In 2013, the former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor leaked about 1.7 million classified documents revealing that US intelligence agencies had been gathering large amounts of data on US citizens, foreign nationals and government representatives.
"You shouldn't change your behavior because a government agency somewhere is doing the wrong thing," Snowden said Sunday, adding that US authorities were still collecting people's information.
He said that sacrificing values over fear would mean that these values did not mean much in the first place.
The whistleblower pointed out that the real problem was that the authorities were using their surveillance capabilities to make people vulnerable.
He said it was as if the government were saying, "Well, I have a gun pointed at your head. I'm not going to pull the trigger. Trust me."
He also pointed out that big corporations, such as Google, Facebook and Yahoo were "deputized" by the government to be "surveillance sheriffs" and were collecting information about people who used their services.
Snowden is charged with espionage in the United States and currently resides in Moscow where he has been granted asylum and a three-year residency permit.