We did it! Your voices have been heard!
After days of international pressure online and offline against internet censorship legislation, including by so many of you from Access, leaders in the US Congress announced they are postponing votes on the PROTECT IP Act and Stop Online Piracy Act. This is a fatal blow to this legislation!
These bills threatened free speech everywhere and the very integrity of the internet, but their downfall shows what happens when we all join together. Millions of people worldwide joined in protests, signed petitions or blacked out their websites demonstrating the unique power of the internet. But make no mistake, this fight is far from over.
Lobbyists in Washington are working right now to revive these measures, and there are ill-conceived copyright bills popping up all over the world, posing the same threats to free expression and access to information.
We've used the internet for activism, now let's use our activism for the internet. Protecting our rights online is no longer an issue only for techies. The events over the past year have shown that this is something that affects every single one of us everywhere and we can have a real impact when we work together.
We have grown from an idea to a global force with members in nearly every country in the world. Today, we find ourselves standing right at the centre of the fight for digital freedom.
We know those pushing censorship legislation have deep, deep pockets, but we need to keep fighting them! Help us take the fight to each one of these countries. Pitch in and donate here to Access so we can so we defend our rights for free speech and access to information online around the world.
https://www.accessnow.org/donate
This moment is too important to pass up. Now is the time. Donate now to protect the internet not only for us, but for the future.
With hope,
Brett, Jochai, Joe, Gustaf, Mike, Raegan, Daniel, Katherine, Keisha, Aasil, Danielle, and the rest of the Access Team.
