Electronic Frontier Foundation

About

Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is a United States-based nonprofit organization that works to preserve civil liberties for individuals around the world to access computers, communications networks and create and publish digital media.

History

In April 1990, American poet and political activist John Perry Barlow was investigated by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for distributing source code for Macintosh computers. After expressing his frustration with the agency’s visit on the online community The Well, Barlow was contacted by Lotus Development Corporation founder Mitch Kapor to create an organization for the protection of Internet civil liberties from various law enforcement agencies. On July 10th, the EFF^[1] was formally founded by Barlow, Kapor and activist John Gilmore (shown below), with initial funding provided by Kapor, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and an anonymous benefactor.

The EFF’s first high-profile case involved the search and seizure of Steve Jackson Games, Inc. by the U.S. Secret Service. When the case went to trial in 1993, Steve Jackson Games was awarded $50,000 in damages and $250,000 in attorney fees. Additionally, the Secret Service were reprimanded for improper warrant preparation and ignorance of relevant statutes. In 1995, the EFF hired lawyer Cindy Cohn to represent cryptologist Daniel J. Bernstein in suing the U.S. government for permission to publish his encryption software Snuffle.

EFF Pioneer Awards

The EFF has awarded an annual prize to individuals who made an impact in digital rights and Internet civil liberties. The first Pioneer Awards were given to artist Tom Jennings, computing educator Jim Warren and engineers Douglas Engelbart, Andrew Smereczynski and Robert Kahn in 1992. In 2013, the award was given posthumously to activist Aaron Swartz.

Highlights

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is a proposed trade agreement that aims to establish international conventions on enforcing intellectual property rights. It would establish an international legal framework for national governments to join voluntarily and create a governing body outside existing decision-making bodies such as World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) or the United Nations. In 2010, the EFF publicly came out against the treaty, calling for more public scrutiny of the proposal.

Protect IP Act / Stop Online Piracy Act

The Protect IP Act (PIPA) is a U.S. Senate bill introduced by Senator Patrick Leahy in May 2011. Along with its House counterpart Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), the bills were designed to provide the government and copyright holders with powers to block access to “rogue websites dedicated to infringing or counterfeit goods,” especially those registered outside the United States. The bills were met with heavy opposition by the EFF and many other organizations.

Internet Defense League

The Internet Defense League is an Internet watchdog organization and a website launched in March 2012 with the mission to educate the public and organize online protests against upcoming anti-piracy legislation. The league includes several high-profile companies and organizations, including the EFF.

Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protect Act

The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protect Act (CISPA) is a U.S. Senate bill introduced in 2012, designed to allow more sharing of “cyber threat intelligence” between the U.S. government and private sectors. On April 3rd that year, EFF staff member Trevor Timm appeared in an interview with RT, raising several concerns about the act.

World Conference on International Communications

World Conference on International Communications (WCIT) is a treaty-level conference regarding international rules and regulations for telecommunications, facilitated by the United Nations agency International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and hosted in Dubai in December 2012. In May 2012, the EFF, along with 30 organizations, drafted a letter denouncing the WCIT’s secretive planning process.

2013 NSA Surveillance Scandal

NSA Surveillance Scandal is an ongoing controversy surrounding the U.S. National Security Agency’s data-mining operation of millions of customers from major telecommunications providers in the United States, as well as its clandestine electronic surveillance program known as PRISM. In July 2013, the EFF published a blog post awarding various companies who supported online privacy protections in wake of the NSA scandal. In January 2014, the EFF joined online protest against the surveillance program titled “The Day We Fight Back” In February 2015, the EFF launched the website Fight215.org, urging viewers to contact their representatives to allow Section 215 of the United States Patriot Act to expire, which allowed the NSA to collect phone records of United States citizens who were not suspected of criminal activity.

Internet Slowdown Day

Internet Slowdown Day was an online protest in support of net neutrality held on September 10th, 2014. In a press release for the event, the EFF was listed as one of the early activist groups supporting the protest.

Search Interest

External References