Standagainstspying.org, a coalition that includes The Electronic Frontier Foundation, Greenpeace, the Freedom of the Press Foundation, and other groups, flew a 135-foot thermal airship over the million-square-foot NSA facility in Bluffdale, Utah today.
The blimp stunt was staged Friday morning to protest the National Security Agency's mass spying programs, and to draw attention to the Stand Against Spying website rating lawmakers' stance on NSA reform.
On the blimp, the Stand Against Spying URL and a message reading "NSA: Illegal Spying Below" with an arrow pointing down.
From the EFF's announcement today:
The site grades members of Congress on what they have done, or often not done, to rein in the NSA.
"Rights rise or fall together," Greenpeace Senior IT Campaigner Gary Cook said. "Greenpeace has learned firsthand that people cannot protect their right to clean air and water if our civil rights – including the right to free association and the right to be free of unreasonable searches – are stripped away."
"The public needs to be brought into the Congressional debate around surveillance reform happening right now," EFF Activism Director Rainey Reitman said.
"We're flying an airship over the Utah data center, which has come to symbolize the NSA's collect-it-all approach to surveillance, and demanding an end to the mass spying. It's time for bold action in defense of our privacy."