I wouldn't call Edward Snowden a hero, says Bill Gates

Whistleblower Edward Snowden has a lot of admirers, but don’t count Bill Gates among them. The world’s richest man and Microsoft co-founder is not a fan of Snowden and told Rolling Stone in an interview that Snowden broke the law and his actions do not put him in good light.   “I certainly wouldn’t characterize him as a hero. If he wanted to raise the issues and stay in the country and engage in civil disobedience or something of that 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 said, Those are scathing words indeed for the man many believe to be a hero and considering the scope of his revelations, Snowden has indeed opened many eyes.   That seems like a odd thing to say, but Gates makes an even stranger claim next, saying that the techniques revealed by Snowden and his contacts in the media can become broken now that they have been revealed. Gates’ worry is that criminal elements could use the very same techniques to cause even greater damage. Which is why Gates thinks the debates should be limited and not in the public sphere. “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. So the debate needs to be about the general notion of under what circumstances should they be allowed to do things.”   Gates beliefs about Snowden are in stark contrast to Microsoft’s actions post the revelations. **Microsoft teamed up with rivals Apple, Google and Yahoo** to bring a lawsuit against the government to be able to share more information with the public about requests for user data.