Net 'bat signal' activated for privacy protests

Activists have switched on an internet signalling system to help co-ordinate protests about a draft law in the US.

BBC News

The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (Cispa) aims to aid investigation of web attacks. But the activists say the law would erode privacy by exposing people's browsing habits and would be used to justify domestic surveillance. The "bat signal" system tells followers to start displaying protest materials such as website banners and petitions.

Instead of reacting on an incident-by-incident basis, the IDL monitors threats to online privacy and let supporters know when to ramp up protests. The IDL also said it would create protest materials such as website banners, petitions and information about how to contact politicians, so people can voice their opposition in a co-ordinated manner. Some members have embedded code on the sites they control, so protest materials are shown automatically when the "bat signal" is activated.

Sounds okay in theory but does this have much chance of changing anything at all?


Sorry if this has been posted already I tried a few different search terms and nothing came up.

reply to post by Lady_Tuatha


Nice find!!

I think the fact that massive sites like wikipedia and the like joined in the blackout protests really brings heat to the playing field. It not only shows that big operations WILL get involved, but how many people tried to wiki during the blackout and realized.. 'Awww, hell no.' ?

I wonder if I'll see cat-faces on some of my regular site-visits in the future.. but it's definitely an interesting concept. Let's hope the IDL really can initiate a movement!

S&F

- Fim

reply to post by Lady_Tuatha


What I find most fascinating about your info, OP, is that this is activated for "privacy" protests, and yet, it seems privacy is exactly what it erodes.......
I suspect it's more along the lines of "new" surveillance to cover what's already up and running and has been for a very, very long time. If you have layer upon layer of stuff, you never reach a "root" cause, and all other layers exist so the root can remain blameless and always continue operating at the root without detection, nor being blamed for anything, much less ever detected.....
Thanks for the information.

I wonder would ATS display it as a banner to show support?