[erw1]

Will it blow up, even if the public is aware?

When Snowden revealed the extent of NSA activities, it caused a momentary uproar but the people moved on pretty quickly after that. As far as I know (and let me know if I am wrong!!), there was no fallout for the government, and business continues as before.

So I am not sure if people will care this time either.

[raesene9]

Snowdens' revelations had a massive effect on the tech. sector.

It provided security people with ammunition to push things like encryption of data over "private" network connections, which prevented their misuse by governments (or at least made it harder)

It also pushed tech. companies to publicly take positions on government spying, in general by insisting they wouldn't co-operate.

[Intermernet]

Cynically, it moved the goalposts, but didn't solve the problem. This is still a positive outcome in the big picture.

[forapurpose]

Snowden's revelations arguably were a significant factor in EU privacy law, including GDPR. In the U.S., government has been unable to regulate big business for awhile, about privacy or anything else.

[dredmorbius]

We, and the media mainstream, are still discussing Snowden, five years on.