https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGmiw_rrNxkWednesday, a coalition of hundreds of organizations, whistle blowers, and civil rights leaders unveiled a video (above) opposing "suspicionless surveillance of American citizens." The 'Stop Watching Us' campaign features many notable privacy proponents including Daniel Ellsberg, best known for the 'Pentagon Papers,' and Glen Greenwald, the Guardian reporter who 'leaked' information on the NSA's PRISM surveillance program from Edward Snowden.A rally is planned for 12pm Saturday, October 26, outside of Union Station in Washington, D.C. Representatives scheduled to speak include sitting Congressman Justin Amash (R-Illinois), Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, and former Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio).Read the letter from Stop Watching Us to Congress:
- Enact reform this Congress to Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act, the state secrets privilege, and the FISA Amendments Act to make clear that blanket surveillance of the Internet activity and phone records of any person residing in the U.S. is prohibited by law and that violations can be reviewed in adversarial proceedings before a public court;
- Create a special committee to investigate, report, and reveal to the public the extent of this domestic spying. This committee should create specific recommendations for legal and regulatory reform to end unconstitutional surveillance;
- Hold accountable those public officials who are found to be responsible for this unconstitutional surveillance.Celebrities have also offered their star power to the cause. Actors like Wil Wheaton, John Cusack, and The Dark Knight's Maggie Gyllenhaal are supporters and are featured in the video. As of today, the petition has well over half a million (576,252) signatures.