Code Red: A global initiative for fighting government surveillance

Well known and widely respected privacy expert and advocate Simon Davies has announced the creation of a new global initiative that’s aimed at supporting the world-wide fight against unlawful and excessive government surveillance.

The launch of the initiative – dubbed Code Red – is planned for late January 2015. Its “steering group” includes MI5 whistleblower Annie Machon, Wikileaks’ and the Tor Project’s Jacob Appelbaum, crypto expert Bruce Schneier, public-key cryptography pioneer Whitfield Diffie, EFF’s International Rights Director Katitza Rodriguez, OpenMedia’s David Christopher and many other activists, legal experts, technical specialists, and whistleblowers from around the world.

Code Red will concentrate on supporting and giving advice to human rights and privacy groups around the world, but will also “seek to establish a protection network for rights defenders who are increasingly exposed to aggressive personal retribution by state authorities.”

The initiative will also support new projects aimed at creating effective, and “more tactically aggressive” countermeasures against surveillance.

Code Red aims to be a sort of a clearinghouse of information and resources needed for the aforementioned groups and wants to “help build networks and create links between diverse elements of the reform movement – law, policy, technology and direct action – many of which are currently handicapped by limited communication and liaison,” as well as “catalogue and disseminate a wide spectrum of detailed legal, technical and strategic material for the benefit of the networks.”

“The project is now looking for supporters from various disciplines in policy, law, technology, campaigning, and administration to join the initiative,” it has been announced, and consultations about the ultimate scope and definite direction the project will take are ongoing.