Mozilla, Reddit, 4Chan join coalition of 86 groups asking Congress to end NSA surveillance

[RANGA+ 1,210]

http://www.theverge.com/2013/6/11/4418794/stopwatchingus-internet-orgs-ask-congress-to-stop-surveillance

 

The US National Security Agency's recently revealed internet surveillance program PRISM has been broadly condemned by tech companies, even those whose networks were allegedly involved. But now some organizations and companies are going further, sending a letter to Congress today calling upon lawmakers to immediately halt PRISM and other forms of internet surveillance. Mozilla, Reddit, 4chan, the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation are among the 86 different organizations that have co-signed the letter, and they have also launched a new campaign online, "StopWatching.us," which invites web users to add their signatures to the petition as well.

 

If the move sounds a bit like the great online SOPA/PIPA protests of early 2012, that's by design. As Mozilla's privacy and public policy officer Alex Fowler wrote in a blog post today announcing the effort: "We need to rekindle that energy more than ever so our elected officials take the necessary actions to illuminate how current surveillance policies are being implemented." The campaign was coordinated in part by liberal advocacy group Free Press, which is holding a press call today at 1PM ET to elaborate on the campaign.

 

Update: Stopwatching.us plans to expand its protest to lawmakers' phone lines. "The next thing we need to do is have a call day where people pick up the phones and call Washington," said Rainey Reitman, activism director with the EFF, during Stopwatching.us's conference call with reporters this afternoon. "It's extremely unfortunate, but the thousands and thousands of emails [that Stopwatching.us is sending to Congress today] may fall upon deaf inboxes." Reitman didn't specify when the call day would take place, but said users could follow along by signing up on the Stopwatching.us website. Reitman was joined on the call by Mozilla's chief privacy officer Alex Fowler, who said that Mozilla would be using its default Firefox browser homepage today to send a message to users encouraging them to join in the protest.

 

 

 

 

 

You can join the cause here: https://optin.stopwatching.us/

[Favre4Ever+ 4,476]

That's what needs to happen. Not very often does a cause get so many people behind it like the SOPA/PIPA stuff did. That's what we need now.

[RANGA+ 1,210]

That's what needs to happen. Not very often does a cause get so many people behind it like the SOPA/PIPA stuff did. That's what we need now.

 

Yup definitely. The power lies with the people. And the people need to speak.

[OSUViking 505]

We shouldn't just stop at Internet spying. It should be any wiretapping or infringements upon privacy. The sad thing is, I seriously think they will just make something new. They made a secret court that created PRISM, what will stop them from doing something new all over again?

 

I'm trying to be optimistic and I've signed all the petitions I can to pardon Snowden and make all of this illegal. I still think people should try to take this to SCOTUS, but IIRC it won't meet the requirements.

[rzb+ 367]

Hopefully something comes of it, unlike people who change their Facebook profile pictures.

 

So I had a conversation with a friend over all of this. He asked "Would you rather have security or privacy?" I went with privacy. Because with privacy, in the long run, you still have some sort of security. But with security in the same way, all privacy will become lost. He immediately agreed.

[seanbrock 1,684]

Prepare yourselves for a massive and unrelenting propaganda campaign scaring people into signing dominion of the internet over to the government. Maybe this is the wake up call our generation needs. Fight the fucking power.

[OSUViking 505]

Hopefully something comes of it, unlike people who change their Facebook profile pictures.

 

So I had a conversation with a friend over all of this. He asked "Would you rather have security or privacy?" I went with privacy. Because with privacy, in the long run, you still have some sort of security. But with security in the same way, all privacy will become lost. He immediately agreed.

 

 

I've had people argue that nothing on the Internet is private, not even emails. I still adamantly disagree, because nothing gives the government control over the Internet. I can't get them to change their minds, however.