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How A UK Fax Campaign Helped Preserve Privacy

Posted by timothy on from the at-least-a-few-shreds-of-it dept.

Neil Watson writes: "An interesting story on how some computer users created a website to enable citizens to fax their federal representative (MP) to comment on a controversial privacy bill." And it's encouraging, since they actually got the Home Office to blink.

15 comments

  1. wow by tps12 · · Score: 1

    A website about a website about faxing your representatives...and now this is a message on a website about websites, in a story about a website about a website about faxing your representatives. Whew. So I guess this is what they mean when they talk about "multimedia!"

    --

    Karma: Good (despite my invention of the Karma: sig)
  2. Not only that but Slashdot contributed by WolfWithoutAClause · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Atleast one person (me) found out about the issue right here on slashdot as well as the Fax webpage. I was one of the hundreds that used this mechanism. I received a very nice letter from my MP thanking me for my interest and noting that the legislation had been voted down (actually he was quite happy about it, as he's in opposition).

    Wow- real democracy! And in the semi-police state of the UK. Who'd have thought?

    --

    -WolfWithoutAClause

    "Gravity is only a theory, not a fact!"
  3. EFF Action Center by X86Daddy · · Score: 4, Informative

    This is hopeful news for us in The States: EFF has set up an Action Center that operates the same way, allowing us to Fax our congress-critters

  4. If I wanted to be a fascist dictator... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...the first thing I'd do would be to tap the entire internet and telephone system. I'd require a very extensive data retention period.

    Once that was in place, I'd propose that every person who was even remotely connected with the government should have full access to every tap in the country.

    Then I'd warm up my fax machine for the protest. About a week later, I'd announce that I was "backing down".

    Finally, I'd quietly go over the list of everyone that faxed in protest and cross-reference with the other phone taps. Anyone that I don't bother rounding up immediately will silently be watched.

    Not that I'm paranoid...

    1. Re:If I wanted to be a fascist dictator... by Yarn · · Score: 2

      benefit of the 'fax your mp' site is that it's on the web. You can access it via a throwaway AOL account, or a anonymising proxy, etc.

      --
      -Yarn - Rio Karma: Excellent
    2. Re:If I wanted to be a fascist dictator... by WolfWithoutAClause · · Score: 2

      Actually the web site was very carefully constructed. The MP gets your actual home address and can contact you to ask questions, and verify your identity in any number of ways.

      --

      -WolfWithoutAClause

      "Gravity is only a theory, not a fact!"
    3. Re:If I wanted to be a fascist dictator... by Yarn · · Score: 1

      I didn't use it, and I assumed you could enter semi-random gibberish.

      (I snail-mailed my MP)

      --
      -Yarn - Rio Karma: Excellent
    4. Re:If I wanted to be a fascist dictator... by WolfWithoutAClause · · Score: 2

      Yes, but you presumably want the MP to do something. For that he may want reason to believe that he actually is representing you, otherwise he'll probably just bin it. He may even want to ring you about the issue; so filling in garbage is not a good idea.

      --

      -WolfWithoutAClause

      "Gravity is only a theory, not a fact!"
  5. [OT] On the acronym "MP" by ThinkingGuy · · Score: 1

    I really like the acronym "MP" for "member of parliament." I wish we Americans could adopt a similar convention and start referring to our representatives as "MC's" (members of Congress). It's short, succinct, gender neutral, and can include both houses.

    Compared to any of these:
    Write your congressman
    Write your senator or congressperson
    Write your congressional representative
    Write your congressman or congresswoman
    Write your congresscritter

    ... "Write your MC" is so much easier!

    Unfortunately, since so many of us associate "MC" with rap music, my usage probably won't catch on.

    1. Re:[OT] On the acronym "MP" by Ratface · · Score: 1

      I can see it now...

      Yo! MC Bush in da (White) house!

      :-D

      --

      A little planning goes a long way...
    2. Re:[OT] On the acronym "MP" by rpjs · · Score: 1

      I dunno, I love "congresscritter" - I wish we had some similarly contemptuous term for our elected lords and masters here in the UK. "MP" is too neutral and un-perjorative.

    3. Re:[OT] On the acronym "MP" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But we would say:

      Write to your MP

    4. Re:[OT] On the acronym "MP" by Noel · · Score: 1

      Appropriate, too. Seems like they are often more like emcees than like representatives...

  6. In what sense is an MP a "federal representative"? by DHam · · Score: 2, Informative

    As alledgedly well educated people like the editors should be aware, the UK has a unitary form of government. There is no federal government in the UK and hence no federal representatives!