In an effort to send a message to its government, the American tech community has asked the public to join The Day We Fight Back. This day, to be held tomorrow, 11 February, is a direct result of the online community’s outrage over growing evidence of unwarranted and undisclosed surveillance of US and foreign citizens by organisations like the NSA. 

The mass mobilisation is aimed at creating awareness within the online world, that the actions of the US government will not go unnoticed or unanswered.

Protesters are being asked to input a code to their website templates and create a banner outlining the TheDayWeFightBack.org message. The banner reads “Dear Internet, we’re sick of complaining about the NSA. We want new laws that curtail online surveillance.” The banner also loops ‘facts’ supporting the allegations of spying by the NSA, although there is no definitive way of knowing whether or not they are true. 

Should users not own a website, they can demonstrate their support by sharing and discussing this movement on Facebook, Twitter and Google +. Reddit has also been used as the primary discussion forum for people to share views and opinions on a very contentious issue.    

This ‘e-Demonstration’ will also be honouring the memory of Aaron Swartz. Swartz, who was a prominent ‘technologist’ and political activist who took his own life on 11 January 2013 while he was embroiled in a two-year long court case with the US government for multiple counts of wire fraud. He was instrumental in the successful opposition and defeat of the Stop Online Piracy Act in January 2012, another milestone that The Day We Fight Back movement looks to recognise.  

This mass action is already gaining momentum on social media, with many Boing Boing-, Access-, Free Press-, Fight for the Future- users pledging their allegiance to the cause. 

Whether or not this action will have any tangible difference on the lawmakers in congress will have to be seen in the days and months past 11 February.