-==-==-==-<>-==-==-==- ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION (EFF) Having met for the first time Mike Godwin and his other EFF co-harts at ONE BBSCON. I felt it an imperative to pass along there published information on the organization and their importance to us who use computers and peripherials in our communication needs. Michael Gray - Publisher InterNational Online Magazine WORKING TOWARDS ELECTRONIC DEMOCRACY The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) was founded in July of 1990 to ensure that principles embodied in the Constitution and Bill of Rights are protected as new communications technologies emerge. From the beginning, EFF has worked to shape our nation's communications infrastructure and the policies that govern it in order to maintain and enhance First Amendment, privacy and other democratic values. We believe that our overriding public goal must be the creation of Electronic Democracy, so our work focuses on the establishment of: * a National Public Network where voice, data and video services are accessible to all citizens on an equitable and affordable basis, * a policy of common carriage requirements for all network providers so that all speech, no matter how controversial, will be carried without discrimination. * new laws that protect citizens' basic Constitutional rights as they use new commuications technologies, and * a diversity of communities that enable all citizens to have a voice in the information age. In the new electronic age, computer and communications technologies are transforming speech and information into digital formats. Soon, networks combining voice, data and video will serve as the primary channels for commerce, education, politics and entertainment in our society. The civil liberties that we have enjoyed thus far in our country's history must be protected in these new communications environments. INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE - EFF's Open Platform Proposals advocates that the nation's telecommunications infrastructure providers offer affordable, widely available transmission of voice, data and video information. The telecommunications infrastructure must promote broad access and enable citizens to recieve and publish a diversity of information. In addition, a competitive environment must be ensured to perserve the core principles of common carriage, universal service and open standards. ----------------------- In the near term, EFF supports the implementation of services such as ISDN and ASDL, currently available digital technologies, for sending voice, data and video at reasonable cost to consumers. ----------------------- EFF supports federal funding to promote the development of network tools and applications that will make the Internet and the NREN easier to use. Although the NREN will be made up of services from commerical providers, government also has a vital role to play in making grants to institutions that cannot afford to pay for Internet connecivitity. CIVIL LIBERTIES EFF has been working to ensure that common carrier principles are upheld in the information age. Common carrier principles require that network providers carry all speech, regardless of its controversial content. Common carriers must also provide speakers and information providers with equal, nondiscriminatory access to the network. ----------------------- EFF chairs the Digital Secutity and Privacy Working Group, a coalition of over 50 organizations-from computer software and hardware firms, telecommunications and eneregy companies to civil liberties advocates- work on sound privacy policies in telecommunications. For example, the group has worked to oppose the FBI's Digital Telephony proposal and government-mandated encryption policies. ----------------------- EFF is working to convince Congress that all measures supporting broader public access to information should be enacted into law. EFF supports an Electronic Freedom of Information Act and other legislation to make inforamtion more accessible to citizens in electronic formats. ----------------------- EFF supports both legal and technical means to enhance privacy in communications. We, therefore, advocate all measures that ensure the public's right to use the most effective encryption technologies available. LEGAL SERVICES EFF sponsors legal cases where users' online civil liberties have been violated. The Steve Jackson Games case, decided in March of 1993, established privacy protections for electronic mail. We continue to monitor the online community for legal actions that merit EFF support. ----------------------- EFF provides a free telephone hotline for members of the online community who have questions regarding their legal rights. ----------------------- Members of EFF's staff and board speak to law enforcement organizations, state attorney bar associations and university classes on the work that we do and how these groups can get involved. COMMUNITY BUILDING EFF, in conjunction with the Consumer Federation of America and the American Civil Liberties Union, coordinates and sponsors the Communications Policy Forum (CPF). CPF enables nonprofit organizations, computer and communications forms, and government policymakers to come together in a nonpartisan setting to discuss commuications policy goals and strategies. ----------------------- EFF works with local organizations that support online communications issues. In September of 1993, EFF will cosponsor a cryptography conference with a group in Austin, Texas. Earlier this year, EFF sponsored a summit of groups from around the country to discuss common goals. We also participate in an online mailing list for organizations that share our interests. ----------------------- EFF is a funder and organizer of the annual Computers, Freedom and Privacy conference, where academics, civil libertarians, law enforcement officials and computer users all meet to discuss the privacy implications of communicating online. Each year at the conference, EFF presents its Pioneer awards to individuals who have made significiant contributions to computer communications. ----------------------- EFF maintians several communications forums online. We have our own Internet node, eff.org, which houses our ftp and gopher sites and our discussion areas, comp.org.eff.talk and comp.org.eff.news. EFF also maintains conferences on the Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link (WELL), CompuServe and America Online. Electronic Frontier Foundation Tel: (202) 347-5400 1001 G Street, NW FAX: (202) 393-5509 Suite 950 East INTERNET: eff@eff.org Washington, DC 20001 For membership information call the above listed Tel: number. -==-==-==-<>-==-==-==-