AUSTIN, Tx. (CNN)–Fugitive NSA leaker Edward Snowden made a rare public appearance Monday, via the web.
The former analyst’s location was livestreamed through seven proxys. This was to hide his location. The audio was excellent, but sometime the video had glitches.
He spoke to an audience of thousands at the South by Southwest Interactive festival in Austin.
Snowden urged participants to help “fix” the government’s surveillance program.
“The NSA, the sort of global mass surveillance, that’s happening in all these countries not just the U. S. And it is important to note that this is a global issue. They’re setting fire to the future of the internet; and the people who are in this room now you guys are all the firefighters and we need you to help us fix this.”
This is the first time Snowden has addressed people in the United States since he fled the country last June with thousands of secret documents.
Watch the entire speech in the Youtube video.
