--- title: Surveillance: USA Freedom Act Wins Cautious Praise From Edward Snowden description: A new law that limits mass surveillance is "an important step" but further action is warranted, ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden says canonical: https://time.com/3906703/usa-freedom-act-nsa-edward-snowden-surveillance-amnesty-international/ author: Alissa Greenberg article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-03T04:21:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:03:18.651Z article:section: Politics og:title: Edward Snowden Praises Anti-Surveillance Law og:description: Ex-NSA contractor says the new USA Freedom Act is "an important step" og:url: https://time.com/3906703/usa-freedom-act-nsa-edward-snowden-surveillance-amnesty-international/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt10969e10bf7aab21/698852b9cd1bbaa4e76fb9dc/rtr4hhnv.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who is in Moscow, is seen on a giant screen during a live video conference for an interview as part of Amnesty International's annual Write for Rights campaign at the Gaite Lyrique in Paris og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Edward Snowden Praises Anti-Surveillance Law twitter:description: Ex-NSA contractor says the new USA Freedom Act is "an important step" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt10969e10bf7aab21/698852b9cd1bbaa4e76fb9dc/rtr4hhnv.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Anti-Spying Law Wins Cautious Praise From Edward Snowden ## Video: Person of the Year 2013 Shortlist: Edward Snowden [Watch (HLS stream): Person of the Year 2013 Shortlist: Edward Snowden](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/cxBatp7g.m3u8) (2:26)  _Published 2013-12-11. TIME's Michael Scherer explains why NSA leaker Edward Snowden is on the short list for the 2013 TIME Person of the Year._ by [Alissa Greenberg](https://time.com/author/alissa-greenberg/) ## Alissa Greenberg Jun 3, 2015 4:21 AM UTC  Former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who is in Moscow, is seen on a giant screen during a live video conference for an interview as part of Amnesty International's annual Write for Rights campaign at the Gaite Lyrique in Paris December 10, 2014 Former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who is in Moscow, is seen on a giant screen during a live video conference for an interview as part of Amnesty International's annual Write for Rights campaign at the Gaite Lyrique in Paris December 10, 2014Charles Platiau—Reuters by [Alissa Greenberg](https://time.com/author/alissa-greenberg/) ## Alissa Greenberg Jun 3, 2015 4:21 AM UTC Former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden has called the USA Freedom Act “an important step” but urged further congressional limits on surveillance. Speaking via video link at a[ London Amnesty International event](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhKXTVc5h4A) Tuesday, Snowden said the law, which will limit the power of the NSA to access telephone data from millions of Americans with no connection to terrorism, was historic. “For the first time in recent history we found that despite the claims of government, the public made the final decision and that is a radical change that we should seize on, we should value and we should push further,” he said from Russia, where he has been given asylum since he leaked information about Washington’s domestic spying programs to the media in 2013. The new legislation, which President Obama signed into law on Tuesday night, requires the NSA and other intelligence agencies to obtain a warrant from a counter-terror court before accessing data from telephone companies, AP reports. “This legislation will strengthen civil liberty safeguards and provide greater public confidence in these programs,” Obama said in a statement. But the Act also renews still-controversial governmental powers granted by older legislation, such as roving wiretaps and tracking of so-called “lone wolf” suspects. For that reason, Snowden urged Congress to consider more limits on surveillance. “If we collect everything, we understand nothing,” Snowden told the audience. “We’re spending resources for no benefit in terms of public safety and a real cost in terms of freedom and liberty.” \[[AP](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/152beb08a4d14bd7ba9ccfaa23b17684/either-way-no-more-nsa-collection-us-phone-records)\] Surveillance: USA Freedom Act Wins Cautious Praise From Edward Snowden ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3906703/usa-freedom-act-nsa-edward-snowden-surveillance-amnesty-international/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3906703/usa-freedom-act-nsa-edward-snowden-surveillance-amnesty-international/"},"headline":"Anti-Spying Law Wins Cautious Praise From Edward Snowden","datePublished":"2015-06-03T04:21:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:03:18.651Z","description":"The USA Freedom Act limits the NSA's power to collect phone data","url":"https://time.com/3906703/usa-freedom-act-nsa-edward-snowden-surveillance-amnesty-international/","keywords":["intelligence","National Security Agency","Surveillance","Domestic Surveillance","Edward Snowden","Amnesty International","Legislation"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt10969e10bf7aab21/698852b9cd1bbaa4e76fb9dc/rtr4hhnv.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alissa Greenberg","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alissa-greenberg/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt10969e10bf7aab21/698852b9cd1bbaa4e76fb9dc/rtr4hhnv.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who is in Moscow, is seen on a giant screen during a live video conference for an interview as part of Amnesty International's annual Write for Rights campaign at the Gaite Lyrique in Paris","caption":"Former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who is in Moscow, is seen on a giant screen during a live video conference for an interview as part of Amnesty International's annual Write for Rights campaign at the Gaite Lyrique in Paris","creditText":"Charles Platiau—Reuters","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/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/intelligence/","name":"intelligence"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3906703/usa-freedom-act-nsa-edward-snowden-surveillance-amnesty-international/","name":"Anti-Spying Law Wins Cautious Praise From Edward Snowden"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Person of the Year 2013 Shortlist: Edward Snowden","description":"TIME's Michael Scherer explains why NSA leaker Edward Snowden is on the short list for the 2013 TIME Person of the Year.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/cxBatp7g/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2013-12-11T12:42:24.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/cxBatp7g.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3906703/usa-freedom-act-nsa-edward-snowden-surveillance-amnesty-international/","duration":"PT2M26S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3906703/usa-freedom-act-nsa-edward-snowden-surveillance-amnesty-international/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```