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by Sheila Lennon
'Bottom-up' journalism from the pros

June 25, 2002 • Today's weblog

Well-placed son aids British privacy effort: BBC reported Monday on The fax machine uprising:

"Last week, the UK online community scored a dramatic victory over government plans to give all sorts of public bodies access to records of everyone's e-mail and phone records.

"And it all happened astonishingly fast. Within days of the alarm being raised, Home Secretary David Blunkett publicly apologised for 'getting it wrong'..."

The reversal was fueled in large part by a fax campaign made possible by STAND ("... a site for those who want to play a part defining digital freedoms in the UK and beyond.") and faxyourmp.com, which permits sending free faxes to Members of Parliament. But the BBC had reported another factor in Mr. Blunkett's turnaround on June 18 (Blunkett abandons Big Brother):

"Mr Blunkett's climbdown - which he has tried to temper with his apology - may be a sign that ministers are finally beginning to understand how they are perceived in the wider world. The fact that it was Mr Blunkett's own son, Hugh, who helped him come to this understanding may be seen as further proof of just how out of touch the government has become."

Is there any equivalent "fax your Congresspeople" site here? Google turnes them up for specific lobbying efforts, often with a standard form letter to send, but I can't find a generic one. Please email me if you know of one.
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