--- description: Snowden says weak oversight of U.S. surveillance programs enabled military personnel to seize and share sexually explicit photos. title: Edward Snowden Says NSA Shared Sexually Explicit Photographs image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt51fb1a0fc7a9fafe/69869c7613c79f6c931932b6/459251261.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [National Security](/tag/national-security/) ## National Security Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The NSA Shared Sexually Explicit Photographs, Says Edward Snowden by [Stephanie Burnett](/author/stephanie-burnett/) ## Stephanie Burnett Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 21, 2014 5:53 AM CUT  Former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden poses for a photo during an interview in an undisclosed location in December 2013 in Moscow. Former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden poses for a photo during an interview in an undisclosed location in December 2013 in Moscow.Barton Gellman/Getty Images by [Stephanie Burnett](/author/stephanie-burnett/) ## Stephanie Burnett Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 21, 2014 5:53 AM CUT Edward Snowden, the National Security Agency contractor turned whistle-blower, [claims](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/18/-sp-edward-snowden-nsa-whistleblower-interview-transcript "undefined") that “incredibly weak” oversight of U.S. surveillance programs enabled military personnel to obtain sexually explicit photos of people under surveillance and to sometimes share them with others. In an [interview](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/18/-sp-edward-snowden-nsa-whistleblower-interview-transcript "undefined") with the _Guardian_, Snowden talked about the impact of poor auditing systems within the NSA. He claimed many people sifting through monitored communications were 18 to 22 years old and suddenly put in a position of extraordinary responsibility that was sometimes abused. “In the course of their daily work they stumble across something that is completely unrelated to their work, for example an intimate nude photo of someone in a sexually compromising situation but they’re extremely attractive,” said Snowden. “So what do they do? They turn around in their chair and they show a co-worker. And their co-worker says: ‘Oh, hey, that’s great. Send that to Bill down the way,’” he said. Snowden, who lives in Moscow after being granted temporary asylum last year, added that this information is never reported and nobody knows about it because of inadequate oversight. He said the interception of intimate images was “routine enough” and described it as “sort of the fringe benefits of surveillance positions.” He added, “The mere seizure of that communication by itself was an abuse. The fact that your private images, records of your private lives, records of your intimate moments have been taken from your private communication stream, from the intended recipient, and given to the government without any specific authorization, without any specific need, is itself a violation of your rights.” NSA spokeswoman Vaneé Vines gave a comment to the New York _Times_ on the allegations. The _Times_ [paraphrased](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/21/us/politics/edward-snowden-at-nsa-sexually-explicit-photos-often-shared.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=tw-nytimes&%5Fr=2 "undefined") her as saying that “the agency had zero tolerance for willful violations of authority or professional standards, and that it would respond as appropriate to any credible allegations of misconduct.” \[[_The Guardian_](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/18/-sp-edward-snowden-nsa-whistleblower-interview-transcript "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3010649/nsa-sexually-explicit-photographs-snowden/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3010649/nsa-sexually-explicit-photographs-snowden/"},"headline":"The NSA Shared Sexually Explicit Photographs, Says Edward Snowden","datePublished":"2014-07-21T05:53:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:15:06.247Z","description":"For some agents, Snowden says, the racy images were one of the \"fringe benefits of surveillance positions\"","url":"https://time.com/3010649/nsa-sexually-explicit-photographs-snowden/","keywords":["National Security","NSA","Surveillance","Edward Snowden"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt51fb1a0fc7a9fafe/69869c7613c79f6c931932b6/459251261.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Stephanie Burnett","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/stephanie-burnett/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt51fb1a0fc7a9fafe/69869c7613c79f6c931932b6/459251261.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Edward Snowden Gives First Interview In Russia","caption":"Edward Snowden Gives First Interview In Russia","creditText":"Barton Gellman/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/national-security/","name":"National Security"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3010649/nsa-sexually-explicit-photographs-snowden/","name":"The NSA Shared Sexually Explicit Photographs, Says Edward Snowden"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"CIA Veteran: Defectors Like Snowden 'Tend to be Lazy'","description":"Jack Devine, 32-year veteran of the CIA, talks to TIME's Belinda Luscombe about why he thinks Edward Snowden took the wrong approach.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/55yaU8fD/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-06-04T15:57:47.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/55yaU8fD.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3010649/nsa-sexually-explicit-photographs-snowden/","duration":"PT2M24S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3010649/nsa-sexually-explicit-photographs-snowden/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```