NetAction Notes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Published by NetAction Issue No. 1 August 26, 1996 Repost where appropriate. See copyright information at end of message. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Reaching Out To Offline Allies Congress will be back in session next month and will be taking up legislation on some important technology-related issues that provide opportunities for bipartisan coalition building with community-based organizations. What follows is a brief summary of two of these issues, with pointers to additional online resources and suggestions for ways in which online activists can initiate outreach on these issues to grassroots organizations and community groups. * * * * * * * * * * Just Say No to Wiretaps -- Again! Like a bad penny, this issue keeps coming back. Some members of Congress, along with officials in the Clinton Administration, are intent on expanding the government's ability to spy on American citizens. Proponents of increased government surveillance authority claim it will help protect us from terrorists. Opponents worry about who will protect us from the government. Because there is strong, bipartisan opposition to expanding government wiretap authority, this a good issue to use for local and regional coalition-building efforts. According to a recent alert from the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), the U.S. Senate will be considering a number of issues related to expanding wiretap authority when Congress returns from its August break. Among other things, the government is seeking authority to increase the number of "emergency" wiretaps that could be conducted without a warrant. EPIC has complete details on the government's anti-terrorism proposals on its Web site at: http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/ Activists who want to initiate outreach on this issue at the community level are likely to find lots of receptive audiences. Organizations to contact about this issue include: labor unions and associations of retired union members, civil liberties and civil rights organizations, immigrant rights organizations, church groups and inter-faith organizations, senior organizations, and gun clubs. Many local organizations publish newsletters. Ask if they are willing to include a brief article about the issue. Some organizations will even accommodate a one-page flyer as an insert, if they feel the issue is important enough. Be sure to include your name and phone number so people who want more information can contact you. Some organizations -- particularly senior groups and civic clubs -- schedule speakers on a variety of issues. Let these organizations know that you are available to speak about this issue. Most organizations that invite speakers want you to keep the talk brief, often no more than 15 minutes. If you're invited to talk, bring a flyer to hand out after your talk. Attend community group meetings whether or not you have an opportunity to speak, and hand out flyers about the issue to the other attendees. Ask your local library or community center to post the flyer, and hand them out at rallies and demonstrations organized by community groups on other issues. Mail copies to friends and neighbors who don't have E-mail accounts, and send information by E-mail to those who do. Other ways to raise awareness about this issue within your community include writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper and calling in to local talk radio shows. If your City Council includes a public comment period on the meeting agenda, sign up to speak and ask your council members to take a stand on this issue. * * * * * * * * * * Getting Government Records Online The Society of Professional Journalists reports that the Electronic Freedom of Information Improvement Act of 1996 (E-FOIA) is close to being enacted. Final votes are expected in the House and Senate in September on HR 3802 and S 1090. The bills would require federal agencies to make readily reproducible records available in whatever format requested, and would encourage agencies to make certain information accessible by electronic means. Also, agencies would be required to make available online their reference materials, reports and an index of their major information systems. Other provisions of the bill would make it easier to use the FOIA to obtain government records. The FOI-L discussion list, operated by Syracuse University, provides updates on FOIA issues at the state and local levels. To subscribe, send an E-mail message to: LISTSERV@listserv.syr.edu In the body of the message, type: SUB FOI-L full_name Although journalists and researchers are the primary FOIA users, access to government records is also frequently of benefit to public interest organizations and individual activists working on a range of policy issues at the local, state and national level. Supporting legislation that strengthens FOIA is a good way to initiate or strengthen your networking efforts with local media and local research institutions. An easy way to find out who in your community is interested in these issues is to call the editor or publisher of your local newspaper. Ask if there are local chapters of journalism associations such as the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) or Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE). Get to know these individuals by working with them for passage of the FOIA legislation. This will make it easier to gain their support in the future on other issues. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Copyright 1996 by NetAction. All rights reserved. Material may be reposted or reproduced for non-commercial use provided NetAction is cited as the source. NetAction is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting effective grassroots citizen action campaigns by creating coalitions that link online activists with grassroots organizations, providing training to online activists in effective organizing strategies, and educating the public, policymakers and the media about technology-based social and political issues. To subscribe to NetAction Notes, send a message to: . The body of the message should state: To unsubscribe at any time, send a message to: The body of the message should state: For more information about NetAction, contact Audrie Krause: E-mail: audrie@netaction.org Phone: (415) 775-8674 Or write to: NetAction 601 Van Ness Ave., No. 631 San Francisco, CA 94102