Paris, June 6, 2018: On the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the Guardian’s revelations of the NSA’s mass surveillance programs, Internet Without Borders publishes an open letter addressed to the leaders and parliamentarians of the European Union and its Member States, to protect whistleblowers on the European soil.

This open letter poses some legitimate questions regarding surveillance programs that collect information on foreigners abroad, including European citizens:

• Do spyware programs used by intelligence agencies threaten democracy in Europe?
• What are the means available to citizens to limit the effects of this espionage?
• Can the European Union protect its citizens against such intrusions?

This document also invites the leaders of the European Union and its Member States to grant a political asylum to Edward Snowden, who has alerted the world on the massive attacks on privacy, which are still practiced by intelligence services and their public or private partners.

“The protection of whistleblowers puts Europe before its responsibilities: either it takes the secular torch of enlightenment and offers protection to people seeking refuge there, or it gets lost again in barbarism and disperses, with that, Humanity “ declared Félix Blanc, Director of Europe Affairs at Internet Without Borders.

Internet Without Borders encourages the European Parliament to adopt as soon as possible the European Directive on the protection of whistleblowers, currently under examination.

For more information:

Contact Félix Blanc, head of the European office of Internet Without Borders.

Phone number : 06 12 79 16 47

Email felix@internetsansfrontieres.org