Cunningham added. He called on Congress to allow the surveillance court to hire technology experts to check the NSA's claims.

The ACLU's Stanley called for independent oversight of the surveillance process, with other panelists calling for more disclosure from the NSA about the reasons for collecting data and the effectiveness of the surveillance programs in preventing terrorism.

While many speakers at the conference raised privacy concerns related to the use of big data, not everyone agreed that there were major privacy problems. During a panel about commercial uses of big data, many speakers seemed to project their critiques of capitalism into the debate, said Berin Szoka, president of TechFreedom, a free market think tank.

When panelists suggested some consumers may be coerced into making choices based on their shopping preferences beingbe immediate", but argued that "impatience cannot allow for any renunciation".

"Ultraliberal and financial capitalism, too often guided by short term interests, is heading towards its demise," the president stated.

According to the president, the people of France fail to appreciate the benefits they already enjoy.

"We live in one of the world's greatest economies, our infrastructures are among the best in the world, we pay little or nothing towards our children's education, our healthcare costs are among the lowest of any developed country and give us access to some of the best doctors," Macron said.

Talking about the protests, the president berated those who "take the pretext of speaking in the name of the people" in what France24 called a "thinly veiled jab at politicians who have sought to ride the