Great Nonprofits

EFF fights to protect your civil liberties online and in the digital world in ways the average Joe hasn't thought of yet. They are remarkably effective, especially considering they operate with a skeleton crew of about 30 staffers; and considering a huge chunk of their time and money goes into litigation, extremely well-managed to boot.

The folks at the EFF are extremely hard working and what they are working on is vitally important to our civil liberties. They may not get nearly as much press as some of the other non-profits but their work touches our daily lives in a very positive way.

The Electronic Frontier is the most important advocate in one of the incredibly important but underappreciated causes of today. They fight to ensure our increasingly digital future takes a form most beneficial to society's interests. These decisions are made today primarily in a corporate or government environment, and without the public's attention they can lead us to a state where expressive freedom, privacy, and innovation occur only on their terms. These problems seem remote to most people, but everyone is involved in the digital economy whether or not they are avid internet users. Governments and businesses keep electronic records on everything they are legally allowed to about consumers (and as the NSA wiretapping debacle shows, even beyond the limits of the law and the constitution). EFF pays attention and picks timely issues to fight through litigation and public awareness campaigning. I spent a summer there working as a legal intern, and saw firsthand the foresight and consideration that go into their strategies. EFF's positions are not radical; in fact, their aim is to find the policy that benefits ALL interested parties in the long run, placing our nation's collective interest first. They have led the fight against unconstitutional warrantless wiretapping; they resist attempts by copyright and patentholders to strangle innovation and solidify their monopolies regardless of the cost to expression and innovation; they protect our collective security by defending security researchers again companies trying to hide technological vulnerabilities from the public (while malicious users continue to exploit them); the examples go on, spanning the ever-growing points of contact between technology and our rights as citizens, as authors and inventors, as consumers, and as human beings. Read about their activities at eff.org, and please support this group that defends the rights we are only beginning to discover in this new age (and which future generations will need and appreciate even more). Thanks!