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Edward Snowden makes surprise TED visit

NSA leaker Edward Snowden chatted with TED organizer Chris Anderson and web founder Tim Berners-Lee.

By Gabrielle Levy
The future is now: Tim Berners-Lee, the founder of the web, Chris Anderson, TED organizer, and Edward Snowden (via chatbot) participate in a talk at TED Toronto on March 19, 2014. (YouTube)
The future is now: Tim Berners-Lee, the founder of the web, Chris Anderson, TED organizer, and Edward Snowden (via chatbot) participate in a talk at TED Toronto on March 19, 2014. (YouTube)

Edward Snowden is making the rounds on the conference circuit.

A week after participating in a South by Southwest panel, the NSA whistleblower made a surprise visit to the TED event in Toronto Tuesday.

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Appearing via robot, controlled from an "undisclosed location," Snowden spoke with TED organizer Chris Anderson, and later, inventor of the web, Tim Berners-Lee.

“I believe a magna carta for the internet is exactly what we need,” Snowden said, echoing Berners-Lee's call for an "Internet bill of rights." “We need to encode our values not just in writing but in the structure of the internet.”

“I think the internet that we’ve enjoyed in the past has been exactly what we, not just as a nation but as a people around the world, need,” he said, calling for tech companies to make SSL inscription the standard for web browsing.

Anderson asked Berners-Lee if Snowden is a hero or a traitor, and Berners-Lee responded, "Hero, if you have to make the choice between the two."

Watch their whole conversation:

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