Fighting Back Against Mass Surveillance
from the derailing-the-surveillance-apparatus dept
As you may have already noticed, Techdirt is joining with the EFF, ACLU, Demand Progress and several hundred other sites to protest the NSA's surveillance of American citizens. The banner at the bottom of the home page provides a simple way to contact your representative(s) via email or phone to let them know we're not willing to let the NSA's abuse of its programs become nothing more than political background noise. If you're outside the US, it lets you sign on to a petition against mass surveillance around the world.
More information can be found at The Day We Fight Back, including details on the NSA's prevasive surveillance (as exposed by Edward Snowden's leaks), along with details on the NSA-targeting USA Freedom Act currently making its way through Congress.
If you're interested in taking part in the protest, The Day We Fight Back also has a variety of plugins and coding for use on your own website, as well as avatars for use with social media and commenting services.
As the site notes, online protests can and do work. SOPA/PIPA was effectively undermined by a concerted online effort and there's no reason to believe a united effort on this issue can't have a similar effect. The NSA's strongest supporters continue to marginalize the opposition as "internet shut-ins" and "civil libertarians" (not sure when that last one became an insult…), much as SOPA's supporters did, and look where it got them.
The importance of presenting a united front against surveillance can't be overstated. What we have in front of us is a rare watershed moment -- the point where the tide can be turned against the purveyors of the surveillance state, who have exploited a horrific attack on the American people for over a decade to expand government power and stripmine Constitutional rights.
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Filed Under: nsa, privacy, surveillance
Reader Comments
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Now this is how things get done. Throw this banner on Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Netflix, and it'll really help.
PS: this is much better than an idiotic petition.
It takes the power of the internet to fight for the internet.
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Re:
I've got one of my IDNs pointed to the banner:
http://www.旅行する.com/
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You on list
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Re:
RAM board! The only way to surf!
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What Canadians Can Do
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/7069/125/
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Re:
"If you're outside the US, it lets you sign on to a petition against mass surveillance around the world."
Maybe it is different now, but earlier(you may have seen my post on different article), after giving my Ph.#, including area code, it was still stating something to the effect of "My STATE" rep or something or other. I saw no option earlier(not seeing anything now) about being outside US.
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Don't Spy On Us
https://www.dontspyonus.org.uk/org
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Re:
Count 'em.
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We could elect a president who understands our concerns and promises to end the abuses -- but wait, didn't we already do that?
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If you put up a video available only in the us, I will not be able to watch it. Directly.
At time of this writing, I do not know what it is doing. Too much in my face earlier for me to allow anything through right now. Couldn't even completely erase from my screen even after trying to fill it out. Still left a half inch bar across bottom of my screen.
Where was the lead-up to today? What is wrong with red letters across the top of the page instead of putting something directly in my face taking 50% or more of my screen?
This wasn't the only site to do exactly the same thing.
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Almost didn't make it!
I had to do a quick blog post on Wordpress, which has several options for linking to the site and it's content.
One more site done..
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Thank you
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A list
Turn phone off when you don't need it.
Place your Fast/EZ pass transponder in a faraday cage except when you're going through a real toll booth. Better yet, return the device and pay cash.
Turn WiFi, Bluetooth and cell data off when you don't need it.
Shut down wireless router when you don't need it. I put a mechanical timer that shuts it down at night.
Use a real GPS rather than your SmartPhone for navigation.
Use your browser rather than apps on your smartphone. Apps leak a lot of information about you.
Clear browser cache and cookies at least every day.
Avoid using social services like facebook, google, twitter, cloud services, public WiFi (especially at airports and in private business).
Try Duck Duck Go rather than Google.
Add noise to SIGINT by making random google searches and texting random phone numbers.
In general, become suspicious by using private key encryption rather than asymmetrical public key encryption on your emails. Even though you have nothing to hide, act as though you do. More private communication will cause the NSA to spend more resources looking into encrypted communications.
Look into using steganography and start passing messages inside MP3s and images to your friends.
Use cash rather than electronic payments. When buying things online, favor bitcoin over other forms of payment.
Don't store your money in a bank.
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Re: A list
Learn to use and read printed road maps instead of GPS.
Write letters on paper instead of email, and use the postal system.
Read papers and books at the library. Get a library card, too..they have computers you can use as well. You don't need to own one.
Tear up your credit cards and switch to paper checks and money orders. Use the green stuff too.
Avoid buying anything over the Internet.
Ah, yes, the good old days of not being connected to the outside world..
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Re: Thank you
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Re: Re: A list
Excuse my language
your solution is ideal for a temporary solution, but should not be viewed as a permanent one
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Re: Re: Re: A list
Excuse my language"
So you are also willing to get pirates to stop pirating because it's an illegal use of technology too?
Techdirt 101: if technology allows it, it will happen. It's what makes all the rallying against the NSA and such so self serving, because the reality is that Techdirt as a whole has preached the unavoidable nature of what technology allows. Technology allows the NSA to track your every move, record your every call, and to know all of your little secrets that you share with your "friends" online. Social media is just a front for information farming, and every day, you plant the seeds and water them, making it easier.
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I certainly am. But the piracy problem is much more difficult to solve that the problem of governmental spying, if only because it's a difference between catching a handful of lawbreakers (government agencies) vs millions of lawbreakers (pirates).
To do the latter involves measures that are more damaging to innocent people than the problem they are trying to solve.
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3 step plan
A second step might be in admitting that the Federal Government of the USA now works for Big Pharma, Big Entertainment, Big Energy, Big Business and that the only reason the Fed gives lip service to the general public is because these Big Concerns need the general public to remain docile consumers to maintain their continued prosperity.
The third step cannot even be comprehended until after the first two are fully understood.
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IT is after all the TD WAY..
As someone mentioned earlier, "A petition, that will make them shake in their boots"..
So if you finally got 300,000 signatures, its still less than 0.1% of the population.
That's not a petition, that's a fucking joke, what politician is going to take notice of 0.1% (OR LESS) of the TOTAL US population?????
Lets say you got 3 million signatures, still less that 1% of the population, hardly a landslide, and not something a politician is going to take notice of.
Now it the value represented 50% or more of HIS ELECTRATE, HE MIGHT take notice.
Otherwise, its pointless, (except to make a bit more cash), and after all, that's all that counts here on TD..
MONEY and the POWER TO CENSOR...
16 years Masnick you've waisted your life, and achieved NOTHING !!! you must be so proud of your legacy 'industry'.
MASNICK THE CENSOR !!!!
(he has to censor, he cannot for an argument that can convince anyone else but his cultist fans.)
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Re: 3 step plan
We can tell you drink the Mansick cool aid !!!
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You do something illegal, or you don't.
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Re: Re: 3 step plan
WE?
There are 2 of you??
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