On February 11th, 2014, internet users around the world plan to fight back in protest against mass surveillance. The setup is similar to the protest that was held in January 2012, which helped to defeat SOPA and PIPA censorship legislation. The February 11th event is called The Day We Fight Back and the mission is:
Together we will push back against powers that seek to observe, collect, and analyze our every digital action. Together, we will make it clear that such behavior is not compatible with democratic governance.
Websites can participate in the protest using the embeddable banner, which changes based on the the nationality of the visitors and includes different calls to action. Here’s what the banner looks like for visitors in the United States:
The banner makes it easy for your visitors to contact their legislators to ask that they oppose the FISA Improvements Act, support the USA Freedom Act, and enact protections for non-Americans.
WordPress Plugin For The Day We Fight Back
If you’re using WordPress and you want the banner on your site, there’s a plugin you can install to join the protest. Ryan Fugate’s The Day We Fight Back WordPress plugin is based on thedaywefightback.js. It will automatically display the banner at midnight on 2/11 for 24 hours. If you want to display the banner now, there’s an option in the settings for that, too.
When asked why he took the time to create the plugin, Fugate replied, “WordPress sites make up a large percentage of the internet and can have a powerful impact. Plugins make it easy to allow voices to be heard.” Check out a live demo of the banner in action on his site. If you want to join the protest, download The Day We Fight Back WordPress plugin from WordPress.org.
Awesome work by Ryan. I thought about how someone *should* make this into a plugin, but it was a fleeting thought. Good on Ryan for following through. Installed and activated :)