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A Practical Guide to Internet Technology for Political Activists in Repressive Regimes

By richard

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) released "Surveillance Self-Defense International" (SSDI) today, a practical guide to help activists from around the world use the Internet safely under repressive regimes. It is available at: http://www.eff.org/wp/surveillance-self-defense-international.

Recent political protests in Iran, China, and elsewhere have demonstrated the enormous power of the Internet for organizing protests and reporting events to the world. But governments have also used the Internet to track, harass, and undermine. SSDI urges activists to consider the risks in using various technologies and outlines strategies that can allow protestors to continue to use the Internet safely.

"The Internet remains a powerful way to give voice to repressed people around the world," said EFF Staff Technologist Peter Eckersley. "But with increasingly prevalent government censorship and surveillance, citizens seeking free expression must consider the risks and make careful decisions about how they use the Internet. Surveillance Self-Defense International can help them make those decisions well."

Individuals outside of repressive regimes can also read the guide to find ideas for remotely assisting others in circumventing censorship and speaking out anonymously on the Internet. Shortly after the contested Iranian election, many activists sought advice on using their computers to set up proxies or Tor nodes to help Iranian citizens access the web.

"Surveillance Self-Defense International isn't just about what to do when facing down surveillance and censorship in your own country," said Danny O'Brien, EFF's International Outreach Coordinator. "It's about what ordinary Net users can do to help protect others. Whoever you are, and wherever you are, you can help keep the Net safe for free speech."

SSDI is an offshoot of EFF's Surveillance Self-Defense manual, an online how-to guide for protecting private data against government spying in the U.S. SSDI reflects the fact that the best strategies to achieve privacy are very different for people in the U.S. and people living elsewhere, sometimes under authoritarian regimes.

For "Surveillance Self-Defense International":
http://www.eff.org/wp/surveillance-self-defense-international

Contacts:

Peter Eckersley
Staff Technologist
Electronic Frontier Foundation
pde@eff.org

Danny O'Brien
International Outreach Coordinator
Electronic Frontier Foundation
danny@eff.org

Full post as published by Electronic Freedom Foundation - Deep Links on July 21, 2009 (boomark / email).