Most Popular
-
1
Dongduk Women’s University halts coeducation talks
-
2
Defense ministry denies special treatment for BTS’ V amid phone use allegations
-
3
Russia sent 'anti-air' missiles to Pyongyang, Yoon's aide says
-
4
OpenAI in talks with Samsung to power AI features, report says
-
5
Two jailed for forcing disabled teens into prostitution
-
6
Trump picks ex-N. Korea policy official as his principal deputy national security adviser
-
7
South Korean military plans to launch new division for future warfare
-
8
Gold bars and cash bundles; authorities confiscate millions from tax dodgers
-
9
Kia EV9 GT marks world debut at LA Motor Show
-
10
Teen smoking, drinking decline, while mental health, dietary habits worsen
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― Google joined Internet rights activists on Tuesday in a virtual protest aimed at getting U.S. law makers to reign in online snooping.
Groups including the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Yahoo-owned Tumblr were on the roster of backers of an online protest called “The Day We Fight Back.”
By mid-morning here, more than 20,000 telephone calls had been made to members of the U.S. Congress to oppose privacy “intrusion” by the National Security Agency, according to Demand Progress executive director David Segal.
“Winning this fight is going to require a broad coalition of individuals, organizations, and businesses, one that is coalescing around today’s activism and will persist until we win the fight against mass suspicion-less surveillance,” said Segal, whose Internet freedom organization claims 1.5 million members.
A thedaywefightback.org website provided simple tools to call or email U.S. legislators, and even provided a script of what to say.
Participating websites were to provide links, banners or other tactics to get visitors to barrage members of Congress with Twitter messages, Facebook posts, emails, or calls opposing U.S. online spying.
Revelations about U.S. surveillance practices at home and abroad have sparked an overdue debate about U.S. surveillance laws and programs, Google vice president of public policy Susan Molinari said in a blog post.
“Google recognizes the very real threats that the U.S. and other countries face, but we strongly believe that government surveillance programs should operate under a legal framework that is rule-bound, narrowly tailored, transparent, and subject to oversight,” Molinari said.
Protest backers hoped to harness the collective power of Internet users to advance a USA Freedom Act that would reform surveillance practices.
“By overwhelming every member of Congress’s phone line, inbox, and Facebook and Twitter accounts with our demand to end government mass surveillance, we can deliver a message impossible to ignore,” ACLU legislative counsel Michelle Richardson said in a released statement.
Groups including the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Yahoo-owned Tumblr were on the roster of backers of an online protest called “The Day We Fight Back.”
By mid-morning here, more than 20,000 telephone calls had been made to members of the U.S. Congress to oppose privacy “intrusion” by the National Security Agency, according to Demand Progress executive director David Segal.
“Winning this fight is going to require a broad coalition of individuals, organizations, and businesses, one that is coalescing around today’s activism and will persist until we win the fight against mass suspicion-less surveillance,” said Segal, whose Internet freedom organization claims 1.5 million members.
A thedaywefightback.org website provided simple tools to call or email U.S. legislators, and even provided a script of what to say.
Participating websites were to provide links, banners or other tactics to get visitors to barrage members of Congress with Twitter messages, Facebook posts, emails, or calls opposing U.S. online spying.
Revelations about U.S. surveillance practices at home and abroad have sparked an overdue debate about U.S. surveillance laws and programs, Google vice president of public policy Susan Molinari said in a blog post.
“Google recognizes the very real threats that the U.S. and other countries face, but we strongly believe that government surveillance programs should operate under a legal framework that is rule-bound, narrowly tailored, transparent, and subject to oversight,” Molinari said.
Protest backers hoped to harness the collective power of Internet users to advance a USA Freedom Act that would reform surveillance practices.
“By overwhelming every member of Congress’s phone line, inbox, and Facebook and Twitter accounts with our demand to end government mass surveillance, we can deliver a message impossible to ignore,” ACLU legislative counsel Michelle Richardson said in a released statement.
-
Articles by Korea Herald
