🕷️ Crawler Inspector

URL Lookup

Direct Parameter Lookup

Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 62 (from laksa038)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa062.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Edward-Snowden/604816\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Edward-Snowden/604816\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/article\/Edward-Snowden\/604816","crawl_time":1774196120,"first_indexed_time":1510781127,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,britannica!kids,\/students\/article\/Edward-Snowden\/604816 s443","src_root_hash":"5455945239613777662","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"Edward Snowden - Students | Britannica Kids | Homework Help","meta_descriptions":["(born 1983). American intelligence contractor Edward Snowden made world headlines in 2013. He revealed the existence of secret information-gathering programs conducted by the…"],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"Introduction\nREX\/Shutterstock.com\n(born 1983). American intelligence contractor Edward Snowden made world headlines in 2013. He revealed the existence of secret information-gathering programs conducted by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA).\nEarly Life and Career\nSnowden was born on June 21, 1983, in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, but grew up mostly in central Maryland. Though he dropped out of high school, he later completed a GED and studied for a time at a community college. He enlisted in the army reserve as a special forces candidate in May 2004 but was discharged four months later. In 2005 he worked as a security guard at the Center for Advanced Study of Language, a University of Maryland research facility affiliated with the NSA. Despite a relative lack of formal education and training, Snowden demonstrated an aptitude with computers. He was hired by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as a network security technician in 2006. Three years later he left the CIA for the NSA, where he worked as a private contractor for the companies Dell and Booz Allen Hamilton.\nNSA Leaks and Aftermath\nDuring his time with the NSA, Snowden gathered information on a number of NSA activities—most notably, secret surveillance (monitoring) programs that he believed were overly broad in size and scope. In May 2013 Snowden requested a medical leave of absence and flew to Hong Kong. During the following month he conducted a series of interviews there with journalists from the British newspaper\nThe Guardian\n. Among the NSA secrets leaked by Snowden was a court order that compelled telecommunications company Verizon to turn over metadata (such as numbers dialed and duration of calls) for millions of its subscribers. Snowden also disclosed the existence of PRISM, a data-mining program. It reportedly gave the NSA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Government Communications Headquarters—Britain’s NSA equivalent—“direct access” to the servers of such Internet giants as\nGoogle\n,\nFacebook\n,\nMicrosoft\n, and\nApple\n.\nOn June 9, 2013, days after stories were initially published in\nThe Guardian\nand\nThe Washington Post\nwithout revealing the identity of their source, Snowden came forward. He stated that he felt no need to hide because he had done nothing wrong. He subsequently claimed that the NSA had been hacking into Chinese computers since 2009.\nThe United States charged Snowden with espionage on June 14, 2013. The Hong Kong government, however, declined to send him to the United States for prosecution. With the assistance of staffers at WikiLeaks, the media organization founded by\nJulian Assange\n, Snowden then traveled to Russia. While remaining within the international transit zone of a Moscow airport, he made requests for political asylum in multiple countries. Several countries offered him asylum, including Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Bolivia. After a meeting with human rights activists on July 12, 2013, Snowden announced his intention to seek asylum in Russia. He was subsequently granted temporary\nrefugee\nstatus by Russia.\nIn April 2014\nThe Guardian U.S.\nand\nThe Washington Post\nwere awarded the Pulitzer Prize for public service for their roles in reporting on the NSA leaks. Snowden characterized the award as “a vindication” (or clearing from blame) of his efforts to bring the secret surveillance programs to light.\nIn August 2014, as Snowden’s grant of temporary asylum expired, the Russian government awarded him a three-year residence permit, which would allow him to leave the country for up to three months. The permit was extended in 2017, and Russia gave him permanent residency status in 2020. In September 2022 Russian President\nVladimir Putin\ngranted Snowden Russian citizenship.","attrs_markdown":"![](https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/tr?id=160638381132823&ev=PageView&noscript=1)\n\n![](https:\/\/pubads.g.doubleclick.net\/activity;dc_iu=\/15510053\/DFPAudiencePixel;ord=1;dc_seg=806891421)\n\nArticles\n\n[Animals](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/browse\/subjects#leaf=&page=1&tree%5B%5D=main&tree%5B%5D=1001)   [Arts and Literature](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/browse\/subjects#leaf=&page=1&tree%5B%5D=main&tree%5B%5D=1056)   [Earth and Geography](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/browse\/subjects#leaf=&page=1&tree%5B%5D=main&tree%5B%5D=1124)   [History](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/browse\/subjects#leaf=&page=1&tree%5B%5D=main&tree%5B%5D=1180)   [Life Processes](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/browse\/subjects#leaf=&page=1&tree%5B%5D=main&tree%5B%5D=1271)   [Living Things 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[Students](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/article\/Edward-Snowden\/604816 \"Grades 6-8\")\n- [Scholars](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/scholars\/article\/Edward-Snowden\/604622 \"Grade 9 and Up\")\n\n- [Article](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/article\/Edward-Snowden\/604816)\n- [Images & Videos](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/article\/Edward-Snowden\/604816\/media)\n- [Related](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/article\/Edward-Snowden\/604816\/related)\n\nSubscriber features\n\n[*Print (Subscriber Feature)*]()\n\n[*Email (Subscriber Feature)*](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/article\/Edward-Snowden\/604816)\n\n[*Cite (Subscriber Feature)*](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/article\/Edward-Snowden\/604816)\n\n[*Translate (Subscriber Feature)*](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/article\/Edward-Snowden\/604816)\n\n[*Listen (Subscriber Feature)*](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/article\/Edward-Snowden\/604816)\n\n×\n\nContents\n\n- [Introduction](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/article\/Edward-Snowden\/604816#intro)\n- [Early Life and Career](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/article\/Edward-Snowden\/604816#352439-toc)\n- [NSA Leaks and Aftermath](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/article\/Edward-Snowden\/604816#352440-toc)\n\n###### **Related resources for this article**\n- [Articles](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/middle\/article\/Edward-Snowden\/604816\/related#nodeId=main&page=1)\n- [Primary Sources & E-Books]()\n- [Websites]()\n\nView search results for:\n\n## Introduction\n[![]()](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/article\/Edward-Snowden\/604816\/media?assemblyId=270226)\n\nREX\/Shutterstock.com\n\n(born 1983). American intelligence contractor Edward Snowden made world headlines in 2013. He revealed the existence of secret information-gathering programs conducted by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA).\n\n## Early Life and Career\nSnowden was born on June 21, 1983, in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, but grew up mostly in central Maryland. Though he dropped out of high school, he later completed a GED and studied for a time at a community college. He enlisted in the army reserve as a special forces candidate in May 2004 but was discharged four months later. In 2005 he worked as a security guard at the Center for Advanced Study of Language, a University of Maryland research facility affiliated with the NSA. Despite a relative lack of formal education and training, Snowden demonstrated an aptitude with computers. He was hired by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as a network security technician in 2006. Three years later he left the CIA for the NSA, where he worked as a private contractor for the companies Dell and Booz Allen Hamilton.\n\n## NSA Leaks and Aftermath\nDuring his time with the NSA, Snowden gathered information on a number of NSA activities—most notably, secret surveillance (monitoring) programs that he believed were overly broad in size and scope. In May 2013 Snowden requested a medical leave of absence and flew to Hong Kong. During the following month he conducted a series of interviews there with journalists from the British newspaper *The Guardian*. Among the NSA secrets leaked by Snowden was a court order that compelled telecommunications company Verizon to turn over metadata (such as numbers dialed and duration of calls) for millions of its subscribers. Snowden also disclosed the existence of PRISM, a data-mining program. It reportedly gave the NSA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Government Communications Headquarters—Britain’s NSA equivalent—“direct access” to the servers of such Internet giants as [Google](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/article\/Google\/570821), [Facebook](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/article\/Facebook\/544333), [Microsoft](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/article\/Microsoft-Corporation\/545137), and [Apple](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/article\/Apple-Inc\/545138).\n\nOn June 9, 2013, days after stories were initially published in *The Guardian* and *The Washington Post* without revealing the identity of their source, Snowden came forward. He stated that he felt no need to hide because he had done nothing wrong. He subsequently claimed that the NSA had been hacking into Chinese computers since 2009.\n\nThe United States charged Snowden with espionage on June 14, 2013. The Hong Kong government, however, declined to send him to the United States for prosecution. With the assistance of staffers at WikiLeaks, the media organization founded by [Julian Assange](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/article\/Julian-Assange\/604817), Snowden then traveled to Russia. While remaining within the international transit zone of a Moscow airport, he made requests for political asylum in multiple countries. Several countries offered him asylum, including Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Bolivia. After a meeting with human rights activists on July 12, 2013, Snowden announced his intention to seek asylum in Russia. He was subsequently granted temporary [refugee](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/article\/refugee\/276683) status by Russia.\n\nIn April 2014 *The Guardian U.S.* and *The Washington Post* were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for public service for their roles in reporting on the NSA leaks. Snowden characterized the award as “a vindication” (or clearing from blame) of his efforts to bring the secret surveillance programs to light.\n\nIn August 2014, as Snowden’s grant of temporary asylum expired, the Russian government awarded him a three-year residence permit, which would allow him to leave the country for up to three months. The permit was extended in 2017, and Russia gave him permanent residency status in 2020. In September 2022 Russian President [Vladimir Putin](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/article\/Vladimir-Putin\/345363) granted Snowden Russian citizenship.\n\n×\n\n## It’s here: the NEW Britannica Kids website\\!\nWe’ve been busy, working hard to bring you new features and an updated design. We hope you and your family enjoy the **NEW** Britannica Kids. Take a minute to check out all the enhancements\\!\n\n- The same safe and trusted content for explorers of all ages.\n- Accessible across all of today's devices: phones, tablets, and desktops.\n- Improved homework resources designed to support a variety of curriculum subjects and standards.\n- A new, third level of content, designed specially to meet the advanced needs of the sophisticated scholar.\n- And so much more\\!\n\n![inspire icon](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/resources\/img\/tour\/icon-inspire.png)\n\n![inform icon](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/resources\/img\/tour\/icon-inform.png)\n\n![educate icon](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/resources\/img\/tour\/icon-educate.png)\n### Want to see it in action?\n[Take a tour](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/tour)\n\n![subscribe icon](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/resources\/img\/tour\/icon-subscribe-yellow.png)\n\n### Start a free trial\n[Subscribe now\\!](https:\/\/premium.britannica.com\/kids-membership\/?utm_source=kids&utm_medium=house&utm_campaign=bkids-evergreen)\n\nTranslate this page\n\nChoose a language from the menu above to view a computer-translated version of this page. Please note: Text within images is not translated, some features may not work properly after translation, and the translation may not accurately convey the intended meaning. Britannica does not review the converted text.\n\n**After translating an article, all tools except font up\/font down will be disabled. To re-enable the tools or to convert back to English, click \"view original\" on the Google Translate toolbar.**\n\n- [About Us](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/about)\n- [Contact Us](https:\/\/corporate.britannica.com\/contact\/)\n- [Privacy Notice](https:\/\/corporate.britannica.com\/privacy-policy\/)\n- [Terms of Use](https:\/\/corporate.britannica.com\/termsofuse.html)\n- [Diversity](https:\/\/corporate.britannica.com\/diversity)\n\n©2026 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.\n\nBy continuing to use this site, you consent to the terms of our cookie policy, which can be found in our [Privacy Notice](http:\/\/corporate.britannica.com\/privacy-policy\/).\n\n×","attrs_readable_markdown":"## Introduction\n[![](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/51\/196551-004-3AB1A19E.jpg)](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/article\/Edward-Snowden\/604816\/media?assemblyId=270226)\n\nREX\/Shutterstock.com\n\n(born 1983). American intelligence contractor Edward Snowden made world headlines in 2013. He revealed the existence of secret information-gathering programs conducted by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA).\n\n## Early Life and Career\nSnowden was born on June 21, 1983, in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, but grew up mostly in central Maryland. Though he dropped out of high school, he later completed a GED and studied for a time at a community college. He enlisted in the army reserve as a special forces candidate in May 2004 but was discharged four months later. In 2005 he worked as a security guard at the Center for Advanced Study of Language, a University of Maryland research facility affiliated with the NSA. Despite a relative lack of formal education and training, Snowden demonstrated an aptitude with computers. He was hired by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as a network security technician in 2006. Three years later he left the CIA for the NSA, where he worked as a private contractor for the companies Dell and Booz Allen Hamilton.\n\n## NSA Leaks and Aftermath\nDuring his time with the NSA, Snowden gathered information on a number of NSA activities—most notably, secret surveillance (monitoring) programs that he believed were overly broad in size and scope. In May 2013 Snowden requested a medical leave of absence and flew to Hong Kong. During the following month he conducted a series of interviews there with journalists from the British newspaper *The Guardian*. Among the NSA secrets leaked by Snowden was a court order that compelled telecommunications company Verizon to turn over metadata (such as numbers dialed and duration of calls) for millions of its subscribers. Snowden also disclosed the existence of PRISM, a data-mining program. It reportedly gave the NSA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Government Communications Headquarters—Britain’s NSA equivalent—“direct access” to the servers of such Internet giants as [Google](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/article\/Google\/570821), [Facebook](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/article\/Facebook\/544333), [Microsoft](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/article\/Microsoft-Corporation\/545137), and [Apple](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/article\/Apple-Inc\/545138).\n\nOn June 9, 2013, days after stories were initially published in *The Guardian* and *The Washington Post* without revealing the identity of their source, Snowden came forward. He stated that he felt no need to hide because he had done nothing wrong. He subsequently claimed that the NSA had been hacking into Chinese computers since 2009.\n\nThe United States charged Snowden with espionage on June 14, 2013. The Hong Kong government, however, declined to send him to the United States for prosecution. With the assistance of staffers at WikiLeaks, the media organization founded by [Julian Assange](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/article\/Julian-Assange\/604817), Snowden then traveled to Russia. While remaining within the international transit zone of a Moscow airport, he made requests for political asylum in multiple countries. Several countries offered him asylum, including Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Bolivia. After a meeting with human rights activists on July 12, 2013, Snowden announced his intention to seek asylum in Russia. He was subsequently granted temporary [refugee](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/article\/refugee\/276683) status by Russia.\n\nIn April 2014 *The Guardian U.S.* and *The Washington Post* were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for public service for their roles in reporting on the NSA leaks. Snowden characterized the award as “a vindication” (or clearing from blame) of his efforts to bring the secret surveillance programs to light.\n\nIn August 2014, as Snowden’s grant of temporary asylum expired, the Russian government awarded him a three-year residence permit, which would allow him to leave the country for up to three months. The permit was extended in 2017, and Russia gave him permanent residency status in 2020. In September 2022 Russian President [Vladimir Putin](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/article\/Vladimir-Putin\/345363) granted Snowden Russian citizenship.","meta_canonical":null}

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Meta Description	(born 1983). American intelligence contractor Edward Snowden made world headlines in 2013. He revealed the existence of secret information-gathering programs conducted by the…
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Boilerpipe Text	Introduction REX/Shutterstock.com (born 1983). American intelligence contractor Edward Snowden made world headlines in 2013. He revealed the existence of secret information-gathering programs conducted by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA). Early Life and Career Snowden was born on June 21, 1983, in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, but grew up mostly in central Maryland. Though he dropped out of high school, he later completed a GED and studied for a time at a community college. He enlisted in the army reserve as a special forces candidate in May 2004 but was discharged four months later. In 2005 he worked as a security guard at the Center for Advanced Study of Language, a University of Maryland research facility affiliated with the NSA. Despite a relative lack of formal education and training, Snowden demonstrated an aptitude with computers. He was hired by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as a network security technician in 2006. Three years later he left the CIA for the NSA, where he worked as a private contractor for the companies Dell and Booz Allen Hamilton. NSA Leaks and Aftermath During his time with the NSA, Snowden gathered information on a number of NSA activities—most notably, secret surveillance (monitoring) programs that he believed were overly broad in size and scope. In May 2013 Snowden requested a medical leave of absence and flew to Hong Kong. During the following month he conducted a series of interviews there with journalists from the British newspaper The Guardian . Among the NSA secrets leaked by Snowden was a court order that compelled telecommunications company Verizon to turn over metadata (such as numbers dialed and duration of calls) for millions of its subscribers. Snowden also disclosed the existence of PRISM, a data-mining program. It reportedly gave the NSA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Government Communications Headquarters—Britain’s NSA equivalent—“direct access” to the servers of such Internet giants as Google , Facebook , Microsoft , and Apple . On June 9, 2013, days after stories were initially published in The Guardian and The Washington Post without revealing the identity of their source, Snowden came forward. He stated that he felt no need to hide because he had done nothing wrong. He subsequently claimed that the NSA had been hacking into Chinese computers since 2009. The United States charged Snowden with espionage on June 14, 2013. The Hong Kong government, however, declined to send him to the United States for prosecution. With the assistance of staffers at WikiLeaks, the media organization founded by Julian Assange , Snowden then traveled to Russia. While remaining within the international transit zone of a Moscow airport, he made requests for political asylum in multiple countries. Several countries offered him asylum, including Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Bolivia. After a meeting with human rights activists on July 12, 2013, Snowden announced his intention to seek asylum in Russia. He was subsequently granted temporary refugee status by Russia. In April 2014 The Guardian U.S. and The Washington Post were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for public service for their roles in reporting on the NSA leaks. Snowden characterized the award as “a vindication” (or clearing from blame) of his efforts to bring the secret surveillance programs to light. In August 2014, as Snowden’s grant of temporary asylum expired, the Russian government awarded him a three-year residence permit, which would allow him to leave the country for up to three months. The permit was extended in 2017, and Russia gave him permanent residency status in 2020. In September 2022 Russian President Vladimir Putin granted Snowden Russian citizenship.
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[Introduction](https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Edward-Snowden/604816#intro) - [Early Life and Career](https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Edward-Snowden/604816#352439-toc) - [NSA Leaks and Aftermath](https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Edward-Snowden/604816#352440-toc) ###### Related resources for this article - [Articles](https://kids.britannica.com/middle/article/Edward-Snowden/604816/related#nodeId=main&page=1) - [Primary Sources & E-Books]() - [Websites]() View search results for: ## Introduction [![]()](https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Edward-Snowden/604816/media?assemblyId=270226) REX/Shutterstock.com (born 1983). American intelligence contractor Edward Snowden made world headlines in 2013. He revealed the existence of secret information-gathering programs conducted by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA). ## Early Life and Career Snowden was born on June 21, 1983, in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, but grew up mostly in central Maryland. Though he dropped out of high school, he later completed a GED and studied for a time at a community college. He enlisted in the army reserve as a special forces candidate in May 2004 but was discharged four months later. In 2005 he worked as a security guard at the Center for Advanced Study of Language, a University of Maryland research facility affiliated with the NSA. Despite a relative lack of formal education and training, Snowden demonstrated an aptitude with computers. He was hired by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as a network security technician in 2006. Three years later he left the CIA for the NSA, where he worked as a private contractor for the companies Dell and Booz Allen Hamilton. ## NSA Leaks and Aftermath During his time with the NSA, Snowden gathered information on a number of NSA activities—most notably, secret surveillance (monitoring) programs that he believed were overly broad in size and scope. In May 2013 Snowden requested a medical leave of absence and flew to Hong Kong. During the following month he conducted a series of interviews there with journalists from the British newspaper The Guardian. Among the NSA secrets leaked by Snowden was a court order that compelled telecommunications company Verizon to turn over metadata (such as numbers dialed and duration of calls) for millions of its subscribers. Snowden also disclosed the existence of PRISM, a data-mining program. It reportedly gave the NSA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Government Communications Headquarters—Britain’s NSA equivalent—“direct access” to the servers of such Internet giants as [Google](https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Google/570821), [Facebook](https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Facebook/544333), [Microsoft](https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Microsoft-Corporation/545137), and [Apple](https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Apple-Inc/545138). On June 9, 2013, days after stories were initially published in The Guardian and The Washington Post without revealing the identity of their source, Snowden came forward. He stated that he felt no need to hide because he had done nothing wrong. He subsequently claimed that the NSA had been hacking into Chinese computers since 2009. The United States charged Snowden with espionage on June 14, 2013. The Hong Kong government, however, declined to send him to the United States for prosecution. With the assistance of staffers at WikiLeaks, the media organization founded by [Julian Assange](https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Julian-Assange/604817), Snowden then traveled to Russia. While remaining within the international transit zone of a Moscow airport, he made requests for political asylum in multiple countries. Several countries offered him asylum, including Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Bolivia. After a meeting with human rights activists on July 12, 2013, Snowden announced his intention to seek asylum in Russia. He was subsequently granted temporary [refugee](https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/refugee/276683) status by Russia. In April 2014 The Guardian U.S. and The Washington Post were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for public service for their roles in reporting on the NSA leaks. Snowden characterized the award as “a vindication” (or clearing from blame) of his efforts to bring the secret surveillance programs to light. In August 2014, as Snowden’s grant of temporary asylum expired, the Russian government awarded him a three-year residence permit, which would allow him to leave the country for up to three months. The permit was extended in 2017, and Russia gave him permanent residency status in 2020. In September 2022 Russian President [Vladimir Putin](https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Vladimir-Putin/345363) granted Snowden Russian citizenship. × ## It’s here: the NEW Britannica Kids website\! We’ve been busy, working hard to bring you new features and an updated design. We hope you and your family enjoy the NEW Britannica Kids. 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Readable Markdown	## Introduction [![](https://cdn.britannica.com/51/196551-004-3AB1A19E.jpg)](https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Edward-Snowden/604816/media?assemblyId=270226) REX/Shutterstock.com (born 1983). American intelligence contractor Edward Snowden made world headlines in 2013. He revealed the existence of secret information-gathering programs conducted by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA). ## Early Life and Career Snowden was born on June 21, 1983, in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, but grew up mostly in central Maryland. Though he dropped out of high school, he later completed a GED and studied for a time at a community college. He enlisted in the army reserve as a special forces candidate in May 2004 but was discharged four months later. In 2005 he worked as a security guard at the Center for Advanced Study of Language, a University of Maryland research facility affiliated with the NSA. Despite a relative lack of formal education and training, Snowden demonstrated an aptitude with computers. He was hired by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as a network security technician in 2006. Three years later he left the CIA for the NSA, where he worked as a private contractor for the companies Dell and Booz Allen Hamilton. ## NSA Leaks and Aftermath During his time with the NSA, Snowden gathered information on a number of NSA activities—most notably, secret surveillance (monitoring) programs that he believed were overly broad in size and scope. In May 2013 Snowden requested a medical leave of absence and flew to Hong Kong. During the following month he conducted a series of interviews there with journalists from the British newspaper The Guardian. Among the NSA secrets leaked by Snowden was a court order that compelled telecommunications company Verizon to turn over metadata (such as numbers dialed and duration of calls) for millions of its subscribers. Snowden also disclosed the existence of PRISM, a data-mining program. It reportedly gave the NSA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Government Communications Headquarters—Britain’s NSA equivalent—“direct access” to the servers of such Internet giants as [Google](https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Google/570821), [Facebook](https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Facebook/544333), [Microsoft](https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Microsoft-Corporation/545137), and [Apple](https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Apple-Inc/545138). On June 9, 2013, days after stories were initially published in The Guardian and The Washington Post without revealing the identity of their source, Snowden came forward. He stated that he felt no need to hide because he had done nothing wrong. He subsequently claimed that the NSA had been hacking into Chinese computers since 2009. The United States charged Snowden with espionage on June 14, 2013. The Hong Kong government, however, declined to send him to the United States for prosecution. With the assistance of staffers at WikiLeaks, the media organization founded by [Julian Assange](https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Julian-Assange/604817), Snowden then traveled to Russia. While remaining within the international transit zone of a Moscow airport, he made requests for political asylum in multiple countries. Several countries offered him asylum, including Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Bolivia. After a meeting with human rights activists on July 12, 2013, Snowden announced his intention to seek asylum in Russia. He was subsequently granted temporary [refugee](https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/refugee/276683) status by Russia. In April 2014 The Guardian U.S. and The Washington Post were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for public service for their roles in reporting on the NSA leaks. Snowden characterized the award as “a vindication” (or clearing from blame) of his efforts to bring the secret surveillance programs to light. In August 2014, as Snowden’s grant of temporary asylum expired, the Russian government awarded him a three-year residence permit, which would allow him to leave the country for up to three months. The permit was extended in 2017, and Russia gave him permanent residency status in 2020. In September 2022 Russian President [Vladimir Putin](https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Vladimir-Putin/345363) granted Snowden Russian citizenship.
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