August, 12 2010, 05:58pm EDT
Internet Users Take Protest Against Verizon Pact to Google HQ
Friday the 13th Rally Tells Google: ‘Don’t Be Evil’
SAN FRANCISCO
With public backlash growing against the pact between Google and
Verizon that threatens the free and open Internet experience, Internet
users from across the Bay Area will converge outside Google headquarters
on Friday, Aug. 13, to protest the pact and urge the search-engine
giant to live up to its corporate motto: "Don't Be Evil."
In the week since news of Google's deal with Verizon broke, more than
300,000 people have signed letters calling on Google to abandon the
proposal, which threatens to destroy Network Neutrality - the
fundamental principle that keeps the Internet open and free from
discrimination. The Google-Verizon pact has been denounced by Silicon
Valley companies, including Facebook, venture capitalists, legal
scholars and leading members of Congress.
Here are the details for Friday's rally:
WHAT: 'Don't Be Evil' Rally at Google Headquarters
WHERE: Amphitheatre Parkway and Charleston Road, Mountain View, Calif.
WHEN: 12 Noon PT, Friday, Aug. 13
This protest is being organized by MoveOn.org Civic Action,
ColorofChange.org, Credo Action, the Progressive Change Campaign
Committee and Free Press. Representatives of the groups are available
for interviews.
Free Press was created to give people a voice in the crucial decisions that shape our media. We believe that positive social change, racial justice and meaningful engagement in public life require equitable access to technology, diverse and independent ownership of media platforms, and journalism that holds leaders accountable and tells people what's actually happening in their communities.
(202) 265-1490LATEST NEWS
Amid Spying Fight, House Passes Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act
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While applauding the U.S. House of Representatives' bipartisan passage of a bill to ensure that "law enforcement and intelligence agencies can't do an end-run around the Constitution by buying information from data brokers" on Wednesday, privacy advocates highlighted that Congress is trying to extend and expand a long-abused government spying program.
The House voted 219-199 for Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act (FANFSA), which won support from 96 Democrats and 123 Republicans, including the lead sponsor, Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio). Named for the constitutional amendment that protects against unreasonable searches and seizures, H.R. 4639 would close what campaigners call the data broker loophole.
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Wednesday's vote followed the House sending the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act to the Senate. H.R. 7888 would reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows for warrantless spying on noncitizens abroad but also sweeps up Americans' data.
The House notably included an amendment forcing a wide range of individuals and businesses to cooperate with government spying operations but rejected an amendment that would have added a warrant requirement to the bill, which the Senate could vote on as soon as Thursday.
Noting those decisions on the FISA reauthorization legislation, Ruddock stressed that "today's vote is a victory but follows a recent loss and ongoing threat as that Section 702 bill moves to the Senate this week too."
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Jeramie Scott, senior counsel and director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center's Project on Surveillance Oversight, also praised the House's FANFSA passage on Wednesday.
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Kia Hamadanchy, senior policy counsel at ACLU, similarly said Wednesday that "the bipartisan passage of this bill is a flashing warning sign to the government that if it wants our data, it must get a warrant."
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As The Intercept's Ken Klippenstein and Daniel Boguslaw noted:
Since 2011, the U.N. Security Council has rejected the Palestinian Authority's request for full member status. On April 2, the Palestinian Observer Mission to the U.N. requested that the council once again take up consideration of its membership application. According to the first State Department cable, U.N. meetings since the beginning of April suggest that Algeria, China, Guyana, Mozambique, Russia, Slovenia, Sierra Leone, and Malta support granting Palestine full membership to the U.N. It also says that France, Japan, and Korea are undecided, while the United Kingdom will likely abstain from a vote.
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