SALT LAKE CITY — Privacy activists gathered at the Matheson Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City Sunday to protest against government surveillance of citizens.
The protest was part of the national Restore the Fourth movement, which has designated August 4 “1984 Day.”
The name of the day refers to George Orwell’s novel about a future where government watches citizens constantly and controls all media. The activists said they believe the National Security Agency is violating their Fourth Amendment right to privacy.
XMission President Pete Ashdown said the NSA has gone too far.
“We believe that the NSA has stepped across the Fourth Amendment, has shredded the Fourth Amendment, and we would like to see it restored and upheld,” he said. “They have lied to Congress, they have withheld information from Congress about what they are doing, and we want to see better oversight from Congress of this agency and if not, we should shut it down.”
Utah has drawn the attention of many such Fourth Amendment activists because the NSA’s primary storage center is in Bluffdale.
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