14 DAY TRIAL // The “Restore the 4th” movement is already famous and as they gear up for the incoming protest, they’ve also come up with a clever trick to get close to NSA’s massive Utah datacenter.
The local activists in Utah prove they have a sense of humor and wit about them as they decided to “adopt” the highway running straight by the NSA’s new datacenter in Utah.
The organization that opposes the surveillance practices the NSA engages in has offered to pick up litter on the 2-mile stretch of Redwood Road that includes the main entrance to the Utah data center.
Of course, they won’t simply be picking up litter; they’ll be doing it while carrying picket signs, effectively protesting while doing some good for society.
In a quick statement, the Utah Department of Transportation basically shrugged its shoulders and raised its hands in a “not my problem” gesture.
“As long as they’re following safety protocol, we’re happy there are people applying to keep litter off the roads out there,” a spokesperson said.
For its part, the NSA gave out a slightly weird statement, saying that highway adoption is not a part of NSA’s federal mission. As if that has anything to do with what they were being asked.
But then again, perhaps they didn’t understand the question since they’re known to dance around a topic or two.
The next round of protests is scheduled for October 26, which marks the 12th anniversary of the Patriot Act, the document that the NSA has twisted until it gave the agency permission to spy on everyone.
The events are supported by numerous organizations and people, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Mozilla, Fight for the Future, Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg and Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web.