The Internet Fights Back Ready to Knock Out Government Surveillance 

Watch out NSA, the Internet is back for round two with “The Day We Fight Back” — an online protest packing one hell of a punch ready to knock out mass government surveillance worldwide.

The Day We Fight Back — Online protest.

The Day We Fight Back — Online protest.

A coalition of activist groups, companies and online platforms launch an online protest against government surveillance in a mobilization dubbed “The Day We Fight Back”.  

Honoring activist and technologist Aaron Swartz and the SOPA Blackout Anniversary, a worldwide call to action in opposition to the NSA’s mass spying regime has taken the Internet by storm. Digital social activism at it’s finest, leading Internet groups announced Feb. 11, 2014 as a day of activism against NSA surveillance.

“The Day We Fight Back” was developed in the likeness of the SOPA strike notoriously known as the day Wikipedia went dark. The Internet proved it had the capability of taking an national lawmakers two years ago when the protest gained significant traction and support. On Jan. 18, 2012 thousands of sites protested the Stop Online Privacy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act.

So what exactly is this coalition fighting against? Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden released a plethora of classified documents to expose what he claimed was NSA’s illegal activity. Following this controversy the NSA continues to argue it’s actions are necessary to protect citizens from terrorists. 

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According to organizers the goal is in part to pass a federal bill called the USA Freedom Act intended to place constraints on the same mass surveillance programs exposed by Snowden and to continually place public pressure on legislators to stop spying since free speech cannot exist without privacy.

Flooding social media and making headlines of news media, the movement’s innovative campaign engages Internet users on a global scale.

Participating websites such as Reddit, Tumblr and Mozilla along with 6,000 others are boasting banners or alerts urging U.S. visitors to support the Freedom Act by contacting their congressmen. Those outside of the U.S. are also being asked to sign a petition against global mass surveillance. 

All of this can be done through “The Day We Fight Back” website which includes a step-by-step process for emailing and calling congress men that can be completed in minutes. 

The site’s layout flawless explains the movement and the importance of the cause driving it as well as offering Internet users to share banners, cover photos, avatars on their own sites. 

The movement even has it’s own #stopthensa hashtag on Twitter as well as icons providing Internet users with the opportunity to tell the world they’re taking part via social media.  

Fox News, NBC News and PC Mag along with countless other major media sources published articles about the protest. Although Tuesday’s protest made impressive advances for the cause, it failed to parallel the reach of the SOPA strike. 

Regardless the movement is making huge strides in the fight for privacy. As of Feb. 13, 2014 the movement has generated 84,000 tweets, 411,000 mentions of Facebook, and 26,000 GooglePlus posts. Not to mention the 89,081 calls made and 184,777 emails sent to legislators through the site’s ‘Take Action Now’ section.

“ Today the greatest threat to a free Internet, and broader free society, is the National Security Agency’s mass spying regime,” said Segal. “If Aaron (Swartz) were alive he’d be on the front lines, fighting back against these practices that undermine our ability to engage with each other genuinely free human beings.”