Rallying Against NSA Surveillance (1)

Grantee Project

A mass rally against NSA surveillance took place October 26 2013 in Washington, DC. The rally was organised by the StopWatching.Us coalition, which comprises more than 100 US-based organisations and individuals, and was supported by a committee of organisers from a number of US digital rights and civil liberties organisations, including  Demand Progress, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Access, the ACLU, Fight for the Future, Free Press, and Restore the Fourth. The rally coincided with the 13th anniversary of the passage of the PATRIOT Act, one of the key pieces of legislation used to justify ongoing NSA surveillance, as well as the return of the US Congress from summer recess ahead of the autumn legislative season. The rally was a part of a larger weekend event, including: a “lobby day” on Capitol Hill; a training day for participants focusing on grassroots organising, campaign planning, media and communications training, basic digital security, and a briefing on online legislation and legal issues; and a coalition summit for key organisers.

The Web We Want’s Rapid Response Grant allowed the Center for Rights to hire a coordinator to help organise the event. This ensured a well-planned, well-attended and effectively executed rally that brought these important Web freedom issues to the attention of the US lawmakers and citizens around the country.