The Congress left town last weekend without settling on a replacement for the Patriot Act, which is set to expire Sunday at midnight, and now 10,000 websites are blocking Congress’s access in protest.
The Patriot Act, specifically Section 215 in the Act, allows the National Security Agency broad authority to conduct bulk surveillance and collection of phone records.
The blackout was spearheaded by a group called Fight for the Future. Members of the group — which include Reddit, Yelp, and the Consumer Electronics Association — have added code to their sites that redirects any visitors from Internet protocol (IP) addresses at the House or Senate to a protest page.
“Congress: This is a blackout,” the site reads. “We are blocking your access until you end mass surveillance laws.”
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It continues: “The real answer is to end all authorities used to conduct mass surveillance. Until you do, thousands of websites have blocked your access, and more are joining every day.”
The group also has a Twitter campaign going in which it invites people to send in “#ifeelnaked” photos (clothing optional), which are then posted under a banner saying:
“Congress should be ashamed of NSA mass spying. It’s like a strip search, online.”
