When Snowden disclosed the conspiracy of a multinational surveillance apparatus, it was vindication for Duncan Campbell who spent decades uncovering one of the biggest facets of government overreach. Set up by the US and the UK in the 1960s, ECHELON was the precursor of today’s global dragnet. Growing up I remember theories about Echelon, a secret surveillance network spying on satellite communications. His video interview was everywhere, for everyone to see. Days later, Edward Snowden stepped forward as the source. The material outlined a massive government-run surveillance program that monitored the communications records of not just criminals or potential terrorists, but law-abiding citizens as well. Both The Guardian and The Washington Post published a series of reports from documents leaked by an anonymous source. I remember when the American people learned that their government was spying on its own people. I remember the feeling of hope when Obama was elected sworn in as president. I remember where I was when watching the twin towers fall.
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