13 August 2013

#stoptheGCSBbill

The voice of the crowd is finally being heard in the debate against the GCSB bill with the launch of a crowd-funded and crowd-sourced campaign which aims to stop the legislation and start a conversation.

The campaign asks people to provide images and funding for posters and billboards to spread awareness about the bill, starting an online discussion and then taking it offline into the outdoor media space.

The PledgeMe page for the #stoptheGCSBbill page says the campaign is aimed at stopping the GCSB bill and starting a conversation about security and intelligence issues.

“As a country we simply don't know enough about the likely effects of this law,” the campaign page says.

“We do know that it has been a rushed process and that it will expand the surveillance powers, and the implications are huge.

“We need to put the bill on hold and talk about how it could affect our right to privacy and our everyday life as Kiwis. We're saying let's talk about it because we don't want it to be obscure and rushed.”

This campaign was spurred into action after some high profile New Zealanders like Dame Anne Salmond and the NZ Law society voiced similar opposition to the speed of the bill through Parliament.

Crowdsourcing content and crowdfunding money to launch media campaigns is new to New Zealand. Groups in Turkey have recently had success crowdfunding to get their message into high profile publications.

PledgeMe and Promoki are giving Kiwis the opportunity to put their faces or their creativity in the public space by crowd sourcing and crowd funding a people powered media campaign opposing the GCSB bill.

Promoki is a crowdsourcing platform, allowing groups or organisations to use social media networks to source and share creative content for wider awareness for issues.

PledgeMe is a crowdfunding platform that focuses on New Zealand projects, creating an online platform with a direct connection to the offline community.

Check out the PledgeMe campaign at https://www.pledgeme.co.nz/1304
Check out the Promoki campaign at http://gcsb.promoki.com/

ENDS

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