Congress waters down USA Freedom Act to allow even more spying. Time to Reset the Net to take our privacy back.

Yesterday, Congress sold you out. House leadership watered down their version of the USA Freedom Act with an amendment that creates vast new loopholes for the NSA. The new version will allow most bulk government surveillance to continue – and it might even make it worse [1].

We can’t trust the government to solve this problem. But we knew that already, so we have a plan. It’s time to Reset the Net.

The crazy thing is, the USA Freedom Act was already just a baby step in the right direction. Fight for the Future hesitated to throw our full support behind it because we felt it didn’t go nearly far enough to reign in the NSA, and left activists, journalists, and people outside the U.S. vulnerable.

This new, weakened version of the bill is an insult to the millions of people worldwide who have spoken out calling for an end to abusive government spying. And so-called privacy champions in Congress are saying this is the best “we’re going to get.” [2]

I mean, we’re not surprised, but think about that: after the most lurid and earth-shattering leaks in the history of the NSA, this is the best Congress can do. Seriously?

If this is the best they can do, we need to take matters into our own hands. Let’s do everything in our power to make spying harder. It’s time to take our privacy back.

This just goes to show that, when you settle for a mediocre reform bill, you’ll get an even worse one. We need to push onward and continue to grow the movement against mass surveillance until we can’t be ignored.

On June 5th, the anniversary of the first NSA story leaked by whistleblower Edward Snowden, thousands of people, companies, and tons of your favorite websites, will harness their collective power to strengthen the security of the web through technology and mass action. Together, we’ll encourage mass adoption of easy-to-use encryption tools that directly interfere in dragnet surveillance, and tech companies and websites will announce a cascade of security improvements that protect users’ basic rights and make mass surveillance much harder.

Everyone has a role to play. Click here to help Reset the Net.

Today everyone should be feeling outrage that those in power in Washington, DC continue to ignore the overwhelming public cry for an end to mass surveillance. But we need to channel that outrage into action that will really work.

See you on June 5th when we Reset the Net.

Onward,

-Evan, Tiffiniy, and Holmes
Fight for the Future

P.S. Many of you have been asking us what comes next in the fight for net neutrality after our successful encampment outside the FCC. We’re planning the next moves, so stay tuned! And if you want to send a message to the FCC right now, you can do it here.