The former-CIA worker Edward Snowden has taken a leaf from Julian Assange’s book, seeking asylum in Ecuador from a US government accusation of espionage.

Edward Snowden, the man who unveiled the global digital spying network run by the United States, has been laying low in Hong Kong since the revelations were made just weeks ago. Ecuador has confirmed it has received a request for asylum, though it’s unclear how Snowden plans to travel now the US has revoked his passport on espionage and theft charges.

Ecuadorian asylum is becoming the protection of choice for whistleblowers on US foreign policy; the embassy in London has been protecting Australian Julian Assange for over a year after he leaked thousands of classified US Government communications. Mr Snowden has now reached out to the WikiLeaks group, requesting legal help from the experienced online freedom fighters.

Assange and Snowden have helped unveil the depth of United States digital spying networks, revealing massive amounts of data harvested and collated from every day internet sources. US President Barack Obama has condemned Snowden’s actions, who is now working with a legal team supplied by the WikiLeaks organisation.