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Edward Snowden to speak at South by Southwest

The NSA leaker, who is living in exile, will appear by teleconference on Monday during the interactive portion of the annual Texas festival. He joins fellow wanted man Julian Assange, who is also speaking remotely at SXSW Interactive.

Daniel Terdiman Former Senior Writer / News
Daniel Terdiman is a senior writer at CNET News covering Twitter, Net culture, and everything in between.
Daniel Terdiman
2 min read
Edward Snowden Laura Poitras/The Guardian/screenshot by CNET

NSA leaker Edward Snowden will be on hand for an interview at South by Southwest Monday, but federal agents won't have anyone to arrest for espionage.

South by Southwest announced today that Snowden -- who is living in exile in Russia after his famous leak of countless documents detailing NSA surveillance -- will speak during the "Interactive" portion of the annual Austin, Texas, festival Monday at 11 a.m. Central by satellite. He will be in conversation with Christopher Soghoian, the American Civil Liberties Union's principal technologist.

The conversation will be focused on the impact of the NSA's spying efforts on the technology community, and the ways in which technology can help to protect us from mass surveillance. Hear directly from Snowden about his beliefs on what the tech community can and must do to secure the private data of the billions of people who rely on the tools and services that we build.

Holders of SXSW Interactive, Gold, or Platinum badges will be able to attend the session on site. But those that can't be there in person will be able to watch a livestream hosted by the Texas Tribune. As well, the ACLU will host a recording of the interview on its Web site beginning Monday afternoon, SXSW said.

Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith told CNET that he is "confident" that his site will be able to handle the livestream traffic. He said that was the first question SXSW asked, and "the first question we asked ourselves" about hosting the livestream, which is expected to be "the most traffic we've ever had."

Snowden will not be the only wanted man speaking remotely at SXSW. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange will also be appearing by teleconference on Saturday afternoon. And to round out a wide variety of panels and talks related to surveillance, the NSA, and privacy, SXSW will also be hosting an in-person discussion with journalist Glenn Greenwald on Saturday.