The National Security Agency (NSA) hosted a Tumblr question and answer session with Rebecca Richards, NSA civil liberties and privacy officer, earlier this week, during which Richards addressed concerns about the state of privacy in the U.S., as well as the agency's thinking on former contractor Edward Snowden.
When asked whether she believed Snowden should be considered a “traitor,” Richards responded to say that the investigation is on-going. However, she also wrote, “Our people overseas in dangerous places and at home are at greater risk because it is now harder to see foreign threats.”
Later, she expanded on Americans' privacy concerns and stressed that the agency acts as a foreign intelligence agency while other agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), “focus on disrupting national security threats within the United States, including those involving Americans.”
