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Tag: Petition

  • 19 Kids and Counting: Duggar Petition Site a Scam To Collect Email Addresses?

    When the Duggar’s show 19 Kids and Counting was finally officially cancelled by TLC, fans of the show were livid. They took to comment sections of blogs, Twitter accounts, and Facebook pages by the score to vent their displeasure that their favorite show had fallen victim to its bad press.

    Now comes the news that there is a petition out there that fans can sign in an effort to bring the show back. The petition that is getting so much press is found at SupportTheDuggars.com.

    The text of the petition reads as follows:

    While the Duggar family may not be perfect and they’ve had difficulties like so many other families, their show WAS one of the few clean, family-friendly shows on TV. Sadly, there isn’t much a family can watch together any longer. The airwaves are full of terrible, trashy television! It isn’t right that the Duggars must be forced off the air while the filthy shows remain!

    We want our voices to be heard! We all know the power of standing together—just ask A&E what happened when they cancelled Duck Dynasty!

    It seems that every day in America our values and way of life are disappearing. We must all stand together.

    Please complete the petition form below to tell the Duggar Family we support them and to tell TLC that we want the Duggars back on the air!

    There is then a simple form where fans can enter their name, state, and email address.

    Just a side note: Duck Dynasty was never canceled. Phil Robertson was suspended from the show, but it was never termed as permanent, and he was brought back.

    But there is a bigger concern with this site.

    Why wasn’t this petition hosted somewhere like change.org, where many such petitions are started and seen? In fact, a petition hosted there got almost 200,000 supporters asking for 19 Kids and Counting to be canceled. Others there, asking for the show to be brought back, have 500+ supporters.

    The site, though, is hosted at Godaddy and registered through a service called Domains by Proxy, which many use to keep their ownership of a site anonymous. Nothing shocking there.

    But a look at the “fine print” terms you have to agree to in order to submit your name as wanting the Duggars back on TV.

    I knowingly and voluntarily add my name and other personal information to this petition. I understand that, by doing so, I am indicating my support for both 19 Kids and Counting and the Duggar family. I am over 18 years old and agree that any personal information collected through this site, including, without limitation, my name, geographic location, email and/or support for 19 Kids and Counting and/or the Duggar family, may be shared with TLC and/or other third parties for any purpose; and that such parties may use such information in any manner, including, without limitation, to communicate with me.

    By signing the petition, you give permission for the anonymous owner of this site, which was wholly unnecessary in the first place, to collect your information and sell it to anyone they wish.

    If this was a legitimate effort to get the 19 Kids and Counting show back on television, why would that be a requirement? Does the wording of these terms sound like a simple fan wanting their show back on?

  • Michelle Duggar Is Not Going Down Without A Fight

    Michelle Duggar is not going down without a fight!

    The matriarch of TLC’s series 19 Kids and Counting is countering a petition that was created to get the show pulled off the air.

    Recently, Michelle and her husband Jim Bob Duggar issued a kissing photo challenge on Facebook where couples posted pictures of themselves sharing a kiss. The only rule was that the couples had to be married. However, when a gay married couple posted a picture of them kissing, Michelle and Jim Bob immediately deleted the photos.

    Many were outraged that the photos were deleted and said that the Duggars were anti-gay. They formed a petition on Change.org to have the show removed from TLC’s lineup.

    “End LGBTQ fear mongering by the Duggars,” the petition reads. “The Duggars have been using their fame to promote discrimination, hate, and fear-mongering against gays and transgendered people. You need to take a stand on the side of justice and cancel their show.”

    So far, the petition has garnered 170,291 signatures, well surpassing their original goal of 100,000.

    In a counter act, 19 Kids and Counting fans created their own petition to save the show. The petition, created on LifePetitions website, urges those to keep the beloved family show on the air.

    Jim Bob and Michelle Duggarwon't ever back down from their values. See the passage they posted on Facebook earlier: http://t.co/ihJsz4A40F

    — Us Weekly (@usweekly) November 14, 2014

    “Rather than being extreme, the Duggars represent the majority of people in state after state who have stood up for the traditional family,” the counter petition reads. “The real extremists are those who are demanding that a TV network penalize America’s beloved family because they support the truth about family, which they have always expressed in a loving, compassionate fashion.”

    Currently, the LifePetition only needs 50,398 signatures to reach their goal of 250,000.

    Michelle reportedly has her own petition as well that is trying to keep TLC from removing their show.

    Do you think TLC will remove cancel 19 Kids and Counting? Leave your comments below.

  • 19 Kids and Counting: Duggar Homophobia Petition Doubles Signatures Overnight

    An online petition asking TLC to cancel the Duggars’ 19 Kids and Counting reality show saw its support numbers double overnight last night. The petition was started because of the alleged homophobic activities of Michelle Duggar and other Duggar family members.

    When we told you about the petition yesterday there were just over 50,000 signatures gathered since it was started in August. That number is now at 123,789.

    When the effort first began, the petitioners asked TLC to:

    “End LGBTQ fear mongering by the Duggars. The Duggars have been using their fame to promote discrimination, hate, and fear-mongering against gays and transgendered people. You need to take a stand on the side of justice and cancel their show.”

    Reasons given included Michelle Duggar’s support of a campaign against transgender equality in Arkansas. Duggar has recorded a robocall message for the campaign that warned Fayetteville residents that transgender people were convicted child predators who wanted to cross-dress so they could get into women’s restrooms and peek at little girls.

    Her message said:

    “The Fayetteville City Council is voting on an ordinance this Tuesday night that would allow men – yes I said men – to use women’s and girls’ restrooms, locker rooms, showers, sleeping areas and other areas that are designated for females only. I don’t believe the citizens of Fayetteville would want males with past child predator convictions that claim they are female to have a legal right to enter private areas that are reserved for women and girls.”

    The petition was started by Jim Wissick of San Jose, California. He noted something that perhaps Michelle Duggar had not considered.

    “Transgender people — who are far more likely to be the victims of harassment and violence if forced to use a bathroom that is inconsistent with their gender identity or expression— deserve to have the ability to use the bathroom in peace and safety.”

    More recently, when Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar challenged their Facebook followers to post pictures of married couples kissing, gay couples cried foul when pictures they posted were deleted and posters banned. The media storm following that issue reignited interest in the already-existing petition. The attention is showing results.

    “The Learning Channel & Discovery Networks need to separate themselves from this bigotry and put an end to the Duggar’s show,” the petition insists.

  • HIMYM Alternate Ending May Quell the Agitators

    This weird thing called democracy sure has its problems sometimes doesn’t it? After the ninth season finale of the CBS series How I Met Your Mother aired on March 31, all heck seemed to break loose from the faithful viewers of the show.

    Resolved not to keep their discontent marginalized to mere social media rantings (although that did happen, a lot),

    HIMYM viewers have composed a petition through change.org ready to submit to CBS to “Rewrite and Reshoot the HIMYM Ending.” So far, this petition has a whopping 17,866 signatures in less than seven days with only 7,134 to go.

    Their message: “You know it’s just wrong.”

    Feeling the heat, creators Carter Bays and co-creator Craig Thomas had to address the HIMYM nation before it got too unruly. Through a series a tweets, this paragraph was formed:

    “16 days ago today we were in the HIMYM edit room, trying to decide between two very different endings. We only shot one script, but through edit room magic we had two possible outcomes for the series. We chose the ending we chose and we stand by it. But we loved the other version too. We’re going to include that version on the Complete Series DVD as an alternate finale to How I Met Your Mother.”

    So sit tight. Maybe the apparently horrible ending was really just a ploy for a great Season DVD profit. Or maybe you, the viewers, have actually made a difference. Rock on, and continue to be outraged and become the Voice of the People to resolve the true things that really matter.


    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Petition Calls For Denmark To Ban Bestiality

    The past two years have not been good for zoophiles in Europe. In 2013, Germany passed a bill banning bestiality and Sweden banned the practice earlier this year. Now animal rights activists have their sights set on Denmark – one of the last major European countries that still permits bestiality.

    Animal rights activists have started a petition calling on Denmark to make bestiality illegal. They note that Denmark bans the “rape, torture and abuse of animals,” but says that the line between use and abuse is all too thin when it comes to the law. In other words, zoophiles can claim that their relations are strictly consensual thus deflecting any allegations of abuse.

    The problem in Denmark goes beyond a few sheep lovers here and there though. Just like in Germany, there are “barnyard brothels” in Denmark where zoophiles are charged anywhere between $85 to $170 to have sex with animals. While you can technically make an argument that loving your dog a little too much is totally fine, it’s hard to see any merits to locking up animals purely for the sexual gratification of the highest bidder.

    Denmark also has animal rights activists anger because it’s currently enforcing what they see as a double standard. The country recently passed a bill that bans the slaughter of animals unless it’s first stunned. The law has angered some religious groups that practice ritualistic slaughter. Despite their protests, Denmark moved forward with the bill saying “there has to be a balance between religious issues and animal rights.” While zoophilia is hardly a religious issue, people are beginning to question why Denmark will ban ritualistic slaughter but not the local barnyard brothel.

    If Denmark does ban bestiality, it will be one of the last few holdouts to finally ban the practice. Outside of Denmark, only Finland, Italy and Hungary allow it in Europe.

    [h/t: Digital Journal]
    Image via Thinkstock

  • Ozzie Smith and Budweiser Want to Make Opening Day a National Holiday

    The White House’s We the People website is no stranger to odd petitions. After all, it was just last month when the White House was petitioned to allow beer drones for easy beer delivery and to deport Justin Bieber. Now, thanks to a joint effort by MLB Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith and Budweiser, the White House has a new petition on its hands–to make MLB Opening Day a national holiday.

    The petition, which you can access through the Budweiser website as long as you’re at least 21 years old, or access via the We the People website, was started on Monday. Ozzie Smith and Budweiser will have 30 days from the time the petition was started to get the 100,000 signatures needed for the White House to review the petition. Once the petition receives the minimum number of signatures, the White House is supposed to issue a response.

    The reason provided for making MLB Opening Day a national holiday on the petition page is that Opening Day is a widely anticipated American tradition. Check out the full explanation provided for the petition below.

    MLB Opening Day is more than just the beginning of the season. It’s a symbol of rebirth. The coming of spring. The return of America’s national pastime. It’s a state of mind where anything is possible. You can feel the electricity in the air. Opening Day brings with it the promise of a new beginning. Every fan is in good spirits. It’s a day of celebration. It’s a day of hope. It’s a day that, for generations, has been looked forward to by baseball fans every off-season. It’s an American tradition, and it deserves to be recognized as an American holiday. Join us in our quest to make sure every American can exercise their inalienable right to celebrate the day those two magical words are uttered for the first time: “PLAY BALL!”

    Smith and Budweiser are promoting the petition on their Twitter pages, and judging from some of the responses, people are certainly enjoying the far-off dream that Opening Day, which is on March 31, could become a national holiday.

    “Coming from St. Louis, of course being such a baseball town, it’s sort of an unofficial holiday, Opening Day, so they thought it would be a good idea for Mr. Smith to just take a trip to Washington,” Smith told ESPN. “I don’t know exactly what the odds of success are. With the Budweiser machine behind it, I’m sure that we’ll get the 100,000 signatures.”

    That sounds about right, as the petition is only two days old and already has just under 25,000 signatures. While it is highly unlikely that the White House will act on this petition–as nice as it would be to have a paid holiday to stay at home and watch baseball–it is certainly a good way to drum up interest in the MLB.

    Image via Budweiser

  • Teen Starts Petition: Make Plus-Size Disney Princess

    Ever notice how Disney Princesses all resemble one another? Jewel Moor, a junior in high school from Farmville, Va., noticed their larger-than-life eyes to their irregularly small body proportion resemble one specific body-type: unrealistic. Moor has taken it upon herself to open up the eyes of the Disney creators to create a plus-size princess through one growing petition.

    She started the petition on Change.org to not only create a plus-size princess, but to feature the new addition in an upcoming movie.

    In the petition Moor writes, “I’m a Junior in high school named Jewel. I made this petition because I’m a plus-size young woman, and I know many plus-size girls and women who struggle with confidence and need a positive plus-size character in the media.”

    So far the petition has generated 5,000 signatures along with a handful of responses.

    Hallie Marshall from Rantoul, Il., replied to the petition post saying, “I am signing this because I believe that Disney characters are influential. The latest movie, Frozen, is encouraging! To all the haters out there who say that fat people are just lazy, please stop generalizing! Generalizations are the bane of our existence! Everyone’s circumstance is different and I imagine you would hate it if you were lumped in with whatever generalizations there are about your gender, race, background, etc. Before you post your vitriol online, stop and think, would you say this to your daughter, your mother, your sister, or your wife.”

    Another user replied by saying, “I hate the term ‘plus-size’ its merely a way to sugarcoat reality to fat, over weight people. Being over weight has just as much, if not more negative health issues short and long term compared to being slightly underweight.”

    So far, Disney hasn’t made a comment on the petition.

    Click here to read more about the petition.

    What do you think about the petition? Should Disney take note?

    Image Via YouTube

  • Deport Justin Bieber? Why The Petition Is Pointless

    Many people who cannot stand Justin Bieber’s music, voice, face or behavior absolutely understand the sentiment that went into the formation of a petition that is meant to get the young Canadian deported. Given his recent behavior, some feel that he has more than worn out his welcome in the United States.

    At least those not willing to be honest with themselves.

    Justin Bieber has been receiving somewhat of a negative reception in the United States long before he was alleged to have egged houses, urinated in buckets, or participated in drunken drag races.

    The loathing of the teen idol goes all the way back to his Youtube days, where this high-pitched, pimply faced little boy with a mop-top was crooning into his webcam, hoping people would notice.

    He eventually garnered a large online following and became something of a major internet celebrity. He then managed to crossover into offline, mainstream teen idol territory.

    He was a sensation, at least with the millions of teenage and pre-teen girls who loved and continue love him.

    Make no mistake: People do not like Justin Bieber in America, and have not for some time. It’s just that now people have latched onto his behavior as justification for wanting him to leave the country.

    What is amazing about this demand isn’t that anyone wants Bieber to leave, since some of us would probably prefer he had never crossed the border in the first place.

    It’s that should the petition be read by the White House and the wishes of the signers eventually granted, it wouldn’t change the fact that there are people far far worse than Justin Bieber who will remain right here in the United States when he is gone.

    Murderers of children, drug traffickers, women beaters, people who develop complicated Ponzi schemes that will rob thousands of hard-working Americans of their money, people who will be buying and using fake credit cards created with numbers gained through the Target breech. And many many more various forms of human scum. All still here while people congratulate themselves for sending a snotty nose brat, who will still be very rich at the end of the day, home to Canada.

    Yes, every terrible one of them will be here, continuing to make this country even worse than a Justin Bieber could ever dream of doing.

    The petition to deport Justin Bieber is meant to be an expression of Americans who’ve had enough of one young man’s debauchery. Understood. After all, his antics are childish and it’s likely he did break the law within our borders.

    So why is this petition pointless?

    If Americans have time to write and sign petitions for popstars and reality television shows, things are either really good in this country or we are embarrassingly out of touch with reality, a society unable to prioritize what is really important.

    Hint: It’s NOT Justin Bieber.

    Image via Hollywood Life

  • Duck Dynasty: #ISTANDWITHPHIL is Back on Twitter

    Phil Robertson’s hashtag is back on Twitter #IStandWithPhil. The social media forum has apologized for “accidentally” blocking the link for the website for Robertson’s petition after his supporters expressed outrage and cried censorship.

    Now that the Twitter link is once again up and running, Robertson advocates can easily access the website for the petition. The header for the site: PETITION TO THE A&E NETWORK DEMANDING THE IMMEDIATE REINSTATEMENT OF DUCK DYNASTY’S PHIL ROBERTSON – #ISTANDWITHPHIL. The goal of 250,000 signatures is currently just a few thousand short.

    Here’s a look at the petition’s first few paragraphs:

    Dear A&E Network,

    I am writing to you regarding your network’s intolerant, discriminatory, and punitive treatment of Mr. Phil Robertson, star of A&E’s #1 hit show, Duck Dynasty.

    Mr. Robertson’s comments in GQ Magazine are simply reflective of a Biblical view of sexuality, marriage, and family – a view that has stood the test of time for thousands of years and continues to be held by the majority of Americans and today’s world as a whole.

    Many members of the LGBT community may not agree with this view, but the notion that a free-thinking American should be discriminated against simply for expressing a perspective that is in conflict with another is patently un-American and flies in the face of true tolerance and civility. A&E’s position, which in your own words is “championing” the gay and lesbian community — which I believe you have the freedom to do — excludes the views of Faith Driven Consumers and effectively censors a legitimate viewpoint held by the majority of Americans.

    Robertson was suspended from the uber-popular A&E reality program, “Duck Dynasty,” after making anti-gay remarks in an interview with GQ magazine. “It seems like, to me, a vagina—as a man—would be more desirable than a man’s anus. That’s just me. I’m just thinking: There’s more there! She’s got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I’m saying? But hey, sin: It’s not logical, my man. It’s just not logical.”

    “Duck Dynasty” averages about 14 million viewers a week. It is the most watched reality cable show in the history of television and is a bonafide pop culture sensation and marketing machine. Its fans are obviously quite loyal to Phil Robertson, since his A&E suspension, supporters have flooded the internet.

    Mr. Robertson’s suspension has also brought up the boundaries of free speech. Even non-“Duck Dynasty” fans, like Sarah and Bristol Palin are coming out in his defense. The crux of their argument centers upon the idea that unpopular or “non-politically correct” speech should not be swept under the rug for fear of its potential consequences.

    Image via Facebook

  • Twitter Removes Block From Phil Robertson Petition

    Duck Dynasty and Phil Robertson supporters were surprised to see an unsettling message on their Twitter pages, when they tried to link to “IStandWithPhil.com”, on Monday. The message read: “Oops! A URL in your Tweet appears to link to a page that has spammy or unsafe content,” which left Twitter users outraged and accusing Twitter of censorship.

    The URL links to a petition that was asking A&E to immediately reinstate the patriarch of the Robertson family to the popular television show. The petition reads: “I am writing to you regarding your network’s intolerant, discriminatory, and punitive treatment of Mr. Phil Robertson, star of A&E’s #1 hit show, Duck Dynasty. Mr. Robertson’s comments in GQ Magazine are simply reflective of a Biblical view of sexuality, marriage, and family – a view that has stood the test of time for thousands of years and continues to be held by the majority of Americans and today’s world as a whole.”

    The goal of the petition was originally to receive 200,000 signatures. However, the petition has already exceeded their goal and has a total of 222.264 signatures, to date. The organization Faith Driven Consumer created the petition and says that they believe that Twitter intentionally blocked the URL from being linked. However, the situation was quickly resolved, and Twitter issued an apology, saying that the site was accidentally marked as spam.

    < “The URL IStandWithPhil.com was mistakenly flagged as spam tonight, by an outside organization that tracks spam sources. We have restored access and apologize for the error,” Twitter said in a statement to news site Marketing Land.

    Image via Istandwithphil.com

  • Erin Cox Alongside Friends and Family Fight Back

    Sometimes doing the right thing is apparently the wrong thing to do. Or as Oscar Wilde once said, “No good deed goes unpunished.”

    Several media outlets have picked up on the story of young Erin Cox, who is now trending on the internet. She is a 17-year-old teenager who wanted to make sure that her friend got a safe, sober ride home. The story, first reported in the Boston Herald, goes like this.

    North Andover HIgh School senior Erin Cox, Captain of the volleyball team and honor student, had just finished work a couple weeks ago. She was at a frozen yogurt shop when one of her friends called. The unnamed friend was at a party and had been drinking, she asked Erin to come and get her. Erin did. Of course, the police showed up within minutes of Erin’s arrival. Wrong place, wrong time. Erin was given a summons for underage drinking, even though she hadn’t had a single drop of alcohol.

    Erin’s high school, like most high schools today, has a zero tolerance policy in concerns with alcohol. And even though the police officer who was at the scene of the party, confirmed in a written statement that Erin was perfectly sober, North Andover High School stripped Erin of her title as Captain of the volleyball team and suspended the teen for five games.

    Ouch.

    So the family decided to fight back. Erin’s mother Eleanor went to court last Friday to file a lawsuit in hopes that the school would lift its punishment. In an interview with ABC News, Ms. Cox said, “She did what she thought was right, and I’m proud of her for that.”

    Unfortunately for Erin, the court ruled that they did not have any say over the matter. Family and friends of Erin have taken to Twitter and the media to voice their outrage. Here are some tweets from #IStandWithErinCox.

    Thousands of angry citizens have signed a petition in support of Erin. If you want to help out, you can go to the site and sign the petition as well.

    Tell us what you think in the comments section below. Was Erin just being a good friend and the school should take on a more “common sense” approach or does the school need to strictly adhere to their zero tolerance policy at all costs?

    Image via bing

  • Tim Tebow Rally Held by Jacksonville Fans

    At 3:16 PM today, a group of Jacksonville Jaguars fans decided to hold a rally, which was to last for 3 hours and 16 minutes (all allusions to Tebow’s faith, of course), in order to convince the owners of the Jaguars to sign Tim Tebow as their next quarterback. The charge, led by organizer James Stewart and supported by members of http://www.jags-tebow.com/, was held at Jacksonville’s stadium and drew a whopping crowd of 20 people. The attendance of supporters was actually outnumbered by the media, who managed to pull in a crowd of 30. Despite the low attendance, Stewart believes “We’ve accomplished what we had hoped for the first time out.”

    The movement at www.jags-tebow.com asks the ever-important question, “WHY THE HECK NOT?”. The site states that Jacksonville is easily the worst team in the NFL, so why not bring Tim Tebow on as the new quarterback?: “If the Jags got Him….Overnight, The Jaguars would be on the National Stage. The Stadium will be full of Tebow Maniacs & Tebow haters alike. The whole country would tingle with anticipation & all eyes would be on Jacksonville.”

    The fans of Tebow coming to Jacksonville have a point. Right now, Tim Tebow is not even on an NFL roster and he is still getting tons of national and international attention. The LA Kiss, Gene Simmons’s arena football team, has offered Tebow a contract. Recently, Tebow was offered $1 million to play football in Russia. Earlier this year Tebow was the subject of a petition to the White House for President Obama to force Jacksonville to sign the former Florida Gator. Even Chuck Norris has gotten involved in Tebow-mania, asserting earlier this year that Tebow is the “ultimate clutch player” and that Jacksonville should definitely sign him. Why?: “To put it simply, it’s because Tim could help turn that mediocre team into a championship one. Tebow works miracles on the field, and his inclusion would embolden the spirit of the Jaguars’ players and fans.”

    What do you think? Should Tebow become Jacksonville’s new quarterback? Respond in the Comments section below.

    While there seems to be much support for Tebow going to Jacksonville, there is also much opposition. The Bold City Brigade, a nonprofit organization in Jacksonville which seeks to expand and embolden the fan-base, has created a website called “Even If He’s Released”. This website is simply an online petition for those who are against Tim Tebow coming to Jacksonville. Currently, 581,433 people have signed the petition – significantly larger than the 20 people who showed up at the rally earlier today.

    Jacksonville’s owners have voiced their staunch opposition to the acquisition despite all of the support. Their opposition is understandable. Tebow has been released from multiple teams now due to his performances and abilities on the field. No NFL team would argue against Tebow’s positive impact on the fanbase. Even though he is not on an active roster, Tebow jerseys still rank fifth in sales, and he is still currently ranked as the league’s fifth most popular player. However, the goal of an NFL team is to win games, and Tebow simply cannot perform. There are rumors that Tebow’s agents want him to become a motivational speaker, a role which seems to be much more his billing.

    Image via Facebook

  • Mozilla Launches Petition Telling The NSA To Stop Watching Us

    Mozilla has always been a staunch proponent of privacy. Its position hasn’t won the non-profit a lot of corporate friends, and its next move won’t win it many friends in government either.

    A bunch of privacy loving Web companies, including Mozilla, have just launched StopWatching.Us. The site is simply a petition that asks Congress to detail “the full extent of the NSA’s spying programs.” Mozilla says that these programs must become more transparent as the Web becomes more sophisticated:

    However, exposures resulting from government-sponsored online surveillance are entirely separate from whether we choose to share information and what those sites say they will or will not do with our data. That’s because, at least in the US, these companies are required to respect a court order to share our information with the government, whether they like it or not. Mozilla hasn’t received any such order to date, but it could happen to us as we build new server-based services in the future.

    There are a number of problems with this kind of electronic surveillance. First, the Internet is making it much easier to use these powers. There’s a lot more data to be had. The legal authority to conduct electronic surveillance has grown over the past few years, because the laws are written broadly. And, as users, we don’t have good ways of knowing whether the current system is being abused, because it’s all happening behind closed doors.

    Mozilla is hardly alone in its efforts to inject a little transparency into the NSA. Google and Facebook have both come forward demanding the government be more transparent with its data requests. It’s a more personal and financial battle for them, however, as users may grow to distrust them and the other companies that were listed as alleged co-conspirators in the NSA’s Internet surveillance dragnet.

    As you read above, Mozilla is obviously fearing the same thing if the NSA continues on in secrecy. We don’t know when another document will be leaked, and there may even be more companies added to PRISM in the future. For some Internet users, it will becoming increasingly hard to trust any company with their data. That’s something every Web-based company wants to avoid so expect more petitions like this one to pop up in the future.

  • Tebow Fans’ Plea Hits White House Petition Site

    The White House’s online petition website has been used to promote both serious and silly ideas since its debut. Petitions to build a death star or make an R. Kelly song the national anthem don’t seriously deserve the president’s time, but others, such as the anti-CISPA petition, reflect the policy views of many Americans.

    Now, NFL fans have used the website to petition the President of the United States to get Tim Tebow a job.

    According to an Orlando Sentinel report, Jacksonville Jaguars fans want Tebow to be their quarterback badly enough to bother President Obama with their cause. A petition was filed on the website to encourage the president to “call Jacksonville Jaguars GM David Caldwell and tell him to stop ignoring Jaguars fans and sign Tim Tebow.” The petition, which claimed Tebow’s presence would increase Jaguar ticket sales, has since been taken down.

    Tebow was released from his job with the New York Jets in April. Since that time, Tebow, now a free agent, hasn’t garnered intrest from any other NFL teams, including the Miami Dolphins.

    Tebow gained notoriety with the Denver Broncos in 2011 before being traded to the Jets in 2012. He has also gained a fan following for his outspoken Christian religious beliefs.

  • White House Finally Responds To CISPA Petition, Says Cybersecurity Legislation Must Respect Privacy

    CISPA is all but dead once again, and the Senate is moving ahead with its own cybersecurity legislation. That doesn’t mean the fight is over though. In fact, the Senate might just propose a bill that’s worse, but the White House says that it won’t let that happen.

    In an official response to the “Stop CISPA” petition on the We The People Web site, the White House says that any new cybersecurity legislation “must not violate Americans’ right to privacy.” The administration says that’s the reason why it issued a veto threat against CISPA earlier this month. That veto threat may led to CISPA’s death, but the White House says it’s still open to working with everybody to pass cybersecurity legislation.

    To that end, the White House says that cybersecurity legislation is a must to counter the “constant threat of cyber crime, espionage, and attacks.” The administration, unlike the House, does admit there are already tools in place, however, to facilitate cooperation between the government and private companies to share threat information. It just feels that the current tools in place aren’t enough:

    But you might ask, “Isn’t this collaboration already happening?” The simple answer is yes, but inefficiently. When it comes to information sharing, we need clearer rules to promote collaboration and protect privacy. Right now, each company has to work out an individual arrangement with the government and other companies on what information to share about cyberthreats. This ambiguity can lead to harmful delays.

    There is broad consensus on the need for more threat-related information sharing — including among the leading privacy advocates we regularly engage on the issue. The essential question on which people across the spectrum disagree isn’t if we can share cybersecurity information and preserve the principles of privacy and liberty that make the United States a free and open society — but how.

    The White House has admirable goals, but we’ve heard all of this before from the House. We were promised that CISPA would respect privacy and civil liberties, but that obviously wasn’t the case in the end.

    To allieve the concerns of citizens, the White House says that it will only support cybersecurity legislation that adheres to these three principles:

    It’s important that any information shared under a new cybersecurity law must be limited to what’s relevant and necessary for cybersecurity purposes. That also means minimizing information that can be used to identify specific individuals. For example, if a utility company is looking for government assistance to respond to a cyber attack, it is unlikely that it needs to share the personal information of its customers, like contact information or energy-use history, with the government.

    Cybersecurity legislation needs to preserve the traditional roles for civilian and intelligence agencies that we all understand. Specifically, if legislation authorizes new information sharing between the private sector and the government, then that new information should enter the government through a civilian department rather than an intelligence agency. That doesn’t mean breaking the existing mechanisms that already work. For example, victims of cyber crime ought to continue to report those violations to federal law enforcement agencies and public-private information-sharing relationships that already exist should be preserved.

    Any new legislation ought to provide legal clarity for companies that follow the rules and appropriately share data with the government. But it should not provide broad immunity for businesses and organizations that act in ways likely to cause damage to third parties or result in the unwarranted disclosure of personal information.

    In short, the above takes care of pretty much every complaint privacy advocates had with the original CISPA. The White House says it will continue to apply the above principles in its on-going discussions with those in the Senate currently crafting cybersecurity legislation.

    CISPA may be dead, but the issue of cybersecurity is far from over. We’ll continue to follow the Senate’s efforts as it works on its own cybersecurity legislation.

  • Over 94,000 Consumers Want Verizon To Drop Contracts

    Wireless carrier contracts are just a way of life. Well, they used to be until T-Mobile rebranded itself as the unCarrier by getting rid of two-year contracts entirely. This led to some consumers demanding that Verizon do the same, and those consumers now number in the thousands.

    A petition on Change.org asking Verizon to drop contracts has reached over 94,000 signatures. Its next milestone will be to reach 150,000 signatures, but just reaching 100,000 signatures should send a strong signal to the higher ups at Verizon that its consumer base wants a system where they’re not tied down to expensive contracts for two years, but are rather allowed to come and go as they please.

    The movement definitely has support, but the hard part is convincing Verizon to do away with its expensive, and highly lucrative, contracts. Thankfully, the company at least seems willing to do so as its CEO, Lowell McAdam, said earlier this month that he would be ok with following T-Mobile’s lead into canceling contracts if there was enough consumer demand.

    If Verizon did follow T-Mobile’s lead, it’s not like contracts would just magically disappear. They would replaced with what T-Mobile calls the “Simple Choice” plan which essentially replaces the contract with small monthly payments. The smartphone is still subsidized and you will still pay the same for data as you did before. The only difference is that you can leave the carrier at any time. Granted, you will have to pay the balance left on the phone if it’s not completely paid off.

    Still, supporters say Verizon adopting a T-Mobile-like contract-less plan would be good for consumers on all carriers, not just Verizon and T-Mobile. With the backing of a major carrier like Verizon, other carriers like AT&T and Sprint would have no choice but to adopt a no contract policy as well. It could also possibly lead to all the wireless carriers agreeing on phone unlocking, an issue that the government hasn’t had much luck in regulating.

    [h/t: Wireless Week]

  • David Hasselhoff Wants to Save the Berlin Wall

    It’s a well-known fact that David Hasselhoff is big in Germany. Now, “The Hoff” is seeking to preserve a piece of German history.

    The actor is protesting the removal of a section of the Berlin Wall. The section is one of the last pieces of the wall to remain standing, after it was dismantled from 1989 to 1991.

    Hasselhoff is now backing a Change.org petition to prevent the “East Side Gallery” from being taken down. According to the petition, a developer is seeking to move the wall to make way for a “luxury housing development.”

    Hasselhoff echoes the text of the petition on his blog, saying that the wall is now part of German history and should be preserved as a symbol of freedom. From the blog post:

    In 1989 on New Year’s Eve I sang on the top of Berlin Wall, you all know that, it’s no secret. I sang for freedom and for all people who were going through a terrible things living “behind the curtain” or behind the Wall if you prefer. Now they are trying to tear down the wall to put up an apartment complex.

    The Berlin Wall is not just a symbol and part of German history, it’s a symbol for every single person who lived in fear for their lives and in horrible conditions that we, who were lucky to live in countries that represent democracy in its full meaning, couldn’t even imagine and the fall of the Wall represents a new beginning and a hope for all of them.

    Hasselhoff did indeed sing on the Berlin Wall shortly after the wall’s gates were opened for East Germans. The blurry footage of the event seen below features Hasselhoff singing and wearing a light-up leather jacket, with Brandenburg Gate in the background.

  • Anti-CISPA White House Petition Crosses 100,000 Signature Threshold

    After CISPA returned in February, privacy advocates started a “We The People” petition asking the White House to stand against the controversial legislation. It’s been a month since the petition was created, and advocates are one step closer to a response.

    The “Stop CISPA” petition on the We The People petition site has crosses the recently instated 100,000 threshold required for a response from the Obama administration. The petition asks the administration to reject CISPA for its overly broad language:

    CISPA is about information sharing. It creates broad legal exemptions that allow the government to share “cyber threat intelligence” with private companies, and companies to share “cyber threat information” with the government, for the purposes of enhancing cybersecurity. The problems arise from the definitions of these terms, especially when it comes to companies sharing data with the feds.

    It will be interesting to see if, and how, the administration responds to this petition. President Obama has already signed an executive order that accomplishes what CISPA aims to do without the civil liberty violations. The President acknowledged, however, that an executive order isn’t enough and called upon Congress to pass cybersecurity legislation.

    That’s going to be the hard part, though, as Congress proved last year that it can’t agree on cybersecurity measures. Privacy advocates may not even have to bother the White House if the House and Senate can’t come to any sort of agreement. Even if they do, the White House promised to stand against CISPA last year. Unless something changes, the White House will stand against CISPA again.

    [h/t: TechDirt]

  • Gatorade Contains Flame Retardant No More: PepsiCo To Remove Controversial Ingredient

    You may not know this, but certain citrus flavors of Gatorade contains an ingredient called brominated vegetable oil. The bromine chemical in the ingredient is somewhat controversial as it’s used in flame retardants. As such, it’s illegal to use as a food additive in most countries except for the United States and Canada. Some companies, however, are beginning to voluntarily remove the ingredient from their products.

    Reuters reports that PepsiCo will be removing BVO from its citrus flavored Gatorade drinks in the coming months. Many people are attributing the change to a petition started by a 15-year-old girl named Sarah Kavanagh from Mississippi. Kavanagh’s petition on Change.org had received more than 200,000 signatures before PepsiCo announced the change.

    Speaking to Reuters, a spokesperson for Gatorade said that the change wasn’t the direct result from any one petition. The company says that it had planned to remove the ingredient for some time now, but the public announcement just happened to come as soon as Kavanagh’s petition went viral.

    That being said, Kavanagh is still celebrating the victory that she shares with numerous food safety watchdog groups around the nation. One in particular, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, told Reuters that it applauds “PepsiCo for doing the responsible thing and voluntary getting [BVO] out of Gatorade.”

    Gatorade may be ridding itself of BVO, but numerous other citrus soft drinks include the controversial ingredient. The removal from Gatorade may convince soft-drink manufacturers to remove it from their other products though.

  • YouTube Users File Petition To Allow For The Use Of Third-Party Recording Tools

    Should YouTube users be allowed to rip the content they like to their hard drive, much like a person would use a DVR to record a television show of interest? Some users believe they should have such capabilities, and so, they’ve started a petition essentially asking for DVR rights when using YouTube.

    The petition comes on the heels of the announcement that Google is going after the video-to-mp3 conversion site with the obvious title, YouTube-MP3.com, something that’s reflected in the petition’s introduction:

    For decades people were allowed to take a private copy of a public broadcast. You could record the radio program with a cassette recorder or make a copy of your favorite movie by using a video recorder. All these techniques have been opposed heavily in its early years by the big media companies who didn’t want the public to have such technology. They did describe such technology as criminal and as a threat to their business.

    Several years later history is about to repeat: Google has teamed up with the RIAA to make the same claims against all sorts of online recording tools for their 21th century broadcasting service: YouTube (“Broadcast yourself”). Google is taking action against nearly every service that enables its users to create a private copy of a public YouTube broadcast while the RIAA is threatening news media like CNet for promoting such a software.

    I hereby ask Google to break their silence and participate in an open and fair discussion with the intention to find a solution that suits the needs of the users.

    It should be noted that while consumers could tape music from the radio or make duplicates of other tapes with a dual-cassette setup, it wasn’t necessarily smiled upon by the powers that were. In fact, the MPAA went all out against the technology that was videocassette recorders (VCRs). The difference being, media consumption in the 80s was very much a one-way process, with the consumer having little recourse regarding feedback. Sure, an occasional letter might have made capitalism work in your favor, but there certainly weren’t multiple avenues of communication like those offered by Facebook and Twitter.

    With that in mind, should users be able to make copies of YouTube content, be it in the form of third part video recording software or through sites that rip the video’s soundtrack out, converting it to an MP3? While the comparison between DVRs and Internet broadcasts are based in logic, it’s impossible to see the current powers that be siding with the user here, especially when you consider the massive fuss these content providers have made about YouTube in the past. Perhaps a balance could be struck allowing users who upload their own self-created content to give their viewers the option of downloading the file.

    Other than that, it’s hard to see a day that the RIAA says “sure, you can download any of the music you like from YouTube’s VEVO service, unless the song was purchased by the viewer first. As pointed out by GigaOm, the petition has over 180,000 signatures since it was put up three days prior. While the support is admirable, it’s hard to see this working out in their favor.

  • LEGO + Portal = Shut Up And Take My Money

    I love LEGO. I love Portal. What if there was a way to combine my love for two equally awesome things into a single property of epic proportions? Good thing LEGO Cuusoo exists to make my dreams a reality.

    If you aren’t familiar with LEGO Cuusoo, here’s the short version: It’s a Web site where fans can propose new LEGO sets. After it reaches the set amount of votes, the LEGO company looks into making the set a reality. It has already worked for an amazing LEGO Minecraft set, and now the fans are attempting to get a Portal set made.

    The idea was proposed on June 28 and it already has an amazing 3,149 backers for the project. The team behind the design has proposed three initial LEGO sets based on various scenes from the first Portal game. They include GLaDOS’ chamber, a testing room and a LEGO board game. It’s actually a pretty amazing project and it deserves your votes.

    LEGO Portal

    While there is no guarantee that the set will get made if it reaches the requisite number of votes, I say it has a better chance than most. Valve loves to make quality merchandise of its properties (life-size replicas of the Portal Gun and turrets, anyone?) and a LEGO set would be one more step on its way to global domination of the toy market. So, if you have a heart, cast your vote over at the LEGO Cuusoo page.

    LEGO Portal

    While you’re at it, you can cast a vote for these equally deserving projects: Castle Crashers, League of Legends, and Doctor Who. With your help, we can make sure that the world get the LEGO sets that deserve to be made.