The former National Security Agency contractor, famous for leaking top secret documents pertaining to NSA’s snooping and surveillance programs, made a virtual appearance at the Suitable Technologies booth here. Snowden was in Las Vegas virtually through Suitable’s Beam, a roaming screen on wheels used for remote commuting and virtual meetings. Snowden was in high praise for the virtual screen and said that Beam can be used to subvert government snooping and surveillance. “This is the power of Beam, or more broadly the power of technology,” he said in an onstage interview with Peter Diamandis, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur. “The FBI can’t arrest a robot.” Snowden’s lawyer, Ben Wizner with the American Civil Liberties Union, said in an email that his client wasn’t compensated for the event, which Suitable confirmed. “But he has benefited from the technology,” Wizner said. Snowden seemed to be happy with the gadgets showcased at CES this year. He stated that he was happy to see companies take privacy and security into account while making gadgets. “They don’t really think of the security of these things very much,” he said. “What if you could commute to work without having to sit in traffic?” Snowden said speaking about Beam. “The US government basically cancelled my passport, but I’m sitting here in Las Vegas with you guys at CES.”
