Have you Reddit? A Conservative MP's letter on C-51 'concerning'

Many Canadians took to the streets this weekend to protest Bill C-51. Others have taken to Reddit. Earlier this month, Cameron Smith emailed his MP regarding her support for the bill. He found her reply unnerving, and so he posted it online.

Lois Brown is a Conservative MP for Aurora-Newmarket. Smith is a recent Western graduate living in her riding. Brown's response to Smith's letter references the threat of "jihadi terrorists who endanger our security" and maintains "the threat of radical Islamic extremism is a very real threat."

Reddit's Science Forum Banned Climate Deniers. Why Don't All Newspapers Do the Same?

In addition to my career as a PhD chemist, I am one of a select few who enjoy the privilege of moderating content on reddit.com's science forum. The science forum is a small part of reddit, but it nonetheless enjoys over 4 million subscribers. By comparison, that's roughly twice the circulation of The New York Times.

The forum, known as /r/science, provides a digital space for discussions about recent, peer-reviewed scientific publications. This puts us (along with /r/AskScience) on the front line of the science-public interface. On our little page, scientists and nonscientists can connect through discussions on everything from subatomic particles to interstellar astrophysics.

Why Reddit’s Science Forum Banned Climate Deniers

One of Reddit’s most popular sections is /r/science, a forum where even the most curious and uninformed nerd can bulk up on recent, peer-reviewed scientific research. This is possible on /r/science because of its community — more than 4 million people, scientists included, who are more or less genuinely interested in engaging, empirical, and accurate scientific discussion on that material.

But for a long time, that type of discussion — at least surrounding climate change — has been hindered by trolling of the most “rude and uninformed” kind, according to Nathan Allen, a a PhD chemist and /r/science moderator. Which is why the subreddit has since prohibited posts and comments by people who deny the realities of man-made climate change.

Reddit, Mozilla And Others Plan Huge Online Protest Against NSA For July 4

Reddit, Mozilla, Wordpress, 4chan and other websites are planning a Fourth of July protest against the National Security Agency over its widespread surveillance of telephone records and Internet traffic through secret programs that came to light last month.

Spearheaded by the Internet Defense League, a 30,000-member group of Internet activists and websites, the Restore The Fourth campaign will have websites promote anti-NSA messages on their homepages along with directing visitors to CallForFreedom.org, where they can donate to help fund television ads against the intelligence programs.

Aaron Swartz's Father Says Reddit Co-Founder Was 'Killed By The Government'

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. -- Internet freedom activist Aaron Swartz was "killed by the government," his father told mourners Tuesday during his son's funeral in suburban Chicago.

Swartz, who help create Reddit and RSS, the technology behind blogs, podcasts and other web-based subscription services, was found dead Friday in his New York apartment. He was facing federal charges that alleged he illegally gained access to millions of articles from a Massachusetts Institute of Technology computer archive.

Can Reddit Vote Down a Congressman?

When Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) introduced the Stop Online Piracy Act last winter, members of the online community Reddit sprang into action. They called their congressmen, spammed Twitter, and did what they do best: hatched memes. It worked; SOPA, which would have given courts the power to shut down websites that featured copyrighted material, was tabled amid protests that the legislation, backed by the entertainment industry, would curb internet freedom. But SOPA's retreat was just temporary; these online activists wanted to ensure it wouldn't come back.

The result was Test PAC, the first political action committee of, for, and by Reddit, a social news site and sounding board with tens of millions of users worldwide. Political activism is hardly a novel concept for Redditors—prior to SOPA, they'd come up with the idea for the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear in 2010—but this was something new. Launched in January, Test PAC's first mission is simple: Unseat Lamar Smith. Its leaders have purchased a billboard in San Antonio and are using the site to mobilize activists on the ground in central Texas; Test PAC's first television ad is in the can, waiting for the funds to air it. But as the state's May 29 Republican primary approaches, Test PAC faces a unique set of challenges: an uncertain field of challengers, a funding shortfall, and the lingering question of whether it's even possible to crowd-source a PAC.

Reddit Blackout Over SOPA, PIPA: Site To Protest By Going Dark On January 18

Redditors have sounded the call to arms.

In a blog post on Tuesday, community news-sharing site Reddit announced that it will be shutting down normal operations on January 18 in protest of proposed legislation Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and PROTECT IP Act (PIPA).

"The freedom, innovation, and economic opportunity that the Internet enables is in jeopardy," Reddit admins wrote in the blog post. "Congress is considering legislation that will dramatically change your Internet experience and put an end to reddit and many other sites you use everyday."

If passed, SOPA would allow the U.S. Department of Justice and copyright holders to seek court orders against foreign and even domestic websites that enable or facilitate copyright infringement. If a website is accused, it could be punished by being removed from search engine results, barred from online advertising networks, and blocked from payment processing networks. In other words, sites like Facebook, Wikipedia, YouTube and Reddit could be crippled for hosting or linking to user-uploaded content that potentially infringes on copyrights.

The bill would also make the unauthorized streaming of copyrighted content, such as a song or TV show, a crime punishable by up to five years in prison.

Reddit's 12-hour blackout, which is planned for 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST on Wednesday January 18, coincides with a congressional hearing on SOPA, at which tech and security leaders, including Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, will air their grievances toward SOPA and PIPA.