3 ms·

I am (or at least was) a big fan of the EFF. It is the first charity I can remember giving money to that I earned myself. However, I think they've gone in a dir

by kauffj 11y ago

I am (or at least was) a big fan of the EFF. It is the first charity I can remember giving money to that I earned myself. However, I think they've gone in a direction of picking fights that are popular but a deviation from their original mission. To me, the EFF is about protecting the internet and technology users from governments (or private entities) that don't understand it. Private companies cutting sweetheart deals with other companies that are detrimental to their customers is not a matter of rights protection. Adding new rules that prevent certain usages of technology is not an increase in digital rights, it's a decrease. I wish EFF would instead focus on how we can create a regulatory environment that allows more competition than spend so much time advocating for popular ideas that are at best orthogonal to digital rights and sometimes antagonistic.

Nrsolis 11y ago
I'll second this. I just donated a bunch of cash to the EFF (as I do every year at this time). In this world, there is a huge need for a digital-rights aware advocacy group to keep the politicians in check. Everyone that works in the tech industry should donate to the EFF IMHO. They do far more good for us than we collectively realize.
- dd36 11y ago
  It's great to set for Amazon Smile. Along with the Smile-forcing browser plug-in.
  - SquareWheel 11y ago
    You can also use the EFF's affiliate code on top of Smile. That's ?tag=electronicfro-20. I'd be careful with any Smile-forcing browser plugins though, as I bet they conveniently insert their own affiliate code in addition to setting the Smile link. This is also common of price comparison applications.
- philfreo 11y ago
  Link for the lazy: https://supporters.eff.org/donate/ https://supporters.eff.org/donate/ Choose a recurring monthly option!
ctdavies 11y ago
What about when a "usage of technology" itself limits the rights of others? I believe in that case it may be best to limit rights-limiting actions, such that the net rights protected is greater than it would be otherwise.
nitrogen 11y ago
Threats to digital freedoms evolve over time, so advocacy needs to evolve as well. Right now one of the biggest threats is a propaganda/framing war to get people to associate anti-consumer technologies (bandwidth restrictions, opt-out defaults, snooping) with "good", and pro-consumer technologies (encryption, neutral customer-controlled packet prioritization) with "evil" or "selfishness". The EFF seems to recognize this and is acting accordingly.

by kauffj 11y ago

Nrsolis 11y ago

I'll second this. I just donated a bunch of cash to the EFF (as I do every year at this time). In this world, there is a huge need for a digital-rights aware advocacy group to keep the politicians in check. Everyone that works in the tech industry should donate to the EFF IMHO. They do far more good for us than we collectively realize.

dd36 11y ago
It's great to set for Amazon Smile. Along with the Smile-forcing browser plug-in.
- SquareWheel 11y ago
  You can also use the EFF's affiliate code on top of Smile. That's ?tag=electronicfro-20. I'd be careful with any Smile-forcing browser plugins though, as I bet they conveniently insert their own affiliate code in addition to setting the Smile link. This is also common of price comparison applications.
philfreo 11y ago
Link for the lazy: https://supporters.eff.org/donate/ https://supporters.eff.org/donate/ Choose a recurring monthly option!

ctdavies 11y ago

What about when a "usage of technology" itself limits the rights of others? I believe in that case it may be best to limit rights-limiting actions, such that the net rights protected is greater than it would be otherwise.

nitrogen 11y ago

Threats to digital freedoms evolve over time, so advocacy needs to evolve as well. Right now one of the biggest threats is a propaganda/framing war to get people to associate anti-consumer technologies (bandwidth restrictions, opt-out defaults, snooping) with "good", and pro-consumer technologies (encryption, neutral customer-controlled packet prioritization) with "evil" or "selfishness". The EFF seems to recognize this and is acting accordingly.