The world's richest man doesn't think NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden is a hero.
In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Microsoft founder Bill Gates said he does not admire what Snowden did and that he broke the law.
"I certainly wouldn't characterize him as a hero," Gates said. "If he wanted to raise the issues and stay in the country and engage in civil disobedience or something of the kind, or if he had been careful in terms of what he had released, then it would fit more of the model of 'OK, I'm really trying to improve things,'
"You won't find much admiration from me," Gates told Rolling Stone.
Former NSA contractor Snowden is currently in Russia, where he has been granted asylum after fleeing the U.S. Snowden leaked confidential NSA documents to the media in the summer of 2013 that revealed the government's surveillance of American phone and Internet activity. The U.S. claims the surveillance was necessary to identify potential terrorism plots.
Snowden has been lauded for blowing the whistle on the government's surveillance tactics, even snagging a nomination for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize.
But Gates, who this year was named Forbes richest billionaire, said Snowden should not have subjected the government's actions to public debate and that it is within the government's right to collect data.
"The government has such ability to do these things. There has to be a debate. But the specific techniques they use become unavailable if they're discussed in detail," Gates told the magazine.
"So the debate needs to be about the general notion of under what circumstances should they be allowed to do these things."
Gates' sentiments are a deviation from a group of tech giants like Facebook and Twitter that have rallied for President Barack Obama to change its surveillance program, implement "oversight and accountability" and "respect the free flow of information."
