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The SpringThe Porch › topic 71

EFF - Freedom of Speech on the Internet

topic 71 · 2 responses
~MarciaH Wed, Apr 26, 2000 (18:52) seed
Electronic Frontier Foundation. http://www.eff.org/
~sprin5 Wed, Apr 26, 2000 (18:55) #1
This is a great organization. We used to have a local chapter in Austin and I mess the meetings at the French restaurant on Lamar. Teh website is http://www.eff.org.
~MarciaH Wed, Apr 26, 2000 (19:07) #2
I thought if we linked it ... please allow me to post your important post which caused me to put this topic here: EFF, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, is a non-profit, non-partisan organization working in the public interest to protect fundamental civil liberties, including privacy and freedom of expression, in the arena of computers and the Internet. EFF was founded in 1990, and is based in San Francisco, California, with offices in Washington, DC, and New York City. The vast web of electronic media that connects us is heralding a new age of communications. New digital networks offer a tremendous potential to empower individuals in an ever-overpowering world. However, these communications networks are also the subject of significant debate concerning governance and jurisdiction. For, while the free flow of information is generally a positive thing, serious problems arise when information flows free--problems such as how to protect children and undesiring adults from exposure to sexually explicit or potentially offensive materials; how to protect intellectual property rights; how to determine which country's laws have jurisdiction over a medium that is nowhere and everywhere at the same time; how best to protect privacy while still permitting recovery for harm; how to ensure that legislators, access providers, intellectual property holders and disgruntled network users do not stifle disagreeable or controversial speech. While well-established legal principles and cultural norms give structure and coherence to uses of conventional media, the new digital media do not fit so easily into existing frameworks. Founded in July of 1990, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is dedicated to finding ways to resolve these and other conflicts while ensuring that essential civil liberties are protected.
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