}} On November 18, the Australian ambassador was summoned again by Indonesian government officials, who pledged to review all types of cooperation with Australia. The Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa called the spying "unacceptable", and added that "This is an unfriendly, unbecoming act between strategic partners." The Indonesian ambassador to Australia was also recalled as a response to the incident.{{cite web|last=George Roberts|title=Indonesia recalls ambassador after leaked documents reveal Australia spied on president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-18/indonesia-angered-by-revelations-australia-spied-on-sby/5100264|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|access-date=18 November 2013|date=2013-11-18}}

File:Greenwald and Miranda at Congress.jpg of Brazil about U.S. spying activity in that country.]]

The Brazilian government expressed outrage at the revelations that the National Security Agency directly targeted the communications of president Dilma Rousseff and her top aides.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/03/world/americas/brazil-angered-over-report-nsa-spied-on-president.html?_r=0 |title=Brazil Angered Over Report N.S.A. Spied on President |newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=September 16, 2013 |first1=Simon |last1=Romero |first2=Randal C. |last2=Archibold |date=September 2, 2013}} It called the incident an "unacceptable violation of sovereignty" and requested an immediate explanation from the U.S. government.{{cite news |url=http://www.ibtimes.com/brazil-reacts-fury-nsa-spying-mexico-orders-probe-1402437 |title=Brazil Reacts With Fury To NSA Spying; Mexico Orders Probe |newspaper=International Business Times |access-date=September 16, 2013}}

Brazil's government signaled it would consider cancelling Rousseff's state visit to Washington—the only state visit for a foreign leader scheduled this year.{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-security-snowden-brazil-idUSBRE98314N20130904 |title=Exclusive: Brazil's Rousseff wants U.S. apology for NSA spying |work=Reuters|access-date=September 16, 2013 |date=September 4, 2013}} A senior Brazilian official stated the country would downgrade commercial ties unless Rousseff received a public apology. That would include ruling out the $4 billion purchase of Boeing F-18 Super Hornet fighters and cooperation on oil and biofuels technology, as well as other commercial agreements. Petrobras announced that it was investing R$21 billion over five years to improve its data security.{{cite news | title=Brazil's Petrobras to invest heavily in data security | url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f3195d0a-2081-11e3-9a9a-00144feab7de.html#axzz2gzh4A13k | date=September 18, 2013 | work=Financial Times | location=São Paulo | access-date=September 18, 2013 | author=Leahy, Joe}} {{Registration required}}

Ecuador responded by renouncing U.S. trade benefits and offering to pay a similar amount, $23 million per year, to finance human rights training in America to help avoid what Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patiño called "violations of privacy, torture and other actions that are denigrating to humanity."{{cite news |url= https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-security-ecuador-idUSBRE95Q0L820130627 |title= Ecuador offers U.S. rights aid, waives trade benefits |work=Reuters|date=June 27, 2013}}{{cite news |url= http://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1270475/ecuador-waives-us-trade-rights-after-threats-made-over-snowden-case |title=Ecuador waives US trade rights after threats made over Snowden case |newspaper=South China Morning Post |date=June 28, 2013 |location= Hong Kong}}

Russia, South Africa, and Turkey reacted angrily after it was revealed that their diplomats had been spied on during the 2009 G-20 London summit.{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/17/turkey-russia-g20-spying-gchq|work=The Guardian|title= G20 summits: Russia and Turkey react with fury to spying revelations|date= June 17, 2013}}

London-based Index on Censorship called upon the U.S. government to uphold the First Amendment, saying, "The mass surveillance of citizens' private communications is unacceptable—it both invades privacy and threatens freedom of expression. The US government cannot use the excuse of national security to justify either surveillance on this scale or the extradition of Snowden for revealing it."{{cite web|title=US needs to protect whistleblowers and journalists|url=http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2013/06/us-needs-to-protect-whistleblowers-and-journalists/|publisher=Index on Censorship|access-date=August 4, 2013|date=2013-06-24}}

In July 2013, speaking to the foreign affairs committee of the Icelandic Parliament in Reykjavík, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that in his personal opinion, Edward Snowden had misused his right to digital access and created problems that outweigh the benefits of public disclosure. Birgitta Jónsdóttir, an Icelandic legislator who in 2010 assisted WikiLeaks in publishing U.S. state secrets leaked by Chelsea Manning, expressed alarm at Ban's remarks. She said that he "seemed entirely unconcerned about the invasion of privacy by governments around the world, and only concerned about how whistleblowers are misusing the system."Pilkington, Ed. "[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/03/edward-snowden-digital-misuse-ban-ki-moon Edward Snowden's digital 'misuse' has created problems, says Ban Ki-moon]." The Guardian. July 3, 2013. Retrieved July 3, 2013.

In The Blacklist episode "The Alchemist (No. 101)" (season 1, episode 12, minutes 00:22:00-00:22:55), one of the technical experts Red tasked to reconstitute documents shredded by American governmental agencies reports: "We actually reached out to the Germans for help. They're the ones who designed the software." Red replies: "Ah, the Germans. Despite recent headlines, they're still the best at keeping an eye on their fellow man".{{cite web|website=Diacritics|url=http://diacritics.org/2014/jade-hidle-vietnamese-german-philipp-rosler-transnational-adoption|author=Hidle, Jade|title=Vietnamese German Philipp Rösler and Transnational Adoption|date= Mar 3, 2014 }}{{cite news|url=http://thetvtimes.co.vu/post/74594648557/the-blacklist-kickass-reddington-quotes-s1-e12-the|title=The Blacklist: Kickass Reddington Quotes (S1:E12) The Alchemist|work=The Times}}{{cite web|website=Den of Geek|title=Review: the blacklist|date=September 30, 2014 |url=http://www.denofgeek.us/taxonomy/term/20736/feed}}

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