snowden
A demonstrator holds a sign with a photograph of former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden and the word "HERO" during Fourth of July celebrations last year in Boston. Investigators say they may never know exactly what Snowden leaked from government computers. Reuters

Here’s your chance to watch Edward Snowden answer questions from the people most interested in privacy in the digital age: tech-obsessed pilgrims attending the annual South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Festival that starts Friday in Austin, Texas.

The former security contractor who leaked classified information about the U.S. government’s shadowy surveillance operations will speak via webcast to Christopher Soghoian, a technology specialist for the American Civil Liberties Union. The talk will be moderated by Snowden’s U.S.-based legal adviser, Ben Wizner, director of the ACLU's Speech, Privacy & Technology Project.

The ACLU says the talk will focus “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.”

The event will be simulcast at the Austin Convention Center on Monday at 11 a.m. CST (GMT -6).

There are two ways to watch the event remotely. For live streaming go to the Texas Tribune website. The ACLU will also make the stream available after the event here.

SXSW Interactive will run through Tuesday. SXSW started in 1987 as a recording artists expo but has since expanded to include film, technology, education, gaming and other segments. The SXSW festival runs March 7-16.

SXSW Inc. claims the entire event attracted last year more than 200,000 attendees and brought in about $190 million into the economy of the Texas state capital.

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