Resistance Update #3
Sign my UK petition, join the new Chat and fight for the right to relief in Zürich!
Sorry for a few weeks of radio silence. But if you think I’ve gone away, you’re out of luck! I’ve been travelling in Canada - watch this space for a full report on the offline rights situation in that vast country.
Now I’ll try to shout down my pesky perfectionism and send this newsletter without trawling for potential typos. After all, current world events prove that you can go all the way to the top without spelling or punctuation...1
Weekly encouragement
Following Australia’s lead, Germany is seriously weighing up a social media ban for teenagers. This may not seem directly related to the offline rights battle, but I believe any legal trend towards ungluing the young from smartphones is good for us all! Imagine it becomes cool for parents to buy their freshly liberated kids and teens ‘dumbphones’ in the near future? It would be a whole lot harder for anyone to abolish cash or mandate digital ID apps when a large chunk of the population is semi-offline.
While bank branches are closing all over the planet, taking human service with them, Nationwide in the UK continues to push an alternative narrative, pledging to keep all its branches open until 2030. Now, there is every chance this is just a ploy to grab a bunch of customers in the short term - and 2030 isn’t even as far away as it sounds. However, what if this campaign actually succeeds beyond even Nationwide’s wildest hopes? What if the whole country switches banks because people want branches, not bots? The competition will notice. Money talks. The coming months are a terrific chance for consumers to send a message.
Things I’ve done
My UK petition about guaranteeing the right to live offline is live! Now it just needs a whole bunch of signatures…
The Volksanwaltschaft in Austria worked for the cause! The details could fill a post of their own, so I will just report here that they did actually write to the Finanzamt (national tax revenue office) and the Burgenland (my local state) government and put my seemingly ‘digital only’ tax declaration complaints to them. Again, I’ll save the long story for another spot, but let’s just say that matters of digital coercion have been brought to the attention of those who decide on these things - and by proper legal people. Now, imagine if it wasn’t just me contacting the local citizens’ legal bureau about this, but also you? And the next reader, and the next…
I’m slowly getting to know the Substack platform, and am proud to say that there is now an Offline Rights Chat. Huh? Okay, this is a conversation space exclusively for subscribers - kind of like a group chat or live hangout. For now, we can use it as a timeline for you and me to post daily acts of resistance and activism - I have already posted a couple of teasers from Canada. You can access chat on the web or via the Substack app by clicking this link. If you do go the app route, the chat icon looks like two bubbles in the bottom bar. You should see a row for my chat inside.
If you have an app or chat allergy by this stage of history, I totally get that. This thing is merely an optional bonus to the proper homepage, proper articles and newsletters. As always, feel free to send me material and I’ll post on your behalf!
Things this community has done
Zürich is a tough place for cash fans these days. Especially so if you’ve got a full bladder and a handful of coins. Yup, they have public toilets that only accept card payments. So, one of our readers made sure to express his outrage on a public forum - bravo!
While I don’t believe the Swiss lavatory powers-that-be will lose sleep over a Google review, writing reviews (both good and bad) is a habit we campaigners need to get into! Businesses and institutions may very well be interested in what their customers think, and may adjust accordingly if they keep hearing the same complaints.
How do we get more content in this part of the next newsletter? Look in the mirror! Even a little screenshot or story will do. Mail me. Short of ideas? Mail me and we’ll brainstorm!
What can YOU do?
If you’re British, sign that petition of mine! It only takes a minute. Please also share it with like-minded citizens. Multiple people from the same household can sign, as can UK citizens living abroad. You can even do the legwork for others who may be too busy or less technically capable - you just need to punch in a unique email address you can access, so you can click the confirmation link. (Ironic, I know…)
Here’s another one you should sign if you’re a UK citizen: Protect the right to live without a Digital ID
If you’re not British, think about any citizens you may know. They need to see these petitions! Also, start a petition (or similar) in your own country. We can pimp it out here as soon as you send me the link!
If you haven’t done so already, this petition by digitalcourage in Germany needs signing and sharing. There are already over 47,000 signatories. The petition will be presented to parliament in Berlin in May.
Keep news of petitions, etc, coming in from wherever you live, so I can share them. I’m squeezing this campaign (and its newsletter) into my spare time - so, without your help, I can guarantee most things will slip through the net.
Review like mad - both good and bad. In particular, let businesses that assume phone ownership or refuse cash know that they have lost your custom, and why. Let the decent, human businesses know they have your custom, and why. Then (you guessed it) send me a screenshot/link or just let me know!
Consider the Nationwide example from the UK, as described above. Can you switch to a bank likely to retain a branch in your area? Make sure to tell them why you’ve done it. And them make sure to tell me - or post in the Chat!
As always, share this campaign with others! Simply tell people to subscribe here on Substack. There is a lot more structure to come, but we can start mustering numbers already. Either that, or my motivation runs out by summer. You know what to do…
And what about your grandma who has things to say about being locked out of the toilet in the rain, but isn’t online? No problem! We can post things on her behalf - just write to us at offlinerights@substack.com and we will work out an old-school plan.
I say this with my cynical hat on, of course. I personally believe in spelling, grammar AND punctuation. I still offer proofreading and editing services for authors, businesses and magazines. But doing that stuff properly takes time - and I’m rushing this out because nobody’s paying me and I still have to make dinner. So, I’m expecting a little gibberish and dodgy alignment to surface - it’s a conscious choice.