Yesterday,
Congress sold you out.
House leadership watered down their version of the USA Freedom Act with an
amendment that creates vast new loopholes for the NSA. The new version will
allow most bulk government surveillance to continue -- and it might even make it
worse [1].
The
crazy thing is, the USA Freedom Act was already just a baby step in the right
direction.
Fight for the Future hesitated to throw our full support behind it because we
felt it didn’t go nearly far enough to reign in the NSA, and left activists,
journalists, and people outside the U.S. vulnerable.
This
new, weakened version of the bill is an insult to the millions of people
worldwide who have spoken out calling for an end to abusive government
spying.
And so-called privacy champions in Congress are saying this is the best “we’re
going to get.” [2]
I
mean, we’re not surprised, but think about that: after the most lurid and
earth-shattering leaks in the history of the NSA, this is the best Congress can
do. Seriously?
This
just goes to show that, when you settle for a mediocre reform bill, you’ll get
an even worse one. We
need to push onward and continue to grow the movement against mass surveillance
until we can’t be ignored.
On
June 5th, the anniversary of the first NSA story leaked by whistleblower Edward
Snowden, thousands of people, companies, and tons of your favorite websites,
will harness their collective power to strengthen the security of the web
through technology and mass action. Together, we’ll encourage mass adoption of
easy-to-use encryption tools that directly interfere in dragnet surveillance,
and tech companies and websites will announce a cascade of security improvements
that protect users’ basic rights and make mass surveillance much
harder.
Today
everyone should be feeling outrage that those in power in Washington, DC
continue to ignore the overwhelming public cry for an end to mass surveillance.
But we need to channel that outrage into action that will really work.
See
you on June 5th when we Reset the Net.
Onward,
-Evan,
Tiffiniy, and Holmes
Fight
for the Future
P.S.
Many of you have been asking us what comes next in the fight for net neutrality
after our successful
encampment outside the FCC.
We’re planning the next m oves, so stay tuned! And if you want to send a message
to the FCC right now,you
can do it here.
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