Every number should be trusted.

What counts as a signature

A signature is one person adding their first name, last name and country, and confirming that they agree with a specific version of the declaration. Each signature permanently records the exact version of the text that was accepted.

What counts as verified

A signature is verified when the signer opens the unique link we email to them. Only verified signatures are included in any public number. Signatures that have not been verified are never counted.

Verification links expire after 3 days. Phone (SMS) verification is being added as a stronger option, and this page will disclose how many signatures were verified by each method.

Duplicates

Each email address can sign once. Addresses are normalised before comparison, so variations of the same inbox (for example capital letters, or Gmail dots and “+” tags) count as one person.

Bot and abuse prevention

We use automated bot protection, rate limits on signing, and blocks on disposable email services. Friction is applied progressively to suspicious traffic, so ordinary signers are not asked to complete extra challenges.

Suspicious signatures and fraud removal

Suspicious activity is reviewed. Signatures found to be fraudulent are invalidated and subtracted from every public total, including country counts, even if this makes the number go down. Every invalidation is recorded in an append-only audit log with the reason.

Geography

Country is self-reported by the signer. We may suggest a country based on the approximate location of the connection, but the signer chooses. Countries and territories follow the ISO 3166 list. Map borders use Natural Earth data, which shows boundaries as they are administered in practice and implies no position on disputed territories. Regional breakdowns are only published where counts are large enough not to identify individuals.

How the counter is calculated

The headline number is a running total of verified signatures, updated in the same database transaction that verifies or invalidates each signature, so it can be reconciled against the underlying records at any time. We never animate, estimate or pad the count.

Privacy

We never publish email addresses, phone numbers, postal codes, IP addresses or answers to the optional voting question. We do not store raw IP addresses. Names appear publicly only in the form each signer chooses, and never without permission. We never sell or rent signer data.

Audit

Signature state changes and administrative actions are logged. We intend to publish regular aggregate reconciliations and to invite independent review of the count.