--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What state surveillance actually is is…" description: "\"What state surveillance actually is is best understood by the NSA's own documents and own words, which I think as you know I happen to have a lot of.\" ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbe/glenn-greenwald-1215_documents_what-state-surveillance-actually-is-is-b_1477513.jpg" --- # What state surveillance actually is is best understood by… ![“What state surveillance actually is is best understood by the NSA's own documents and own words, which I think as you know I happen to have a lot of.” quote by Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbe/glenn-greenwald-1215_documents_what-state-surveillance-actually-is-is-b_1477513.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbe/glenn-greenwald-1215_documents_what-state-surveillance-actually-is-is-b_1477513.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbe/glenn-greenwald-1215_documents_what-state-surveillance-actually-is-is-b_1477513.jpg) > “What state surveillance actually is is best understood by the NSA's own documents and own words, which I think as you know I happen to have a lot of.” [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Surveillance is best understood through the agency's own records and language, revealing its true scope and methods. **In simple terms:** NSA documents expose real surveillance. Key Takeaway Read original sources for accurate insight. Themes privacy government transparency Mood critical inquisitive Type analytical informative When to use this quote - journalism - policy analysis - civil liberties - technology assessment Key Concepts surveillance information control Questions to Reflect On - How do we verify government claims? - What safeguards protect privacy? A Different Perspective Official documents may be classified or incomplete. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Documents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documents/) [Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Nsa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nsa/) [Nsa Documents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nsa-documents-5376834/) [State Surveillance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/state-surveillance-2882139/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Surveillance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surveillance/) [Surveillance Actually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surveillance-actually-5376832/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Understood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood/) [Understood Nsa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood-nsa-5376833/) ## Related quotes > [Seeing various aspects of the secret state and surveillance state echoes a long tradition in art of looking at the sublime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/seeing-various-aspects-of-the-secret-state-and-surveillance-state/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [ “Every time I do an interview people ask similar questions, such as "What is the most significant story that you have revealed?" \[…\] There… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/every-time-i-do-an-interview-people-ask-similar-questions-such-as/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [Edward Snowden: The Whistleblower Behind the NSA Surveillance Revelations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/edward-snowden-the-whistleblower-behind-the-nsa-surveillance/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [Suspicionless surveillance has no place in a democracy. The next 60 days are a historic opportunity to rein in the NSA, but the only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/suspicionless-surveillance-has-no-place-in-a-democracy-the-next-60/) [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/) > [To those in the executive branch who say ‘just trust us’ when it comes to secret and warrantless surveillance of domestic communications, I say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-holder/to-those-in-the-executive-branch-who-say-just-trust-us-when-it-comes/) [Eric Holder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-holder/) > [The NSA routinely lies in response to congressional inquiries about the scope of surveillance in America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/the-nsa-routinely-lies-in-response-to-congressional-inquiries-about/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [Our efforts will only be effective if ordinary citizens in other countries have confidence that the United States respects their privacy too. And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/our-efforts-will-only-be-effective-if-ordinary-citizens-in-other/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Part of what we're trying to do is lay out what really happened. 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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/) > [“Even though we don't know which companies the NSA has compromised – or by what means – knowing that they could have compromised any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-schneier/even-though-we-don-t-know-which-companies-the-nsa-has-compromised-or/) [Bruce Schneier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-schneier/) > [Congress must go further to protect the right to privacy, to end the NSA's dragnet surveillance of ordinary Americans, to make the intelligence community…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/congress-must-go-further-to-protect-the-right-to-privacy-to-end-the/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [Nobody is listening to your telephone calls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/nobody-is-listening-to-your-telephone-calls/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) ## More by Glenn Greenwald > [In essence, I see the value of journalism as resting in a twofold mission: informing the public of accurate and vital information, and its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/in-essence-i-see-the-value-of-journalism-as-resting-in-a-twofold/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“The evidence shows that assurances that surveillance is only targeted at those who “have done something wrong” should provide little comfort, since a state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/the-evidence-shows-that-assurances-that-surveillance-is-only-targeted/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“It's almost hard to imagine anything more undemocratic than the view that political officials should not debate American wars in public, but only express…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/it-s-almost-hard-to-imagine-anything-more-undemocratic-than-the-view/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [It's hardly news that the Obama administration is intensely and, in many respects, unprecedentedly hostile toward the news-gathering process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/it-s-hardly-news-that-the-obama-administration-is-intensely-and-in/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [Only In America can a renowned and devoted terrorism supporter like Peter King be the arbiter of national security and treason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/only-in-america-can-a-renowned-and-devoted-terrorism-supporter-like/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“Above even our physical well-being, a central value is keeping the state out of the private realm—our “persons, houses, papers, and effects,” as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/above-even-our-physical-well-being-a-central-value-is-keeping-the/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“That capability at any time could be turned around on the American people and no American would have any privacy left, such is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/that-capability-at-any-time-could-be-turned-around-on-the-american/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“Converting the Internet into a system of surveillance thus guts it of its core potential. Worse, it turns the Internet into a tool of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/converting-the-internet-into-a-system-of-surveillance-thus-guts-it-of/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“the desire for privacy is shared by us all as an essential, not ancillary, part of what it means to be human. We all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/the-desire-for-privacy-is-shared-by-us-all-as-an-essential-not/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [I don't have a 'side'—I'm responsible for what I say and nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/i-don-t-have-a-side-i-m-responsible-for-what-i-say-and-nothing-else/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“Encryption matters, and it is not just for spies and philanderers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/encryption-matters-and-it-is-not-just-for-spies-and-philanderers/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“Among other devices, the agency intercepts and tampers with routers and servers manufactured by Cisco to direct large amounts of Internet traffic back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/among-other-devices-the-agency-intercepts-and-tampers-with-routers/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“NSA has increasingly made use of a secret technology that enables it to enter and alter data in computers even if they are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/nsa-has-increasingly-made-use-of-a-secret-technology-that-enables-it/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [A key purpose of journalism is to provide an adversarial check on those who wield the greatest power by shining a light on what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/a-key-purpose-of-journalism-is-to-provide-an-adversarial-check-on/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“We all instinctively understand that the private realm is where we can act, think, speak, write, experiment, and choose how to be, away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/we-all-instinctively-understand-that-the-private-realm-is-where-we/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) [Explore all 270 Glenn Greenwald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) ## More Documents quotes > [We released 400,000 classified documents, the most extraordinary history of a war to ever have been released in our civilization. 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