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Tim Berners-LeeBranded NSA and GCHQ mass surveillance as 'appalling and foolish'

Following the Snowden revelations in 2013, Berners-Lee publicly condemned mass surveillance programs by the NSA and GCHQ, calling them 'appalling and foolish.' He called for a 'full and frank debate' about government surveillance and the balance between security and privacy.

Scoring Impact

TopicDirectionRelevanceContribution
Encryption & Privacy+towardsecondary+0.50
User Privacy+towardprimary+1.00
Overall incident score =+0.664

Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (high ×1.5) × confidence (0.59)

Evidence (1 signal)

Confirms Criticism Nov 1, 2013 verified

Branded NSA and GCHQ mass surveillance as 'appalling and foolish'

Following the Snowden revelations in 2013, Berners-Lee publicly condemned mass surveillance programs by the NSA and GCHQ, calling them 'appalling and foolish.' He called for a 'full and frank debate' about government surveillance and the balance between security and privacy.

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