WATCH: Edward Snowden On Global Mass Surveillance

In an exclusive interview with FRANCE 24, the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden shared his thoughts on mass surveillance around the world today. Snowden spoke to FRANCE 24 from Russia, where he lives in exile after leaking confidential documents on US mass surveillance in 2013.

"We have seen changes in the laws in the United States and in other countries around the world as well, to try to legitimise the surveillance by putting it on a sounder legal footing," Snowden told FRANCE 24’s Valériane Gauthier.

"The government is still spying on basically everyone they want to and on a pretty extreme scale, but now we have a little more involvement by judges. It is an advance, but of course it’s nowhere near enough."

Snowden said although he doesn’t expect to get a fair trial in the United States, he feels that the tide of opinion has turned in his favour.

"What we see now is bit by bit… we see ordinary people coming to a consensus that even if they don’t like me personally… on balance, we are better off for knowing what our government was doing in secret. This has not risked lives, this has saved lives," he concluded.

- France24.com