Edward Snowden, an American technical contractor, revealed information about a classified National Security Agency (NSA) spy program to The Guardian newspaper in June 2013. Snowden believed that the NSA was spying on citizens in violation of their privacy rights. He said in an interview:
 
SNOWDEN:  And the months ahead, the years ahead, it’s only going to get worse until eventually there will be a time where policies will change, because the only thing that restricts the activities of the surveillance state are policy. Even our agreements with other sovereign governments, we consider that to be a stipulation of policy rather than a stipulation of law.
 
And because of that a new leader will be elected, they’ll flip the switch, say that because of the crisis, because of the dangers that we face in the world, you know, some new and unpredicted threat, we need more authority, we need more power. And there will be nothing the people can do at that point to oppose it. And it will be turn-key tyranny.
 
The term “turnkey tyranny” made international headlines on June 10, 2013. A “tyrannical” government uses a “turnkey” technology package to spy on anyone it wishes to, learning everything about that person very easily.

   
Wikipedia: Edward Snowden
Edward Joseph Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is an American former technical contractor and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employee, who worked as a contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA) before disclosing details of a classified NSA spy program to the press. Snowden released classified material on top-secret NSA programs including the PRISM surveillance program to The Guardian and The Washington Post in June 2013.
 
Wikipedia: Turnkey
A turnkey or a turnkey project (also spelled turn-key) is a type of project that is constructed so that it could be sold to any buyer as a completed product. This is contrasted with build to order, where the constructor builds an item to the buyer’s exact specifications, or when an incomplete product is sold with the assumption that the buyer would complete it.
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Specific usage
The term turnkey is also often used in the technology industry, most commonly to describe pre-built computer “packages” in which everything needed to perform a certain type of task (e.g. audio editing) is put together by the supplier and sold as a bundle. This often includes a computer with pre-installed software, various types of hardware, and accessories. Such packages are commonly called appliances. A website with a ready-made solutions and some configurations is called a turnkey website. Turnkey websites are becoming more popular as the internet grows.
         
The Plazz   
9 June 2013
Gabe Rivera@gaberivera
Catchy: Edward Snowden coins the phrase “turnkey tyranny” to describe where the NSA’s surveillance machine is headed.
 
TeaParty.org
June 10, 2013
‘It’s Turnkey Tyranny’: NSA Whistleblower Comes Forward
(Guardian) – The individual responsible for one of the most significant leaks in US political history is Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old former technical assistant for the CIA and current employee of the defence contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. Snowden has been working at the National Security Agency for the last four years as an employee of various outside contractors, including Booz Allen and Dell.
   
Press TV (Iran)
NSA Spying: ‘Turn-key tyranny’ tomorrow, covert tyranny today
Tue Jun 11, 2013 3:19AM
By Dr. Kevin Barrett
It’s official: The US National Security Agency is spying on you.
 
KFFL General Forums
AndromedaPatFan
06-10-2013, 08:01 AM
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowdon—“it will be turnkey tyranny”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/vide…nterview-video
12 1/2 minute video. Best question/answer at the end. If the policies governing the use of surveillance data change under future political leaders, in response to some new threat, it’s “turnkey tyranny”.
 
That’s very like the phrase “tools for tyranny” I’ve been using for a few years (and not getting a great response to).
 
Anyhow, the whole thing is a whole lot shorter and better-substantiated than what the CTers try to inflict on us.
 
NPR
Opinion Roundup: Edward Snowden And The NSA Leaks
June 10, 2013 1:00 PM
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SNOWDEN:  And the months ahead, the years ahead, it’s only going to get worse until eventually there will be a time where policies will change, because the only thing that restricts the activities of the surveillance state are policy. Even our agreements with other sovereign governments, we consider that to be a stipulation of policy rather than a stipulation of law.
 
And because of that a new leader will be elected, they’ll flip the switch, say that because of the crisis, because of the dangers that we face in the world, you know, some new and unpredicted threat, we need more authority, we need more power. And there will be nothing the people can do at that point to oppose it. And it will be turn-key tyranny.
     
South Asia Daily
June 11, 2013
A few observations about Edward Snowden
By chutiumsulfate
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Watching Snowden’s interview in The Guardian I was first struck by his crisp articulation of the situation he and the world is in right now. He used a compelling phrase called “turnkey tyranny”, as in the world is hurtling towards turnkey tyranny if it does not check the utterly invasive surveillance program. There is a ring to his answers of odorless, formless, colorless sinister doom on the horizon creeping up towards all of us. It is all so cinematic.
 
Washington (DC) Post—Opinions
Edward Snowden’s grandiosity
By Matt Miller, Tuesday, June 11, 9:26 AM
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But because vigilance and luck have left us safe thus far from more massive attacks, Snowden felt entitled to indulge the call of his precious conscience. Has any leaker ever been armed with more perfectly crafted sound bites as “the architecture of oppression” and “turnkey tyranny”?
 
CounterPunch
June 11, 2013
NSA Whistleblower Edward Snowden Stands Tall
Exposing the Turnkey Tyranny
by NOZOMI HAYASE
Edward Snowden, the leaker of the National Security Agency top-secret PRISM surveillance program has voluntarily stepped into the public limelight. The 29-year-old former technical contractor for the CIA and system administrator for defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton had a good family, girlfriend and comfortable living in Hawaii. What made him risk this privileged life to be on the run or possibly end up in Federal prison?