Ask Edward Snowden's attorney anything in Nashville

An attorney for NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden is speaking in Nashville on Saturday about the impact of government surveillance on free speech and democracy.

Ben Wizner is director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Speech, Privacy and Technology Project and is a lawyer for Snowden. Wizner told The Tennessean he'll talk briefly, but then hopes to field questions from the audience.

"To some extent I’ll be talking about my own experience as Snowden’s advocate, but also the broader questions he raises about how mass surveillance may pose as a threat to free societies," Wizner said.

"I will say something about the extraordinary global debate this helped to launch. I do think there is a greater awareness of the prevalence and danger of surveillance."

Wizner began working with the ACLU a month before 9/11 and has spent much of his career there focused on government intelligence and terrorism. He said when Snowden leaked documents that showed the government was collecting massive amounts of data on private citizens, it brought the issue into the public domain.

Wizner's appearance in Nashville, called “Surveillance State: Can Democracy Survive?”, is set for 2-3 p.m. at the downtown Nashville Public Library.

The library will also show "Citizenfour," the Academy Award-winning documentary about journalists Glenn Greenwald's and Laura Poitras' encounters with Snowden at the time he released the documents and sought asylum abroad.

The event is a partnership of the ACLU of Tennessee and the Nashville Public Library.

If you go

What: Surveillance State: Can Democracy Survive?

Place: Nashville Public Library, 615 Church St.

When: Saturday, Oct. 17

11:30 a.m.: "Citizenfour" screening

1:30 p.m.: Refreshments and registration

2 p.m.: Conversation with Ben Wizner, director of the ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology Project and Snowden's lawyer

For more information, call 615-320-7142 or email aclutn@aclu-tn.org.

Reach Stacey Barchenger at 615-726-8968 or on Twitter @sbarchenger.