Bits of Freedom Loves Technology (But the Love Has to Come From Both Sides)

For 24 years, Bits of Freedom has been committed to a safe, accessible Internet and fair technology. All Dutch and European citizens enjoy this, but Bits of Freedom is, apart from its loyal supporters, mostly known to most people as an 'online privacy club'. This has to change, because Bits of Freedom is concerned with more than your browser, and needs donations to protect all of the Netherlands against restriction of our rights - whether by a big big tech company like WhatsApp or the tax authorities. That's why Bits of Freedom is launching an optimistic campaign together with KesselsKramer in the weeks after their 24th anniversary, but right before the elections.

With "I love technology, but only on my terms" as the baseline of the campaign, Bits of Freedom celebrates technology, the Internet, and all of their applications, but also emphasises that these services need to be kept in check. After all, nothing online is free, and if you don't have to pay for a service with money, chances are you're paying with something else - often data. And beyond your Internet browser, parties much larger than yourself are concerned with who you are, what you do, and where you go – be it in the form of facial recognition on the street, or your ‘Belastingaangifte-app’. 

By highlighting three different technological phenomena in the campaign (being election campaigns, sexting, and online banking), Bits of Freedom emphasises how even the most mundane things have a technological component, and thus have a downside we often don't consider.

To make sure those consequences are contained, every poster, social post and cookie-free banner calls for you to protect your boundaries, by supporting Bits of Freedom. Because Bits of Freedom fights against unfair technology and for human rights, not only for itself, but especially for you. 

KK created Bits of Freedom's first recruitment campaign in 2017, complete with a "bed-in" at the Volkshotel hotel. Now, 6 years after that campaign, the 'I love technology' campaign is live. The new campaign shows how the scope of Bits of Freedom has broadened in the meantime and thus also highlights how important it is that it can continue to do its work. Not out of protest against big tech, but out of love for technology.

Client: Bits of Freedom

Agency: KesselsKramer