In case you’ve never heard of the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation), here’s the Wikipedia article.
Wikipedia: The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is a non-profit advocacy and legal organization with the stated purpose of being dedicated to preserving First Amendment rights in the context of today’s digital age. Its stated main goal is to educate the press, policymakers and the general public about civil liberties issues related to technology; and to act as a defender of those liberties. The EFF is a membership organization supported by donations and is based in San Francisco.
EFF has taken action in several ways:
* providing or funding legal defense in court
* defending the individual and new technologies from the chilling effects of baseless or misdirected legal threats
* providing guidance to the government and courts
* organizing political action and mass mailings
* supporting new technologies which it believes preserve personal freedoms
* maintaining a database and web sites of related news and information
* monitoring and challenging potential legislation that would infringe on personal liberties and erode fair use
* soliciting a list of what it considers patent abuses with intentions to defeat those that it considers without merit
They’re a very worthwhile effort and worthy of your support. Be sure to check out the EFF site to see what they’re up to now.