Tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 26, the Stop Watching Us coalition is organizing a large protest in Washington, DC, demanding that the federal government stop the NSA’s massive phone and Internet surveillance programs. A group of whistleblowers, activists, researchers and congressional representatives will be speaking at the event, including:
- NSA whistleblower (and GAP client) Thomas Drake
- Rep. Justin Amash (R-Wi)
- Security technologist Bruce Schneier
- Former Governor Gary Johnson
- Former Congressman Dennis Kucinich
- and many more!
In a rare public statement provided to the ACLU, NSA surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden endorsed the protest. He writes:
In the last four months, we’ve learned a lot about our government.
We’ve learned that the U.S. intelligence community secretly built a system of pervasive surveillance. Today, no telephone in America makes a call without leaving a record with the NSA. Today, no internet transaction enters or leaves America without passing through the NSA’s hands. Our representatives in Congress tell us this is not surveillance. They’re wrong.
Now it’s time for the government to learn from us. On Saturday, the ACLU, EFF, and the rest of the StopWatching.Us coalition are going to D.C. Join us in sending the message: Stop Watching Us.
Snowden’s comments directly dispute the stance of Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Ca), who recently opined that NSA spying is not surveillance.
Thousands are expected to attend what is considered the largest rally yet against NSA surveillance. Organizers will deliver a petition to Congress signed by more than 500,000 people opposed to the NSA’s policies. The rally is set to begin at 11:30am ET in front of Union Station.
Sarah Damian is New Media Associate for the Government Accountability Project, the nation’s leadingwhistleblower protection and advocacy organization.