I just received a message from FreePress concerning CISPA and our rights on the internet:
Imagine if Facebook, Google and Twitter built a privacy-killing surveillance machine to help the federal government spy on us.
If Congress passes the Cybersecurity Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) this week, we'll be one step closer to that nightmare.
We've got just a couple of days to convince Congress to vote "NO" on CISPA. Here's how you can help:
Pick up the phone. Call Rep. Robert Hurt [Link] Urge a "NO" vote on CISPA. Let's get back to Facebook, Google and Twitter. Existing laws make it illegal for these and other online companies to share our personal information with the federal government without our consent or a search warrant.
But CISPA would obliterate our privacy laws. This means that Facebook could freely disclose your private messages, status updates, photos, searches, likes — even your location — to the National Security Agency or the Department of Homeland Security.
Google could send the government your email, your search history and more. If this bill passes, the federal government will have a surveillance system courtesy of the private companies that collect and hold our electronic information.
Right now we have the right to sue Facebook or Google for compromising our online privacy. CISPA would end all that — and we would no longer be able to do anything online without fear of being spied on.
CISPA is the worst bill facing the open Internet since SOPA — and it's arguably even worse than that. So we must stand up for our online rights. We can't simply hope that Congress does the right thing.
Call your representative right now. Urge a "NO" vote on CISPA. [Link]
Thanks for everything you do,
Josh, Matt, Jennifer Y. and the rest of the Free Press Action Fund team
P.S. We've been writing about the destructive potencial of CISPA all year. Go here and here to learn more about how CISPA would invade our privacy and kill our freedom to read, do and say what we want online.
P.P.S. We've been fighting CISPA for a year, and we won't stop until this bill is gone. Can you contribute $10 today to help us beat back CISPA for good? [link]
The Free Press Action Fund is a nonpartisan organization building a nationwide movement for media that serve the public interest. The Free Press Action Fund does not support or oppose any candidate for public office. Learn more at www.freepress.net.
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