In the latest episode of "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver," the show decided to focus on the issues of cyber surveillance and internet security. Oliver noted that most people forgot that Americans were debating the issues of cyber surveillance a few years ago, and that a significant part of the people who Oliver surveyed did not know who Edward Snowden was or why he was relevant to security conversations.
On top of that, Section 216 of the Patriot Act is expiring in June, which Oliver wants you to know. Why? Because Oliver believes that the renewal of the section will "basically (be) a blank check.....It's like letting a teenager borrow the car on the strict condition that they only use it for car-related activities. 'OK, Mom and Dad, I'm gonna use this for a handjob in the Wendy's parking lot, but that is car-related, so I think I'm covered'."
In light of the upcoming expiration, Oliver travelled to Russia to interview ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who started the current conversation about government access to our technology.
The conversation went in a number of directions, from Snowden's love of Hot Pockets to whether he's actually read the documents that he reportedly took from the NSA. But the most interesting part of the interview was when Oliver made made Snowden watch Oliver's survey footage.
After seeing all of this footage, Snowden was incredulous: "I did this (leak) to give the American people the chance to decide for themselves the kind of government they want to have." When one of the subjects Oliver surveyed said that they were worried about whether the government could see his "dick pics," Snowden went on record saying "The good news is, there is no [government] program named The Dick Pic Program......The bad news is they are still collecting everybody's information, including your dick pics."
Viewers can watch the entire broadcast and Oliver's interview with Snowden here:
