[Chapter-delegates] "The Day We Fight Back" action

Fri Feb 7 22:30:16 PST 2014

Dear all,

The action is about rules of surveillance which are acceptable in the
democratic society.
https://en.necessaryandproportionate.org/

We didn't expect Chinese Peoples Army to observe human rights. But we
have to get these intelligence agencies (not only NSA) in countries
that call themselves democratic, struck by an acute form of paranoia,
under democratic control and scrutiny.

As I wrote the European Parliament is working on a resolution on mass
surveillance. I referred to the current draft proposed by the
rapporteur to the Civil Liberties Committee. As is a said in the
Explanatory Statement the resolution as a whole is based on need to
reflect necessary and proportionate principles:

“An increasing focus on security combined with developments in
technology has enabled States to know more about citizens than ever
before. By being able to collect data regarding the content of
communications, as well as metadata, and by following citizens’
electronic activities, in particular their use of smartphones and
tablet computers, intelligence services are de facto able to know
almost everything about a person. This has contributed to a
fundamental shift in the work and practices of intelligence agencies,
away from the traditional concept of targeted surveillance as a
necessary and proportional counter-terrorism measure, towards systems
of mass surveillance.

This process of increasing mass surveillance has not been subject to
any prior public debate or democratic decision-making. Discussion is
needed on the purpose and scale of surveillance and its place in a
democratic society. Is the situation created by Edward Snowden’s
revelations an indication of a general societal turn towards the
acceptance of the death of privacy in return for security? Do we face
a breach of privacy and intimacy so great that it is possible not only
for criminals but for IT companies and intelligence agencies to know
every detail of the life of a citizen? Is it a fact to be accepted
without further discussion? Or is the responsibility of the legislator
to adapt the policy and legal tools at hand to limit the risks and
prevent further damages in case less democratic forces would come to
power?”

Political establishment understands the situation. We need to
contribute to an atmosphere that helps in accepting amendments
hardening conclusions and recommendations of the report.

Best regards
Jozef Halbersztadt
-- 
'JotHal' jozef [dot] halbersztadt [at] gmail [dot] com
Internet Society Poland http://www.isoc.org.pl

2014-02-07 23:52 GMT+01:00 Evan Leibovitch <evan at telly.org>:
> Hi Ted,
>
> Hi other chapter leaders.
>
> I certainly don't oppose the goals of the campaign, but I do have a serious
> concern that ISOC HQ's support of this -- to the apparent exclusion of other
> efforts in other countries -- further cements an outside perception (that I
> have encountered) that ISOC is heavily US-centric. That is, chapters are
> seen as satellites of an American org for which domestic politics gains most
> attention.
>
> There are revelations that multiple countries have active surveillance
> programs. China's control effort is almost legendary, but the UK and many
> other countries have been exposed as different from the US only in
> capability if not intent.
>
> In ISOC we have a unique vehicle to globalise such an effort at public
> awareness. Promoting outside the US a campaign in which the main
> call-to-action is "contact your congressman" simply promotes frustration and
> a feeling of powerlessness.
>
> Is this a matter well taken up by the US-based ISOC chapters? Certainly. But
> IMO ICANN HQ should be playing more of a role in helping each chapter to
> raise such awareness in their own countries, than to re-enforce a
> preferred-country stereotype that's almost colonial in nature.
>
> Just a polite reminder, IMO, that an international focus has to be baked-in,
> not built-on.
>
> - Evan
>
>
>
> On 7 February 2014 13:31, Ted Mooney <mooney at isoc.org> wrote:
>>
>> To all ISOC Chapters:
>>
>>
>>
>> On 11 February, a coalition of activist groups, companies, and online
>> platforms will hold a day of activism against NSA surveillance. You can find
>> more details on “The Day We Fight Back” here:https://thedaywefightback.org/.
>> The primary call to action is to urge US citizens to call/email Congress and
>> ask legislators to oppose the FISA Improvements Act, support the USA Freedom
>> Act, and enact protections for non-Americans.
>>
>>
>>
>> The Internet Society supports the principles of this initiative and is
>> planning a blog posting from Markus Kummer on Monday to highlight this
>> effort, along with other similar initiatives across the community. I've
>> attached a copy of that blog to this email.  As a global organization, our
>> message will be focused on the importance of community collaboration around
>> important topics that impact the future of the Internet. Because this
>> initiative is primarily US focused, we do not plan to sign on to the website
>> or post “The Day We Fight Back” banner on our website.  Nevertheless, we
>> feel that all our Chapters should know about this initiative and, if you
>> find this useful, take the opportunity to support it, either 1) with a
>> signature and display of the banner (from the website information above) by
>> the US chapters, or 2) by clicking on the International banner and other
>> areas for non US citizen chapters.
>>
>>
>>
>> This issue of pervasive secret surveillance by governments around the
>> world has eroded trust in the Internet as a concourse of freedom,
>> innovation, economic opportunity and global community development.  We
>> encourage all our chapters to be vigilant and active in support of the open
>> and secure Internet.
>>
>>
>>
>> WIth thanks and best regards,
>>
>>
>> Ted Mooney
>> Senior Director, Membership & Services
>> The Internet Society
>> 1775 Wiehle Avenue
>> Reston, VA 20190 USA
>> Office: +1 703-439-2774
>> Cell: +1 301-980-6446
>> eMail: mooney at isoc.org
>
>
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