Causes: Censorship, Freedom of Speech & Press, Civil Rights
Mission: We harness the power of the Internet to channel outrage into action, defending our most basic rights in the digital age. We fight to ensure that technology is a force for empowerment, free expression, and liberation rather than tyranny, corruption, and structural inequality. We are an intentionally small, fierce team of technologists, creatives, and policy experts working to educate and mobilize at an unprecedented scale, achieving victories previously thought to be impossible.
Results: TOP ACCOMPLISHMENTS*Developed the strategy and online tools that were used to drive nearly four million comments to the FCC, winning net neutrality, the historic “First Amendment” protection of the Internet. Unleashed the huge backlash to its repeal, keeping trojan horse compromises at bay and helping clear the way for state reinstatement of the rules until their full reinstatement by Congress. *Conceived and coordinated the largest online protest in history, in which over 24 million people and websites were able to defeat the Stop Online Piracy Act and the PROTECT IP Act that would have led to widespread Internet censorship. *Pushed popular services to build secure, privacy-protecting encryption into their products, and when they did, we successfully fought to defend products like the iPhone from misguided mandates for government “backdoors”. *Launched the first major national campaign calling for a federal ban on law enforcement use of facial recognition, prompting bans in four major cities and more on the way. Pushed major concert promoters to commit not to use the technology. *Spearheaded campaigns that resulted in the release of whistleblower Chelsea Manning and helped stop the Trans Pacific Partnership. *Assembled the innovative technology used to contact lawmakers, register to vote, expose FCC fraud, spark multiple investigations, and empower volunteers to organize their own protests. Most recently, we helped the September 2019 Digital Climate Strike organizers use our playbook to recruit 10,000 websites to join in the massive protest, driving nearly 40% of traffic to the site.
Target demographics: We harness the power of the Internet to channel outrage into action, defending our most basic rights in the digital age.
Direct beneficiaries per year: *Spearheaded the movement to make facial recognition technology (FRT) politically toxic. *Launched the first significant blow to the spread of the commercial use of FRT, resulting in its ban at 40+ major music festivals, including SXSW, Coachella, Lollapalooza and Bonarroo. *Provided air support to anti-FRT organizers resulting in bans in Portland, San Francisco, Boston and a growing number of US cities. *Organized college students to secure FRT bans at more than 60 higher ed institutions, including UCLA. *Got 1,000 musicians to boycott Amazon-sponsored events and partnerships for their role in ICE’s family separation policies. *Launched the first campaign to end Amazon Ring’s practice of giving local law enforcement access to customers’ camera-enabled doorbells. *Forced Amazon to release the full list of 1000+ cities where partnerships exist. *Organized the campaign that prompted Zoom to abandon its plan to limit end-to-end encryption to paid accounts and corporate clients.
Geographic areas served: We work in the US mostly, but sometimes we pitch in to help with fights outside of the US too.
Programs: NET NEUTRALITYThe FCC repealed net neutrality, but that doesn’t mean it’s dead. The move sparked unprecedented cross-partisan backlash, and our viral BattleForTheNet. com campaign helped harness that Internet outrage and turn it into political power. STOP GROWiNG GOVERNMENT AND CORPORATE SURVEILLANCEFight for privacy and digital security––hold tech companies accountable. Pressure tech companies on human rights. STOP CENSORSHIPEngage on issues of content moderation and platform censorship. Prevent overreaching copyright regulations.
This organization's nonprofit status may have been revoked or it may have merged with another organization or ceased operations.
Mission: We harness the power of the Internet to channel outrage into action, defending our most basic rights in the digital age. We fight to ensure that technology is a force for empowerment, free expression, and liberation rather than tyranny, corruption, and structural inequality. We are an intentionally small, fierce team of technologists, creatives, and policy experts working to educate and mobilize at an unprecedented scale, achieving victories previously thought to be impossible.
Results: TOP ACCOMPLISHMENTS*Developed the strategy and online tools that were used to drive nearly four million comments to the FCC, winning net neutrality, the historic “First Amendment” protection of the Internet. Unleashed the huge backlash to its repeal, keeping trojan horse compromises at bay and helping clear the way for state reinstatement of the rules until their full reinstatement by Congress. *Conceived and coordinated the largest online protest in history, in which over 24 million people and websites were able to defeat the Stop Online Piracy Act and the PROTECT IP Act that would have led to widespread Internet censorship. *Pushed popular services to build secure, privacy-protecting encryption into their products, and when they did, we successfully fought to defend products like the iPhone from misguided mandates for government “backdoors”. *Launched the first major national campaign calling for a federal ban on law enforcement use of facial recognition, prompting bans in four major cities and more on the way. Pushed major concert promoters to commit not to use the technology. *Spearheaded campaigns that resulted in the release of whistleblower Chelsea Manning and helped stop the Trans Pacific Partnership. *Assembled the innovative technology used to contact lawmakers, register to vote, expose FCC fraud, spark multiple investigations, and empower volunteers to organize their own protests. Most recently, we helped the September 2019 Digital Climate Strike organizers use our playbook to recruit 10,000 websites to join in the massive protest, driving nearly 40% of traffic to the site.
Target demographics: We harness the power of the Internet to channel outrage into action, defending our most basic rights in the digital age.
Direct beneficiaries per year: *Spearheaded the movement to make facial recognition technology (FRT) politically toxic. *Launched the first significant blow to the spread of the commercial use of FRT, resulting in its ban at 40+ major music festivals, including SXSW, Coachella, Lollapalooza and Bonarroo. *Provided air support to anti-FRT organizers resulting in bans in Portland, San Francisco, Boston and a growing number of US cities. *Organized college students to secure FRT bans at more than 60 higher ed institutions, including UCLA. *Got 1,000 musicians to boycott Amazon-sponsored events and partnerships for their role in ICE’s family separation policies. *Launched the first campaign to end Amazon Ring’s practice of giving local law enforcement access to customers’ camera-enabled doorbells. *Forced Amazon to release the full list of 1000+ cities where partnerships exist. *Organized the campaign that prompted Zoom to abandon its plan to limit end-to-end encryption to paid accounts and corporate clients.
Geographic areas served: We work in the US mostly, but sometimes we pitch in to help with fights outside of the US too.
Programs: NET NEUTRALITYThe FCC repealed net neutrality, but that doesn’t mean it’s dead. The move sparked unprecedented cross-partisan backlash, and our viral BattleForTheNet. com campaign helped harness that Internet outrage and turn it into political power. STOP GROWiNG GOVERNMENT AND CORPORATE SURVEILLANCEFight for privacy and digital security––hold tech companies accountable. Pressure tech companies on human rights. STOP CENSORSHIPEngage on issues of content moderation and platform censorship. Prevent overreaching copyright regulations.
Donor & Volunteer Advisory
This organization's nonprofit status may have been revoked or it may have merged with another organization or ceased operations.
Civil Rights
