3 ms·

All EFF’d Up: Silicon Valley’s astroturf privacy shakedown

20 points by pizza 6y ago

bryan_w 6y ago
(2018)
rmrfstar 6y ago
List of wrongs according to author: * EFF currently takes money from Facebook and Google. Money comes from donations and strange payments resulting from litigation (settlement? judgement? case names?) * Founders of EFF were rich guys with "bizzjets" * Early sponsors included large monopolists like IBM, MCI, Bell, AT&T, and Microsoft * EFF moved HQ from Cambridge to DC instead of investing in regional offices to build a grass-roots movement * After DC move, EFF hired Jerry Berman who previously helped "turn the ACLU into a big business lobby" and also "helped craft the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act" which is the statutory origin of the pen trap (metadata without warrant). * EFF and Berman helped design "Communications Law Enforcement Assistance Act" of 1994, which requires companies to build infrastructure for wiretapping (with warrant). * Non-specific "lobbying for ISPs" after moving to SF * EFF did not join 2004 letter asking Google to delay gmail launch because of privacy concerns, and deflected criticism for this. EFF staffer $W occasionally parroted Google corporate talking points. * CA state senator Figueroa proposed legislation that would essentially ban Google from having algorithms read emails. EFF attacked Figueroa, "painting her as ignorant and out of [her] depth". Author of the attack pieces was EFF staffer $W, who left the EFF for Google shortly after this episode. * EFF collaborated with large companies to oppose SOPA. Their public communications used language similar to corporate communications on the same topic. * EFF's position is "corporate surveillance neutral, government surveillance bad." Evidence is lack of attention to corporate surveillance, and (ineffective) public condemnation of government surveillance. Also former staff statements confirming this view.

3 ms·

All EFF’d Up: Silicon Valley’s astroturf privacy shakedown

20 points by pizza 6y ago

bryan_w 6y ago
(2018)
rmrfstar 6y ago
List of wrongs according to author: * EFF currently takes money from Facebook and Google. Money comes from donations and strange payments resulting from litigation (settlement? judgement? case names?) * Founders of EFF were rich guys with "bizzjets" * Early sponsors included large monopolists like IBM, MCI, Bell, AT&T, and Microsoft * EFF moved HQ from Cambridge to DC instead of investing in regional offices to build a grass-roots movement * After DC move, EFF hired Jerry Berman who previously helped "turn the ACLU into a big business lobby" and also "helped craft the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act" which is the statutory origin of the pen trap (metadata without warrant). * EFF and Berman helped design "Communications Law Enforcement Assistance Act" of 1994, which requires companies to build infrastructure for wiretapping (with warrant). * Non-specific "lobbying for ISPs" after moving to SF * EFF did not join 2004 letter asking Google to delay gmail launch because of privacy concerns, and deflected criticism for this. EFF staffer $W occasionally parroted Google corporate talking points. * CA state senator Figueroa proposed legislation that would essentially ban Google from having algorithms read emails. EFF attacked Figueroa, "painting her as ignorant and out of [her] depth". Author of the attack pieces was EFF staffer $W, who left the EFF for Google shortly after this episode. * EFF collaborated with large companies to oppose SOPA. Their public communications used language similar to corporate communications on the same topic. * EFF's position is "corporate surveillance neutral, government surveillance bad." Evidence is lack of attention to corporate surveillance, and (ineffective) public condemnation of government surveillance. Also former staff statements confirming this view.