obama's program in a negative light. >> they also found they unreasonably intrude into the private lives of ordinary citizens. does russia intercept, store or analyze in any way the communications of millions of individuals? >> reporter: that bit of political theater gave the former kgb officer a chance to score propaganda points. putin boast thad while moscow of course engages in surveillance it is limited and quote strictly regulated by law. >> translator: so our special forces can use special equipment as they intercept phone calls to follow someone online. you have to get court permission to stalk a particular person. we don't have a mass system of such interception. >> reporter: of course the u.s. surveillance effort that's obama now wants to rein in also follow the law. it's hard to miss the irony. snowden allowing putin to pose as a champion of law as he's threatening eastern ukraine after flouting international law by invading crimea. snowden's disclosures allowed