Protesters march in Washington against NSA spying

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Protesters marched on Capitol Hill in Washington yesterday to protest the US government’s online surveillance programmes, whose vast scope was revealed this year by former spy agency contractor Edward Snowden.

Demonstrators from the organization Code Pink wear toy glasses reading “Stop Spying” at the ‘Stop Watching Us: A Rally Against Mass Surveillance’ near the US Capitol in Washington, October 26, 2013. (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)
Demonstrators from the organization Code Pink wear toy glasses reading “Stop Spying” at the ‘Stop Watching Us: A Rally Against Mass Surveillance’ near the US Capitol in Washington, October 26, 2013. (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)

People carried signs reading: “Stop Mass Spy-ing,” “Thank you, Edward Snowden” and “Unplug Big Brother” as they gathered at the foot of the Capitol to demonstrate against the online surveillance by the National Security Agency.

Estimates varied on the size of the march, with organisers saying more than 2,000 attended. US Capitol Police said they do not typically provide estimates on the size of demonstrations.

The march attracted protesters from both ends of the political spectrum as liberal privacy advocates walked alongside members of the conservative Tea Party movement in opposition to what they say is unlawful government spying on Americans.

“I consider myself a conservative and no conservative wants their government collecting information on them and storing it and using it,” said Michael Greene, one of the protesters.

“Over the past several months, we have learned so much about the abuses (of privacy) that are going on and the complete lack of oversight and the mass surveillance into every detail of our lives. And we need to tell Congress that they have to act,” said another protester, Jennifer Wynne.

The event was organised by a coalition known as “Stop Watching Us” that consists of some 100 public advocacy groups and companies, including the American Civil Liberties Union, privacy group Elec-tronic Frontier Foundation, Occupy Wall Street NYC and the Libertarian Party.

The groups have been urging Congress to reform the legal framework supporting the NSA’s secretive online data gathering since Snowden’s disclosure of classified information about the programs that are designed to gather intelligence about potential foreign threats.

The Obama administration and many lawmakers have defended the NSA programs as crucial in protecting US national security and helping thwart past militant plots. They have also said the programmes are carefully overseen by Congress and the courts.

Snowden’s disclosures have raised concerns that NSA surveillance may span not just foreign, but domestic online and phone communication.

“We are calling on Congress to take immediate action to halt this surveillance and provide a full public accounting of the NSA’s and the FBI’s data collection programs,” Stop Watching Us said in a letter addressed to members of Congress posted online, calling for a reform of the law known as the Patriot Act.