6 productive responses to PRISM

new PRISM logocross-posted from Civic

Along with the other free peoples of the internet, we’ve been discussing our reactions to PRISM, and whether and how US (and global) citizens might be able to organize against this unprecedented domestic spying. There are more questions than answers at the moment, and the enormous challenge of confronting an extra-legal entity like the NSA with people-power is strongly felt. But here are 5 things you can do that could prove more productive than petitioning the White House to respond. Thanks primarily to Sasha Costanza-Chock for the roundup:

1. Encrypt yourself
See The Guardian Project’s Android apps, Security in a Box, and Tor. If you have the skills, go further: build tools / better UI / How To Guides / visibility to encourage more people to encrypt themselves, too.

2. Support calls for a Congressional committee to investigate
You and your organization can sign on at https://www.stopwatching.us.

3. Organize, or participate in, a protest.
People are starting to plan for these in various locations; July 4th is a good date. Here’s one in DC.

4. Learn more about the history of U.S. surveillance programs, and organizing/resistance against them
See COINTELPRO‘s spying on “subversives” like Martin Luther King, Jr. It’s actually quite helpful to understand how these programs have been specifically used against every important domestic social movement, rather than just be afraid of the possibilities.

5. Generate attention and a culture of resistance
If you blog, blog; if you like memes, make and circulate memes. Culture is a weapon, and satire has always been part of transformative social movements. Of course there are things you can do to more effectively link cultural production to other forms of action (like, literally, link to other forms of action).

6. Talk about it with friends and family
Not everyone is paying attention. (courtesy of Ted Fickes)

What’s going on, and why it matters (via Free Press).

Logo courtesy of @emiland‘s brilliant, unsolicited PRISM rebranding.