After time, this form of activism produced an equal reaction that shifted the way that legislation and privacy policies are written – making privacy an “opt-in” setting in many cases. This still proving that you must “fight” for your privacy, and it does not automatically come as a right. Is this wrong? To assume you are always being watched unless you ask not to be? It puts the power into the people’s hands, but shouldn’t privacy be something assumed and not given upon request?
Activist Culture
In the 21st century it's easy to categorize activism into two categories:
Physical
Digital
V.S
With surveillance becoming more and more prominent in the products we buy and use on a regular basis, it obviously takes place on an increasingly technology based platform. So, the activism against this issue actually shows a shift into a more hybrid form of physical and digital activism where the digital form takes on serious impacts like in the 2012 SOPA/PIPA strike.
Examples are showing up in person for rally's, pickets, and other events in the real world to take action, as well as doing things like calling, writing a letter, or showing up to speak to an important official.
Often described as "slacktivism", the activist takes charge on a digital platform by their participation in events with a large quantity of participants such as a change of facebook profile picture/status, or a boycott of specific website/platform
Stop Watching Us which also goes under the name Stand Against Spying, who organized a large web-based protest called "The Day We Fight Back", are some of the biggest contributors to the fight against surveillance.
Their promotional video included celebrities and lots of persuasive language for people to physically get involved, shown here:
Their promotional video included celebrities and lots of persuasive language for people to physically get involved, shown here:
Whereas other promotional video's such as this one from Fight For the Future, uses facts and analytics to persuade you of their cause.
Another organization called Privacy International uses their efforts for educating the public and collecting statistics and information to bring to government officials in order to get privacy rights written into legislation in countries all over the world.