t’s being called “The Day We Fight Back.” There will be an Internet-wide protest launched against the type of spying which we now know the National Security Agency (NSA) has been involved in, both in the United States and throughout the world.
This Feb. 11, a huge number of popular sites and companies known for activist-leanings including Reddit, Mozilla, and BoingBoing. More sites are expected to join in.
The sites will all feature anti-spying banners on that day, to both protest NSA and related types of government spying and intrusion, as well we as to raise awareness about it. This follows in the footsteps of massive sites like Wikipedia and Google doing something similar, even going on “strike” a couple of years ago, to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).
David Segal of Demand Progress said, “In this case, we have to take a first step. But we need our legislators to hear from people who love the Internet that we won’t stand by and let it be turned into a giant tool for mass surveillance.”
The date of February 11th was one of several proposed to honor Aaron Swartz, who committed suicide in January of last year after being charged with hacking.
“If Aaron were alive he’d be on the front lines,” Segal said, “fighting back against these practices that undermine our ability to engage with each other as genuinely free human beings.”
To sign up for email updates and to register your website’s participation visit:
TheDayWeFightBack.org/
WHO: Access, Demand Progress, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Fight for the Future, Free Press, The Other 98%, BoingBoing, Mozilla, Reddit, ThoughtWorks — and many more to come
WHAT: Day of Action in Opposition to Mass Spying, Honoring Aaron Swartz and SOPA Blackout Anniversary
WHEN: February 11, 2014
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
1. Visit TheDayWeFightBack.org
2. Sign up to indicate that you’ll participate and receive updates.
3. Install widgets on websites encouraging visitors to fight back against surveillance (these are being finalized in coming days).
4. Use the social media tools on the site to announce your participation.
5. Develop memes, tools, websites, and do whatever else you can to participate.
6. Encourage others to do the same.
7. Remember resistance is NOT futile: We won the fight against PIPA and SOPA!
SPREAD THE WORD and encourage other sites to get involved, or join in yourself if you run a website and want to take a stand against our eroding privacy and freedoms.
Article by James Achisa; image via PBSpot
