14 DAY TRIAL // Anonymous is gearing up for protests. The hacktivists in the UK are planning to camp out next to Britain’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in protest against the complete disregard shown by the spy agency to people’s right to privacy.
Anonymous has been promoting its intentions over Twitter where it told the GCHQ to expect them, adding the famous “we are legion” quip.
Dubbed “Operation GCHQ,” the protests are looking for members who are willing to attend the event that will take place outside the spy agency’s building. They want to draw attention to the issue of mass surveillance in which the GCHQ has been deeply involved alongside the NSA, and to urge lawmakers to take swift changes in surveillance policy and to put people’s right to privacy at the top of the list of interests.
Anonymous will be gathering at the Cheltenham headquarters, also known as “The Doughnut” due to its round shape.
Hundreds of people are expected to attend, many of whom have traveled from other nations around the world and from other cities across the UK. The protests started Friday, August 29 at 9AM and will end on September 1 at 6 PM.
The protests are part of a larger trend, with people asking for their right to privacy in numerous countries. The majority of the events have taken place in the United States and the UK, two of the countries at the center of the entire surveillance scandal.
In the UK, lawmakers have been stalling on coming up with plans to put a stop to the mass surveillance of the population. As a result, legal proceedings have been launched by several civil liberty groups questioning the legality of the invasive practices. Liberty, Privacy International, Amnesty International and the American Civil Liberties Union are just some of the groups that have shown concern over the issue, more particularly the Tempora project.
Last year, Edward Snowden became one of the best known names in the world after he leaked countless documents from the NSA. These files exposed the mass surveillance practices of the intelligence agency. Furthermore, some documents went on to bring to light similar issues with other spy agencies, such as the ones from the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, all of whom collaborate with the American agency.
All these government states use people’s fear of terrorist activities to justify the bulk data collection.
