--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have to recognise that rights are…" description: "\"We have to recognise that rights are being violated. The United Nations actually filed a report that found that that was the case, that mass surveillan..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56e/edward-snowden-555_cases_we-have-to-recognise-that-rights-are-bei_2046154.jpg" --- # We have to recognise that rights are being violated. The… ![“We have to recognise that rights are being violated. The United Nations actually filed a report that found that that was the case, that mass surveillance is a violation of rights.” quote by Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56e/edward-snowden-555_cases_we-have-to-recognise-that-rights-are-bei_2046154.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56e/edward-snowden-555_cases_we-have-to-recognise-that-rights-are-bei_2046154.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56e/edward-snowden-555_cases_we-have-to-recognise-that-rights-are-bei_2046154.jpg) > “We have to recognise that rights are being violated. The United Nations actually filed a report that found that that was the case, that mass surveillance is a violation of rights.” [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mass surveillance infringes on personal freedoms, violating fundamental human rights. **In simple terms:** Surveillance harms privacy rights. Key Takeaway Advocate for privacy protections. Themes privacy rights surveillance government accountability Mood concerned serious Type political activist When to use this quote - online activity - government monitoring - data collection - public policy Key Concepts law technology civil liberties Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards can protect privacy? - How do we ensure accountability? A Different Perspective Balancing security and privacy is complex. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Reports](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reports/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Surveillance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surveillance/) [United nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united-nations/) [Violation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violation/) ## Related quotes > [The situation of the Salvadorian people is terrible; all their rights are violated. There is a direct violation against the human person, a violation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-julia-hernandez/the-situation-of-the-salvadorian-people-is-terrible-all-their-rights/) Maria Julia Hernandez > [We have to argue forcefully and demand that the government recognise that these programmes do not prevent - mass surveillance does not prevent acts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/we-have-to-argue-forcefully-and-demand-that-the-government-recognise/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [“Government surveillance is a violation of our intrinsic right to privacy, a breach that extends beyond legal boundaries into the emotional terrain of fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-william-steven-parker/government-surveillance-is-a-violation-of-our-intrinsic-right-to/) [James William Steven Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-william-steven-parker/) > [ People do not like being lied to, and they do not like having their rights violated. So as soon as \[officials\] stop making arguments,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/people-do-not-like-being-lied-to-and-they-do-not-like-having-their/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [If even one country, an Iceland for example, defects from this global legislative bargain and says no, we're not going to enforcement mass surveillance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-even-one-country-an-iceland-for-example-defects-from-this-global/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [I acted on my belief that the NSA's mass surveillance programs would not withstand a constitutional challenge, and that the American public deserved a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/i-acted-on-my-belief-that-the-nsa-s-mass-surveillance-programs-would/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [We have the means and we have the technology to end mass surveillance without any legislative action at all, without any policy changes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/we-have-the-means-and-we-have-the-technology-to-end-mass-surveillance/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [When we have some horrible terrorist attacks happen in some country we see in the recording that follows, that the intelligence community already knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/when-we-have-some-horrible-terrorist-attacks-happen-in-some-country/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [One of the foremost activities of the NSA's FAD, or Foreign Affairs Division, is to pressure or incentivize EU member states to change their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/one-of-the-foremost-activities-of-the-nsa-s-fad-or-foreign-affairs/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [We have to call mass surveillance mass surveillance. We can't let governments around the world redefine, and sort of weasel their way out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/we-have-to-call-mass-surveillance-mass-surveillance-we-can-t-let/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [I have used mass surveillance to target people, so I do know how it works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/i-have-used-mass-surveillance-to-target-people-so-i-do-know-how-it/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [When we look at the full-on mass surveillance watching everyone in the country, in the United States, it doesn't work. It didn't stop the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/when-we-look-at-the-full-on-mass-surveillance-watching-everyone-in/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [Someone recently talked about mass surveillance and the NSA revelations as being the atomic moment for computer scientists. The atomic bomb was the moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/someone-recently-talked-about-mass-surveillance-and-the-nsa/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [If we don't do anything, if we go along with the status quo, we are going to have a mass surveillance world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-we-don-t-do-anything-if-we-go-along-with-the-status-quo-we-are/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [I don't think there's anything, any threat out there today that anyone can point to, that justifies placing an entire population under mass surveillance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/i-don-t-think-there-s-anything-any-threat-out-there-today-that-anyone/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) ## More by Edward Snowden > [It is afraid of an informed, angry public demanding the constitutional government it was promised - and it should be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/it-is-afraid-of-an-informed-angry-public-demanding-the-constitutional/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [Much of what I saw in Geneva really disillusioned me about how my government functions and what its impact is in the world. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/much-of-what-i-saw-in-geneva-really-disillusioned-me-about-how-my/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [If it comes to a question of law, the charges they brought against me - the Espionage Act - is called the quintessential political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-it-comes-to-a-question-of-law-the-charges-they-brought-against-me/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [The NSA and Israel wrote Stuxnet together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/the-nsa-and-israel-wrote-stuxnet-together/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [As a general rule, so long as you have any choice at all, you should never route through or peer with the UK under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/as-a-general-rule-so-long-as-you-have-any-choice-at-all-you-should/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [ \[Brazil\] went to the UN and said, "We need new standards for this." We need to take a look at what they're calling "data… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/brazil-went-to-the-un-and-said-we-need-new-standards-for-this-we-need/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [You are also asked to take an oath, and that's the oath of service. The oath of service is not to secrecy, but to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/you-are-also-asked-to-take-an-oath-and-that-s-the-oath-of-service-the/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [We need to think about encryption not as this sort of arcane, black art. It's a basic protection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/we-need-to-think-about-encryption-not-as-this-sort-of-arcane-black/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [A lot of people in 2008 voted for Obama. I did not vote for him. I voted for a third party. But I believed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/a-lot-of-people-in-2008-voted-for-obama-i-did-not-vote-for-him-i/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [Too often we forget that social and political movements don't happen overnight. They don't bring change immediately - you have to build a critical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/too-often-we-forget-that-social-and-political-movements-don-t-happen/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [ There was a real choice when \[Barack Obama\] became president. It was a very difficult choice - to say, "We're not going to hold… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/there-was-a-real-choice-when-barack-obama-became-president-it-was-a/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [We've learned that we've allowed technological capabilities to dictate policies and practices, rather than ensuring that our laws and values guide our technological capabilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/we-ve-learned-that-we-ve-allowed-technological-capabilities-to/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [It's much easier, I think, to protect communications while they're in transit at least, than it is to enforce legislation in every country in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/it-s-much-easier-i-think-to-protect-communications-while-they-re-in/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [If an adversary didn't target our power plants but they did target the core routers, the backbones that tie our internet connections together, entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-an-adversary-didn-t-target-our-power-plants-but-they-did-target/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [I care more about the country than what happens to me. 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