Whistle blower Edward Snowden says that technology has given internet giants irresistible, abusive power. He mentioned this at the Web Summit, the European celebration of startups and new technologies gathering high-tech entrepreneurs and investors.

 

He spoke at the Monday event via a live video link from Russia where he has lived since 2013. At the event, which held on Monday, Snowden said:

“When we see government and corporations working in concert… they become the left and right hands of the same body. What we see is the concentration of power.

 

“If you create an irresistible power… how do you police the expression of that power when it is used against the public rather than for it?”

 

The US government last month urged tech giants to allow police to read encrypted messages. According to it, access was essential to prevent serious crime despite privacy concerns.

 

 

Snowden has just published a book that lays out his reasons for passing tens of thousands of secret documents to major news organisations in 2013.

 

He compiled the files while he worked for the US National Security Agency. Then he revealed a dense network of communications and internet scrutiny by the NSA and partner agencies around the world.

 

Edward Snowden recognised that public awareness is growing over the abuses he has denounced. Thereafter, he lauded efforts to protect privacy, especially in Europe.

 

But he told the gathering of some 70,000: “The problem is not data protection, it’s data collection” and the blind faith that internet users must have in the internet’s masters.

The four-day summit will focus on politics and tax issues, as well as new mobilities, medical applications, robotics and cryptocurrencies. Among the main events are discussions on the future of money, cars, medicine, and housing. Also included are discussions on advertising, media and humans’ presence in outer space.