Counter-Surveillance Success Stories to Inspire Digital Rights Advocates

Kimberly Carlson
Electronic Frontier Foundation

Concerned European Internet users will descend upon Brussels on September 26 to participate in Freedom Not Fear 2014—a European week of action aimed to fight against a widespread surveillance state.

Since 2008, a coalition of European organizations has met annually under the banner of Freedom Not Fear to fight against online spying, and to challenge the hyperbolic rhetoric of fear that permeates the security and privacy debate. The Freedom Not Fear movement emerged from widespread outrage to the European Union’s 2006 Mandatory Data Retention Directive. Since its origins, Freedom Not Fear’s message has been: fundamental rights like privacy, free expression, due process, and democratic participation are jeopardized when reactionary, fear-driven surveillance systems penetrate our societies.

EFF is joining this year’s Freedom Not Fear campaign by featuring a collection of Counter-Surveillance Success Stories from activists who worked (and continue to work) tirelessly to protect our fundamental rights. These counter-surveillance success stories will be a part of a toolkit provided to the digital rights advocates in Latin America that EFF’s International Rights Director Katitza Rodriguez will be collaborating with as she continues her six-month tour of the region this fall. Throughout the trip, she and the other activists will share best practices on how to combat growing surveillance trends in their respective countries and work to create and promote privacy-enhancing solutions.

As part of this project, we’ve identified some of the best strategies for challenging overreaching proposals that threaten to erode civil liberties. Visit our Counter-Surveillance Success Stories collection to read the case studies that illustrate how digital freedom activists around the world have successfully challenged surveillance practices and proposals. We hope to see this list of examples continue to grow.

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