video: Internet Activists Pressure Senator Ron Wyden with 30-foot Blimp

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Friday, March 13, 2015

Annie Ellison, GoLocalPDX Reporter

Activists opposing a massive trade deal that they say would give officals too much power to censor online content, are putting the pressure on Oregon Senator Ron Wyden by following him around the state with a 30-foot blimp. 

Organizers with Fight for the Future, a non-profit that fights against internet censorship, are pushing Wyden to stop legislation that would fast-track an international trade agreement called the Trans Pacific Partnership. 

The deal between countries in Asia, Australia and the Americas would boost U.S. trade, but activists fear it would jeopardize transparency due to issues of internet censorship.  

The blimp, which carries a banner that reads “Ron Wyden: It’s up to you. Don’t betray us! Save the Internet. No Fast Track for the TPP,” and features a “Grumpy Cat” meme, will follow Wyden throughout a tour of town hall meetings Friday and Saturday. 

“The future of the internet is too important to be made behind closed doors,” said Fight for the Future campaign director Evan Greer. “We’re concerned about the direction [Wyden] is going. 

The blimp will follow Wyden from a Town Hall meeting Friday morning in Umatilla to La Grande, on to Baker City and Ontario. 

Fight for the Future is funding the action through its 1.2 million members. 

Read more about the Trans Pacific Partnership here. 

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