What is the EFF? (Summer, 1990)
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One of the results of our public outcry over the hacker raids this spring has
been the formation of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). Founded by
computer industry giants Mitch Kapor and Steve Wozniak along with writer John
Barlow, the EFF sought to put an end to raids on publishers, bulletin board
operators, and all of the others that have been caught up in recent events. The
EFF founders, prior to the organization s actual birth this summer, had said
they would provide financial support to those affected by unjust Secret Service
raids. This led to the characterization of the group as a "hacker defense fund"
by mainstream media and their condemnation in much of the computer industry.

As a result, when the EFF was formally announced, the organizers took great
pains to distance themselves from computer hackers. They denied being any kind
of a defense fund and made a nearly $300,000 donation to Computer Professionals
for Social Responsibility (CPSR).

"We are helping educate policy makers and the general public," a recent EFF
statement said. "To this end we have funded a significant two-year project on
computing and civil liberties to be managed by CPSR. With it, we aim to
acquaint policy makers and law enforcement officials of the civil liberties
issues which may lie hidden in the brambles of telecommunications policy.

"Members of the EFF are speaking at computer and government conferences and
meetings throughout the country to raise awareness about the important civil
liberties issues.

"We are in the process of forming alliances with other public interest
organizations concerned with the development of a digital national information
infrastructure.

"The EFF is in the early stages of software design and development of programs
for personal computers which provide simplified and enhanced access to network
services such as mail and netnews.

"Because our resources are already fully committed to these projects, we are
not at this time considering additional grant proposals."

The merits of the EFF are indisputable and we re certainly glad that they're
around. But we find it sad that they ve redirected their energies away from the
hackers because that is one area that is in sore need of outside intervention.
There have been an unprecedented number of Secret Service raids this summer
with many people coming under investigation simply for having called a bulletin
board. And in at least one instance, guns were again pulled on a 14-year-old.
This time coming out of the shower. Our point is that someone has to speak out
against these actions, and speak loudly.

It's also important that what the EFF is actually doing be made clear. Many
people are under the mistaken assumption that Craig Neidorf's case was funded
by the EFF and that they were largely responsible for getting the case dropped.
The EFF itself has not made the facts clear. Mainstream media has given the
impression that all hackers are being helped by this organization. The facts
are these: The EFF filed two briefs in support of Neidorf, neither of which was
successful. They mentioned his case quite a bit in their press releases, which
helped to get the word out. They were called by someone who had information
about the 911 system who was then referred to Neidorf's lawyer. (This is very
different from their claims of having located an expert witness.) Not one penny
has been given to Neidorf by the EFF. At press time, his defense fund stands at
$25. And, though helpful, their legal intervention actually drove Neidorf's
legal fees far higher than they would have been ordinarily.

So while the EFF's presence is a good thing, we cannot think of them as the
solution to the problem. They are but one step. Let's hope for many more.

If you want to get involved with the EFF, we do encourage it. Your
participation and input can help to move them in the right direction.