Why you should join the Internet Defense League

Not all of us can claim membership with ‘The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’ (or women).  Neither can we bang anywhere we like and shout ‘Avengers Assemble’!  So what do we, who are regular (and ordinary) users of Internet do to make sure the Internet remains free, without restriction and censorship.

It was not only the SOPA and PIPA which threaten the free and open nature of the Internet.  Today cousins of SOPA and PIPA are trying to insinuate themselves in Europe and Canada.  Back home in India we have:

• a Minister, Kapil Sibal, hell bent on bullying the internet community in general and the bloggers in particular;
• a constitutional authority, M. Katju, who doesn’t hold back his tongue but is all agog at the idea of gagging the internet;
• a misguided judiciary too willing to pull up or threaten shutdown even web giants for what are essentially misdemeanours on the part of others;
• a recently gazetted additional rules, draconian in nature, for the IT Act of 2000, amended in 2008 & 2009; (read this excellent post by Shivam Vij on its  impact [http://kafila.org/2011/03/05/get-ready-for-indias-blogger-control-act/]);
• the sycophant sidekick of Rahul Gandhi who is pushing for a censorship law which would make control of media including internet a done deal under a constitutional authority of its own; and,
• gullible higher judiciary who have no compunction about passing orders enforcing blanket censorship on the plea by commercial (?!?)  interests; (and technically unenforceable as I found out 2 Saturdays back - which needs a post of its own).

While we need to protest against these actions which are either uninformed, or unthinking, or unfounded, or even downright malicious, it is foolish and even dangerous to act or take part in any type of hacking activity like the Anonymous “OpIndia” response to the judicial order banning file shares in toto.

So for ordinary bloggers and other internet users in India taking part in an online protest presents three hurdles.

• First is the ‘what’ - to be aware of proposed censor laws and planned protests;
• Second is the ‘how’ - to ensure that protests are legitimate and do not expose oneself to illegal or criminal activity; and
• Third is the ‘when’ - to be alerted about and participate in protests which fulfil the ‘what’ and ‘how’.

One such activity which became coordinated and successful was the Internet blackout, greyout or a simple layover during the SOPA-PIPA protest in January 2012.  Such an activity takes care of both the ‘what’ and ‘how’, but still leaves the ‘when’ open.

For the first time, organizers behind that SOPA-PIPA blackout have formed a new coalition aimed at tapping the same online organizing muscle to fight online censorship. 

The coalition, called the Internet Defense League, was recently formed by the non-profit Fight for the Future.

The Internet Defense League [http://internetdefenseleague.org/] urges visitors to "make sure the Internet never loses. Ever." It adds, "Together, our websites and personal networks can mobilize the planet to defend the Internet from bad laws and monopolies.  Think of it like the Internet's Emergency Broadcast System, or its bat signal."

Tiffany Cheng, co-founder of Fight for the Future has stated the coalition's members include several web companies and activists.  The Internet Defense League formalizes the network of web companies who want to stand up and protect Internet freedom. 

Cheng said that Fight for the Future has built a tool for members of the Internet Defense League. When the group decides to oppose a piece of legislation, the coalition will alert its network via email and members can plaster action messages on their home pages or social networking profiles at the click of a button.

As for the ‘cat signal’, Cheng said it has to do with Ethan Zuckerman's cute cat theory of digital activism - the same tools that enable people share cute cat photos can also be used for online activism - cute!

The IDL has been the talk of the net over the last 2 days - you can read it on HuffPost, LATimes, RT or just Google for it.  I am the one who got onto to it late, but which proves my point.

We have to be part of something which ‘alerts’ us to such activism, to ensure we are not left behind.  And the Internet Defence League seems to be the best, safest route as on date.  So, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and enroll.

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