Global internet advocates have launched the “Reset the Net” campaign in order to educate internet users on privacy protocols available to them, with Edward Snowden urging support for the initiative on the one year anniversary of the first National Security Agency (NSA) revelation.
HumanIPO reported last year on revelations of global digital surveillance programmes made public by former National Security Agency contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Since then, numerous coalitions have been formed by opposing the blanket surveillance initiatives, including the Reform Government Surveillance lobby group, made up of tech giants Google, Apple, Facebook, Twitter, AOL, Microsoft, LinkedIn and Yahoo!
The latest opposition initiative, entitled Reset the Net, is providing individuals with ways to protect their digital privacy on devices that make use of the internet for communication.
The initiative is made up of numerous companies and groups including Google, anonymous search engine DuckDuckGo, user generated news link site Reddit, image hosting platform Imgur, open source software community Mozilla, Greenpeace and international digital rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation, among others.
““Don’t ask for your privacy. Take it back,” the group says.
The Reset the Net website allows users to sign a pledge promising to take steps to protect their digital privacy.
“Today, we can begin the work of effectively shutting down the collection of our online communications, even if the US Congress fails to do the same. That’s why I’m asking you to join me on June 5th for Reset the Net, when people and companies all over the world will come together to implement the technological solutions that can put an end to the mass surveillance programs of any government,” said Snowden
“This is the beginning of a moment where we the people begin to protect our universal human rights with the laws of nature rather than the laws of nations,” he said.
The campaign highlights tools for digital privacy protection including encrypted chat using ChatSecure, anonymous browsing using Tor, email encryption using GPG, and numerous methods to encrypt hard drives.
“We have the technology, and adopting encryption is the first effective step that everyone can take to end mass surveillance. That’s why I am excited for Reset the Net — it will mark the moment when we turn political expression into practical action, and protect ourselves on a large scale,” said Snowden.
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