A spokesman for President Obama says publicizing the programs has made it harder for the United States to fight terrorism.

“Leaks of sensitive classified information—they cause harm to our national security interests are a problem, a serious problem. And they are classified for a reason.”

Some lawmakers want to charge Mr. Snowden with spying. His employer has already dismissed him from his position.

But Mr. Snowden has plenty of supporters. They say the information-gathering programs violate people’s privacy—and the public needs to know about them.

Emma Carr is with the British campaign group Big Brother Watch.

“A mass communications data being piled into one place and being fished through just in case somebody’s been committing a crime, or retrospectively they can look through if someone’s committed a crime. That’s not okay and that’s not what democratic societies have been based on.”

And, a blogger in Beijing named Michael Anti says news about the American programs could help China.

“The government will say, we told you, every government did the same thing about Internet control, and all the criticism you once made to us about Internet freedom, basically is very hypocritical.”

In the United States, most people appear not to share Edward Snowden’s concerns. A recent survey found that 62% of Americans said it was more important for the government to look for possible terrorist threats than to protect personal privacy.