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Inside the Electronic Frontier Foundation

Posted by samzenpus on from the behind-the-scenes dept.

First time accepted submitter qwerdf writes "The Electronic Frontier Foundation's goal is 'defending your rights in the digital world', and its activities span the full gamut of freedom fighting: providing help with court cases; issuing white papers that explain current threats; running campaigns to spread awareness of various issues; and developing technologies that make our online activities safer from prying eyes. Here's a short history of how the EFF came together, what it has done so far, and how it's preparing for upcoming battles."

7 of 98 comments (clear)

  1. Small factual error? by angry+tapir · · Score: 5, Informative

    Taking on the United States Secret Service is a pretty risky venture... But that’s exactly what the EFF did, shortly after it was founded in July 1990. The Secret Service had raided a small videogames book publisher, looking for a stolen technical document that might fall into the wrong hands.

    If it's referring to the raid on Steve Jackson Games, SJG wasn't a 'videogames book publisher'.

    1. Re:Small factual error? by meerling · · Score: 5, Informative

      They actually tried to claim that SJG was making a handbook for hacking computers. They were referring to the (at that time) upcoming Cyberpunk setting book for G.U.R.P.S. . Yeah, last time I checked, the proper way to steal data was to take your cyberdeck, jack it into your brain, load some ICEbreakers, and cruise cyberspace battling ICE and cracking data nodes. Uh huh. Right up there with the AC unit cooling the room by using demons of perversity to kick the cold atoms into the room and the hot ones out.

      I remember logging in the day after the raid. Strange message came up instead of their normal B.B.S. .
      Then the stories from SJG about the raid. How the 'agents' ate the teams donuts, and broke open locks with the team standing there with the keys.
      It was later found out that the warrant authorizing the raid really shouldn't have been granted in the first place, to put it mildly.

      I know SJG has the story on their site. If you're interested, go check it out. I'm sure it's a lot better than my so called memory.
      http://sjgames.com/SS/

  2. Money well spent by PopeRatzo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Send some dough to the EFF. Right this second. If there ever was a time we need those guys, it's now.

    I'm a tightwad, and if I can buy some cheaper beer for a few weeks so I can send them a few bucks, so can you, goddamit.

    This week, we found out that we've got a secret court that's acting as a "shadow Supreme Court" that's deciding the constitutionality of electronic snooping laws and then keeping their fucking rulings secret.

    http://boingboing.net/2013/07/07/secret-rulings-from-americas.html

    So before you curse the darkness, go light a fucking candle. Give to the EFF. I've got a paypal window open right now and am giving another twenty, which means I'll be drinking cheap beer for the rest of the month. But at least I'll know there's someone out there who's not completely focused on the reality tv show that is Edward Snowden instead of the fact that we've got a privatized police state that's grown up around us in only about a decade.

    And make no mistake: it's too late to start loading your shootin' iron unless you've decided your solution is to eat it.

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
    1. Re:Money well spent by cervesaebraciator · · Score: 5, Informative

      Donate Here!

  3. Re:EFFail by Aighearach · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Steve Jackson Games v. Secret Service Case Archive

    "EFF set one of the first precedents protecting computer communications from unwarranted government invasion."

    I guess you're too young to remember that, or to have had all your friends whining they aren't getting their game updates because the Secret Service thought role playing games were real.

    Plus grokster, broadcast flag, etc

  4. EFF you by interkin3tic · · Score: 5, Informative

    Jesus, don't call it in the fucking air. At the very least, don't call it FOR THE OTHER SIDE. Cynicism here does nothing but rationalize not doing anything to stop it. "losses which will occur in the future" if everyone who should be standing up to it says "Ah, it's going to happen eventually, fuck it."

    CISPA was a big win. No, they didn't stop it forever, but if you expected that to happen you're an idiot. What was the EFF supposed to do? Murder every CEO who wanted something similar to it, murder every lobbyist who would take their money, and murder every legislator who would take their meetings? Maintaining freedom is an active process, not a one time thing.

    You list about four other losses. Summarize their full list of litigation if you're going to say they do nothing but lose.

    This is not me shooting the messenger either. What you're doing is more akin to a football player in a close game screaming "We're going to lose! Repent! Defeat is inevitable! We can't win, they're going to hurt us, we may as well forfeit because our QB sucks!!!"

    (Note that I never played football, but I'm pretty sure that's a good way to help the other team win)

  5. Re:Different focus these days by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Are you insane? EFF has been at the *forefront* of the tracking/surveillance issue. Who did AT&T whistleblower Mark Klein choose to receive his inside information about how his employer was colluding with the NSA to spy on Americans? Why, that would be the EFF, who then proceeded to bring it to public attention and sue both AT&T (Hepting v. AT&T) and the NSA (Jewel v. NSA), beginning SEVEN YEARS AGO in 2006. Fuck, read a single webpage and learn something, instead of ignorantly trashing one of the biggest forces for good that we have.