--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Snowden grants that NSA employees by and…" description: "\"Snowden grants that NSA employees by and large believe in their mission and trust the agency to handle the secrets it takes from ordinary people - deli..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/373/barton-gellman-3126_agency_snowden-grants-that-nsa-employees-by-and_1637859.jpg" --- # Snowden grants that NSA employees by and large believe in… ![“Snowden grants that NSA employees by and large believe in their mission and trust the agency to handle the secrets it takes from ordinary people - deliberately, in the case of bulk records collection, and 'incidentally,' when the content of American phone calls and e-mails are swept into NSA…” quote by Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/373/barton-gellman-3126_agency_snowden-grants-that-nsa-employees-by-and_1637859.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/373/barton-gellman-3126_agency_snowden-grants-that-nsa-employees-by-and_1637859.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/373/barton-gellman-3126_agency_snowden-grants-that-nsa-employees-by-and_1637859.jpg) > “Snowden grants that NSA employees by and large believe in their mission and trust the agency to handle the secrets it takes from ordinary people - deliberately, in the case of bulk records collection, and 'incidentally,' when the content of American phone calls and e-mails are swept into NSA systems along with foreign targets.” [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The NSA claims public trust while secretly gathering massive personal data, raising ethical concerns about privacy and consent. **In simple terms:** NSA says it is trusted but collects huge data secretly. Key Takeaway Question the balance of security and privacy. Themes surveillance privacy ethics Mood skeptical concerned Type critical political When to use this quote - public policy - civil liberties - technology oversight - journalism Key Concepts government secrecy mass data collection Questions to Reflect On - Do you trust institutions with your data? - What safeguards are needed? A Different Perspective Security claims can be used to justify invasive practices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agency/) [Along](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/along/) [American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Bulk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bulk/) [Calls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calls/) [Case](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/case/) [Collection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collection/) [Content](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/content/) [Deliberately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deliberately/) [Employees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/employees/) [Foreign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreign/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Grants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grants/) [Grants Nsa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grants-nsa-541026/) [Handle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/handle/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Large](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/large/) [Mission](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mission/) [Nsa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nsa/) [Nsa Employees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nsa-employees-541024/) [Nsa Systems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nsa-systems-541028/) [Ordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary/) [Ordinary people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary-people/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Phone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phone/) [Phone calls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phone-calls/) [Records](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/records/) [Secrets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secrets/) [Snowden Grants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snowden-grants-541025/) [Swept](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swept/) [Swept Nsa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swept-nsa-541027/) [Systems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/systems/) [Takes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/takes/) [Targets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/targets/) [Trust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trust/) ## Related quotes > [The jazz rhythm won't be understood by the bulk of my audience. That's the problem. We can get away with maybe one tune a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-benson/the-jazz-rhythm-won-t-be-understood-by-the-bulk-of-my-audience-that-s/) [George Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-benson/) > [“Save money on kids by volume. Deal in bulk and have dozens of kids.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/save-money-on-kids-by-volume-deal-in-bulk-and-have-dozens-of-kids/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [If a man begins writing at thirty, by the time he is fifty or sixty, the bulk of his work has been done. By…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/if-a-man-begins-writing-at-thirty-by-the-time-he-is-fifty-or-sixty/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [Public-policy-wise, if you want to be consistent, crude oil is a bulk commodity, and you should be able to export it. I would rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shimkus/public-policy-wise-if-you-want-to-be-consistent-crude-oil-is-a-bulk/) [John Shimkus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shimkus/) > [We are not any safer through the bulk collection of all Americans' records.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/we-are-not-any-safer-through-the-bulk-collection-of-all-americans/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [We live in a world where bulk is equated with quality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/we-live-in-a-world-where-bulk-is-equated-with-quality/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [The people that are running the bulk of the comic shops in North America aren't business people and they don't understand sales. They don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-walton/the-people-that-are-running-the-bulk-of-the-comic-shops-in-north/) [Rob Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-walton/) > [“bulk, including whole-wheat flour and much-loathed carob chips.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-ray/bulk-including-whole-wheat-flour-and-much-loathed-carob-chips/) [Meg Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-ray/) > [Ah, Scotland. I am three-parts Scottish and terribly proud of it, although maybe we should divide it into eighths, because my two-eighths are Danish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-lumley/ah-scotland-i-am-three-parts-scottish-and-terribly-proud-of-it/) [Joanna Lumley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-lumley/) > [I kept getting told, 'You need to bulk up. Burgers and shakes. Burgers and shakes.' That's never been my thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-quaid/i-kept-getting-told-you-need-to-bulk-up-burgers-and-shakes-burgers/) [Jack Quaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-quaid/) > [The bulk of my input comes from my peers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-weir/the-bulk-of-my-input-comes-from-my-peers/) [Bob Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-weir/) > [Bulk collection means all of your communications are being secretly intercepted. They are being stolen as they cross India, and they're being stored in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/bulk-collection-means-all-of-your-communications-are-being-secretly/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [There are a lot of visual marks that have to be hit, and lines that need to be said in a right way -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-pegg/there-are-a-lot-of-visual-marks-that-have-to-be-hit-and-lines-that/) [Simon Pegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-pegg/) > [You know that American dream and American spirit of innovation we always talk about? Turns out, the bulk of it was built by people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-lacy/you-know-that-american-dream-and-american-spirit-of-innovation-we/) [Sarah Lacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-lacy/) > [You are demoted from First Tiger to bulk rate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/you-are-demoted-from-first-tiger-to-bulk-rate/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) ## More by Barton Gellman > [On March 12, 2004, acting attorney general James B. Comey and the Justice Department's top leadership reached the brink of resignation over electronic surveillance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/on-march-12-2004-acting-attorney-general-james-b-comey-and-the/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [For political and bureaucratic reasons, governments at all levels are telling far less to the public than to insiders about how to prepare for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/for-political-and-bureaucratic-reasons-governments-at-all-levels-are/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [Searches of al Qaeda sites in Afghanistan, undertaken since American-backed forces took control there, are not known to have turned up a significant cache…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/searches-of-al-qaeda-sites-in-afghanistan-undertaken-since-american/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [I don't think Cheney started off in 2000 with a burning desire to become vice-president. I think the prospect gradually became more appealing, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/i-don-t-think-cheney-started-off-in-2000-with-a-burning-desire-to/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [As militias go, the Ohio Defense Force is on the moderate side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/as-militias-go-the-ohio-defense-force-is-on-the-moderate-side/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [I doubt there's any government in the world that guides itself primarily by strategy or conceptual documents or worldview. Anybody who has the reins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/i-doubt-there-s-any-government-in-the-world-that-guides-itself/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [U.S. intelligence services routinely use collection methods against foreigners that foreseeably - with certainty - ingest high volumes of U.S. communications as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/u-s-intelligence-services-routinely-use-collection-methods-against/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [Snowden is an orderly thinker, with an engineer's approach to problem-solving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/snowden-is-an-orderly-thinker-with-an-engineer-s-approach-to-problem/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [Experts said public companies worry about the loss of customer confidence and the legal liability to shareholders or security vendors when they report flaws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/experts-said-public-companies-worry-about-the-loss-of-customer/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [The United States, a signatory to the Chemical Weapons Convention, destroyed the last of its stocks of VX and other chemical agents on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/the-united-states-a-signatory-to-the-chemical-weapons-convention/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [As Trotsky didn't exactly say, you may not be interested in electronic snoops, but snoops are interested in you, whether or not you keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/as-trotsky-didn-t-exactly-say-you-may-not-be-interested-in-electronic/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [You don't need to be a spook to care about encryption. 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The Scripture says little to satisfy our curiosity; but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-newton/we-have-no-clear-ideas-of-the-agency-of-demonic-spirits-nor-is-it/) [John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-newton/) > [It’s a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-a-shameful-moment-for-u-s-media-when-it-insists-on-being/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [In 1949 there was a new thing called Television, to which my agency and advisers opposed as a performance medium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-young/in-1949-there-was-a-new-thing-called-television-to-which-my-agency/) [Loretta Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-young/) > [Well look, CIA is an agency that has to collect intelligence, do operations. We have to take risks and it's important that we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-panetta/well-look-cia-is-an-agency-that-has-to-collect-intelligence-do/) [Leon Panetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-panetta/) > [I know that God loves us. He allows us to exercise our moral agency even when we misuse it. He permits us to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/i-know-that-god-loves-us-he-allows-us-to-exercise-our-moral-agency/) [Thomas S. 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If you were a dairy farmer, would you employ twice as many milkers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/in-most-agencies-account-executives-outnumber-the-copywriters-two-to/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [Free agency is a gift of God…The world does not comprehend the significance of that divine gift to the individual. It is as inherent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-o-mckay/free-agency-is-a-gift-of-god-the-world-does-not-comprehend-the/) [David O. McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-o-mckay/) > [You are also asked to take an oath, and that's the oath of service. 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