Dear all,
We wanted to share two exciting announcements with you. We simply couldn't wait for
the "Don't Blink" publication!
***** (1) Wikimedia Foundation v. National Security Agency *****
WHAT: There is a new development in our lawsuit challenging the United States’ Upstream
mass surveillance program. We first filed this lawsuit in March 2015, to protect the
privacy and free expression rights of Wikimedia users worldwide. Last Friday, alongside
the American Civil Liberties Union and Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia
University, we filed a petition before the Supreme Court of the United States in which we
urged U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to NSA’s Mass Surveillance.
WHY: Under the mass surveillance practices we are challenging, the U.S. government is
collecting, filtering, and searching trillions of internet communications that pass
through international cables. This data shows what Wikimedia users are reading, and what
contributions they make to the projects. This not only violates user privacy, but is also
an attack on freedom of expression. Users anywhere in the world should be able to read and
share free knowledge without the U.S. government—or any government—looking over their
shoulder.
MORE: You can read more about this development in a press release we published on our
website:
<https://wikimediafoundation.org/news/2022/08/26/wikimedia-foundation-aclu-and-knight-institute-urge-u-s-supreme-court-to-hear-challenge/>.
***** (2) 20+ Questions about advocacy and public policy at the Wikimedia Foundation
*****
WHAT: The Wikimedia Foundation has published a 'Frequently Asked Questions' (FAQ)
resource on the Global Advocacy Team's Meta-Wiki page:
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Public_policy/FAQ#General_questions_about_our_work>.
The list clarifies the Foundation's public policy priorities, who works on what, how
various teams within the Foundation collaborate, and much more.
WHY: The free knowledge movement needs to work together to ensure that everyone, anywhere,
can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. A small but important step in this
collaboration is to help build bridges and make connections. Our FAQ is part of an effort
to "Build a Better Front door" [1] and to "Speak human" [2]. It should
be easy to find information, resources and support related to the Foundation's public
policy and advocacy work, just as that information should be conveyed in language that is
simple, relatable and translatable.
MORE: We hope that our FAQ is useful and welcome feedback. Do you have another question?
Do you want more details in one of our answers? Do you love it? Share your feedback via
talk page, email to Ziski (fputz(a)wikimedia.org), or comment on the Movement Strategy Forum
[3].
Have a lovely week!
Ziski, on behalf of the Wikimedia Foundation Global Advocacy Team
____________
[1]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Movement_communications_insights/Report/Fro…
[2]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Movement_communications_insights/Report/Spe…
[3]
https://forum.movement-strategy.org/t/feedback-faq-about-wikimedia-foundati…