The guide recommends free software tools like GnuPG and Enigmail to protect email communications from prying eyes. To accompany the guide, the FSF also released a shareable infographic.

The guide is being released as part of Reset the Net, a day of action to take steps towards thwarting the government's mass surveillance capabilities. Today's day of action marks the anniversary of the first NSA surveillance story revealed by whistleblower Edward Snowden. Tens of thousands of Internet activists, companies, and organizations are taking steps to preserve free speech and basic rights on the Internet.

"None of the companies or governments fighting to control the Internet treat your freedom and privacy as a priority. Maybe we can make them change over time, but today we can act without their permission to protect ourselves and our networks, using free software they don't control," said John Sullivan, Free Software Foundation executive director.

"The majority of email sent can be easily intercepted by any number of people--Google will read your email to serve you ads, and the government may read your email to keep tabs on you or someone in your community. Today, we're making it easier for people to keep email private, and to protect the privacy of everyone they email with. It's up to all of us to build that web of trust, and it all starts today with Reset the Net," said Zak Rogoff, a Free Software Foundation campaigns manager.

About the Free Software Foundation

The Free Software Foundation, founded in 1985, is dedicated to promoting computer users' right to use, study, copy, modify, and redistribute computer programs. The FSF promotes the development and use of free (as in freedom) software -- particularly the GNU operating system and its GNU/Linux variants -- and free documentation for free software. The FSF also helps to spread awareness of the ethical and political issues of freedom in the use of software, and its Web sites, located at fsf.org and gnu.org, are an important source of information about GNU/Linux. Donations to support the FSF's work can be made at https://donate.fsf.org. Its headquarters are in Boston, MA, USA.

Media Contacts

Zak Rogoff
Campaigns Manager
Free Software Foundation
+1 (617) 542 5942
campaigns@fsf.org

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