A recently released documentary about former government contractor Edward Snowden is being considered a potential candidate for the Academy Awards next year, but all isn t well for the team behind the flick Citizenfour. Attorneys representing a Kansas man filed a civil suit in District Court on Friday last week in which they allege that Snowden, movie director Laura Poitras and others involved in making "Citizenfour" intentionally violated federal law by profiting off of the disclosure of state secrets.

On Monday The Intercept reported, based on documents leaked by Edward Snowden, that the NSA is able "to vacuum up and store the actual content of every conversation" in the Bahamas and an unnamed country. Editor Glenn Greenwald said The Intercept didn't reveal the country because they were "very convinced" that doing so would lead to "deaths."

But there s another danger that Snowden didn't mention that's inherent in the government s having easy access to the voluminous data we produce every day: It can imply guilt where there is none. When investigators have mountains of data on a particular target, it's easy to see only the data points that confirm their theories - especially in counterterrorism investigations when the stakes are so high - while ignoring or downplaying the rest.

The reporter who revealed mass surveillance by the US authorities has said he will not be deterred from further reporting after the British government detained his partner and confiscated electronic data. Glenn Greenwald said on Monday that the UK would regret the detention of David Miranda, who was held for nine hours under an anti-terrorism law at London's Heathrow Airport. His electronic devices were confiscated and he was questioned about his private life.