Five Things You Can Do Now

Here are five things you can do, today, to make sure that tech policy is part of this election cycle. Think of these five things as a broad outline for getting involved and asking the candidates our key questions. How you ultimately put these suggestions to use is up to you.

Participation is infectious. Talk to three friends and get them involved. Then have each of them get three others involved and have each those reach out to three others. We've given you tools on this site to start talking to your friends and family, all you have to do is use them! Read more about online political activism at the Net Democracy Guide.

Get informed

• Join the CDT Activist list and mailing lists for the latest on tech policy- you can sign up on this page. We'll let you know when a few well-timed calls can tip the balance in national security, privacy, and other important issues.
• Sign up for CDT announcements, and we'll let you know when CDT releases papers, testifies, or comments on the news. We'll also send you our Policy Posts, which deliver accurate and up-to-date information on issues affecting civil liberties online.
• Read the candidate's web sites; find where they post information about their positions. Do they have a technology policy paper? Do they have positions on the Internet? Make sure you have a copy of our key questions and see if the candidates address the questions in their position papers.

Join

• Sign up for the forums on your favorite candidate's website, and ask our questions. Ask questions and discuss the candidate's positions. Start discussions about civil liberties online.
• Show your support for your favorite candidate on a social networking site, and ask the questions we've proposed there. See what other supporters think.

Ask

• One of the most important things you can do is asking the candidates about their Internet policy positions. Find a form on their websites, write a letter, or join a live meeting. Ask them what they are going to do to protect the Internet.

Share

• Send the PDF of our The President, Congress, and the Internet document to candidates and their staff.
• Create a blog or website, and talk about these issues. You can even post a note on your favorite social networking site. Post our The President, Congress, and the Internet document and ask your readers what they think. Then ask them to come to the CDT website and comment!
• Make a video asking the candidates one of these questions and post it to a video sharing website. Invite friends to join you!

Discuss

• Comment on this Election website. What would you improve about our document? Do you think that we covered the most important aspects of the next election's technology policy questions? What else would you like candidates to promise?
• Email friends and family. Send them our questions, and ask them what they would change. What would they take out? Encourage them to start similar conversations with their own circle of friends.
• Join political discussions online and once you've joined, participate!