4 ms·

How do I support this? I'm a Swiss citizen living in the UK.

by swombat 13y ago

Peroni 13y ago
If you're on the electoral register then this should help: http://www.pirateparty.org.uk/ http://www.pirateparty.org.uk/
- swombat 13y ago
  I'm not allowed to vote in the UK unfortunately. :-(
  - Peroni 13y ago
    I keep forgetting that Switzerland isn't part of the EU. Apologies Dan!
    - swombat 13y ago
      I've actually registered with the pirate party in the UK already, but since I can't vote, I can't do all that much for them I think...
  - lake99 13y ago
    Voting with your wallet is an option. http://www.pirateparty.org.uk/donate http://www.pirateparty.org.uk/donate
    - swombat 13y ago
      Good call, I've just set up a £25 monthly donation. This is the first time I've ever set up a regular donation to anything.
    - supersystem 13y ago
      Or with your time and knowledge. http://www.pirateparty.org.uk/forum/viewforum.php?f=5 http://www.pirateparty.org.uk/forum/viewforum.php?f=5
PavlovsCat 13y ago
Yes, I think this page could use a "how can I help?" section; that doesn't just say "vote for us", that is. Ways to help people help themselves get organized around this issue.
sschueller 13y ago
Support the Swiss pirate party: https://www.piratenpartei.ch https://www.piratenpartei.ch . Tell them to join this cause.
mark_l_watson 13y ago
I think we can help the most by clearly communicating with family and friends what the issues (as we see them) are. I just spent about 40 minutes crafting a long email that I sent to about 40 family members and close friends detailing why I thought people needed to contact their elected politicians, sign the https://optin.stopwatching.us/ https://optin.stopwatching.us/ petition, etc. Seriously, if we can, as individuals, each change several people's minds on this issue, that helps.
louthy 13y ago
I suppose a simple way, without getting involved politically, would be to stop using any service which is hosted in the US or by a company that falls under US jurisdiction. A stampede of users leaving the likes of Google, Facebook, etc. would put pressure on those companies to use their resources to fight it 'at home'. I realise this is a relatively naïve POV, but you only have to see how quickly Instagram reversed their ToCs a few months back - after users started closing their accounts in droves - to see how this can prompt the big boys into action. You could also argue that there's a real opportunity for a European competitor to launch a rival to these services, under the guise of our strong data protection laws (in the UK at least). So if a DropBox or Gmail clone (for example) started to get traction, again it would put pressure on.
- embolism 13y ago
  Unfortunately the UK is actually worse: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/jun/21/gchq-cables-secret-world-communications-nsa?CMP=twt_gu http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/jun/21/gchq-cables-secret-... The only thing companies like Google and Facebook can do to improve matters is to stop collecting and storing giant troves of personal data.
  - louthy 13y ago
    It may tap the cables, but if you encrypt then they're going to struggle to get at anything. Ultimately if they want access to your data they need a warrant.
- zende 13y ago
  > I suppose a simple way, without getting involved politically, would be to stop using any service which is hosted in the US or by a company that falls under US jurisdiction. I'm not sure it's that simple, nor is that entirely practical. It's not the companies you need to put pressure on. I would image that some of them aren't entirely excited at the idea of working with the NSA, but they aren't given much choice. The unfortunate truth is that lobbying DC is the most effective way to enact this kind of change. You can do this online to some extent by using services like Votizen.com. Lobbying by Silicon Valley and others in tech certainly worked for the JOBS act.

How do I support this? I'm a Swiss citizen living in the UK.

by swombat 13y ago

How do I support this? I'm a Swiss citizen living in the UK.

If you're on the electoral register then this should help: http://www.pirateparty.org.uk/ http://www.pirateparty.org.uk/

swombat 13y ago
I'm not allowed to vote in the UK unfortunately. :-(
- Peroni 13y ago
  I keep forgetting that Switzerland isn't part of the EU. Apologies Dan!
  - swombat 13y ago
    I've actually registered with the pirate party in the UK already, but since I can't vote, I can't do all that much for them I think...
- lake99 13y ago
  Voting with your wallet is an option. http://www.pirateparty.org.uk/donate http://www.pirateparty.org.uk/donate
  - swombat 13y ago
    Good call, I've just set up a £25 monthly donation. This is the first time I've ever set up a regular donation to anything.
  - supersystem 13y ago
    Or with your time and knowledge. http://www.pirateparty.org.uk/forum/viewforum.php?f=5 http://www.pirateparty.org.uk/forum/viewforum.php?f=5

PavlovsCat 13y ago

Yes, I think this page could use a "how can I help?" section; that doesn't just say "vote for us", that is. Ways to help people help themselves get organized around this issue.

sschueller 13y ago

Support the Swiss pirate party: https://www.piratenpartei.ch https://www.piratenpartei.ch . Tell them to join this cause.

mark_l_watson 13y ago

I think we can help the most by clearly communicating with family and friends what the issues (as we see them) are. I just spent about 40 minutes crafting a long email that I sent to about 40 family members and close friends detailing why I thought people needed to contact their elected politicians, sign the https://optin.stopwatching.us/ https://optin.stopwatching.us/ petition, etc. Seriously, if we can, as individuals, each change several people's minds on this issue, that helps.

louthy 13y ago

I suppose a simple way, without getting involved politically, would be to stop using any service which is hosted in the US or by a company that falls under US jurisdiction. A stampede of users leaving the likes of Google, Facebook, etc. would put pressure on those companies to use their resources to fight it 'at home'. I realise this is a relatively naïve POV, but you only have to see how quickly Instagram reversed their ToCs a few months back - after users started closing their accounts in droves - to see how this can prompt the big boys into action. You could also argue that there's a real opportunity for a European competitor to launch a rival to these services, under the guise of our strong data protection laws (in the UK at least). So if a DropBox or Gmail clone (for example) started to get traction, again it would put pressure on.

embolism 13y ago
Unfortunately the UK is actually worse: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/jun/21/gchq-cables-secret-world-communications-nsa?CMP=twt_gu http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/jun/21/gchq-cables-secret-... The only thing companies like Google and Facebook can do to improve matters is to stop collecting and storing giant troves of personal data.
- louthy 13y ago
  It may tap the cables, but if you encrypt then they're going to struggle to get at anything. Ultimately if they want access to your data they need a warrant.
zende 13y ago
> I suppose a simple way, without getting involved politically, would be to stop using any service which is hosted in the US or by a company that falls under US jurisdiction. I'm not sure it's that simple, nor is that entirely practical. It's not the companies you need to put pressure on. I would image that some of them aren't entirely excited at the idea of working with the NSA, but they aren't given much choice. The unfortunate truth is that lobbying DC is the most effective way to enact this kind of change. You can do this online to some extent by using services like Votizen.com. Lobbying by Silicon Valley and others in tech certainly worked for the JOBS act.