‘1984 is not an instruction manual’: Thousands protest NSA spying across US

Thousands of protesters in over 100 US cities opted out of traditional July 4th celebrations on Thursday, instead choosing to march in nationwide protests against the US government’s NSA spying program. Participants demanded an end to global surveillance.

Major US cities taking part in the protests included New York, Washington, Los Angeles,
Chicago, Boston, Seattle, Memphis and Miami. London and Munich
also hosted demonstrations.

The ‘Restore the Fourth’ protests were aimed at restoring the
fundamentals of the Fourth Amendment – the part of the Bill of
Rights which protects US citizens against unlawful search and
seizure. The purpose of the rallies was to spread awareness and
encourage action from everyday citizens.

Around 2,000 protesters joined the New York City protest, Restore
the Fourth organizer Tim Colella told RT. Over 300 people
gathered for the rally in San Diego. An additional 300 protesters
marched through the streets of San Francisco chanting, “NSA go
away” and “Restore the Fourth today.”

Hundreds of demonstrators rallied at the Utah Veterans Memorial
Park on Thursday, protesting against the NSA’s $1.5 billion Utah
Data Center. Participants believe the center to be an example of
the government’s trampling on Fourth Amendment rights, The Salt
Lake Tribune reported.

The online community also joined the rally, with around 30,000
websites displaying banners which demanded the NSA stop snooping
around the world’s data. Reddit, Mozilla, WordPress and others
were among participating websites.

The demonstrations were prompted after whistleblower Edward
Snowden blew the lid on NSA surveillance programs, sparking
global outrage. The 30-year-old former NSA contractor leaked
documents surrounding US spying tactics. 

Kelly Byke, co-organizer of the Restore the Fourth campaign, told
RT that there must be a judicial review of all US surveillance
programs. 

“It is important for Americans to permit and allow these
programs. Why are these programs being enacted without the voice
of the people permitting them to happen? We just want an open
debate. We want to know exactly what is going on, how these
programs are being implemented,” she said. 

“Privacy is a basic right for everyone in the US and terrorism
programs should not be snooping on US citizens widely,” Byke
added.

Activist Alexander Banoub said he believes his Fourth Amendment
rights are being breached not only by the government, but also by
the police. “With the NSA leaks and everything that has been
coming out, I feel lied to and betrayed by the government that is
supposed to uphold the constitution.”

Republished with permission from: RT