Top 12 Most Fascinating Takeaways from Edward Snowden and Glenn Greenwald’s Reddit AMA

Q: Dear all, how can we make sure that people still want to leak important information when everyone who does so puts the rest of their lives at stake?

Snowden: Whistle-blower protection laws, a strong defense of the right for someone charged with political crimes to make any defense they want (currently in the US, someone charged with revealing classified information is entirely prohibited from arguing before the jury that the programs were unlawful, immoral, or otherwise wrongful), and support for the development of technically and legally protected means of communications between sources and journalists.

The sad truth is that societies that demand whistle-blowers be martyrs often find themselves without either, and always when it matters the most.