We're thrilled to share that the Electronic Frontier Alliance (EFA) has a fresh new look and a wealth of new resources for community organizers. EFF can’t be everywhere and in every fight, which is why back in 2016 we committed to building a network with grassroots organizations, and made the EFA a critical part of our work. Local organizers from within the community are better situated to build support and change in the long term. So when civil liberties and digital rights are under threat in your neck of the woods, we hope you find or become a local EFA member.
After eight very eventful years for local organizing, the EFA is going strong with over 70 active groups across the United States. To renew our support of the network, EFF revamped the look of the EFA and made a number of improvements to our online hub for all things EFA: https://efa.eff.org.
But the network is bigger than EFF. EFA is composed of its members, and relies on dedicated local advocates, educators, and hackers to help drive the work forward. If you’re part of a not-for-profit community group, we encourage you to apply.
What Is the EFA?The Electronic Frontier Alliance (EFA) is an information-sharing network of grassroots groups across the United States, administered by EFF’s team of organizers. All groups are totally independent—meaning no one is obliged to follow EFF’s lead to be supported. The result is a network with incredibly diverse beliefs, focuses, and tactics; from hacker spaces developing open-source software tools, to community ISPs, to student groups hosting surveillance self-defense workshops.
A few things do unify alliance members, though. All groups must be tied to a local community, meaning their work is based in a specific region or institution, with meaningful ways for other community members to get involved. Groups must also be not-for-profit; either unincorporated or registered as a non-profit. Finally, all member organizations publicly endorse EFA’s five core principles:
- Free expression: People should be able to speak their minds to whomever will listen.
- Security: Technology should be trustworthy and answer to its users.
- Privacy: Technology should allow private and anonymous speech, and let users set their own parameters about what to share with whom.
- Creativity: Technology should promote progress by allowing people to build on the ideas, creations, and inventions of others.
- Access to knowledge: Curiosity should be rewarded, not stifled.
How EFF Supports EFA MembersEFF is committed to building and strengthening the EFA network. EFF doesn’t bottleneck on-the-ground activists, or parachute into local communities with marching orders. Instead, we aim to build the network in autonomous and decentralized ways, helping build local power through base-building, and fostering more connections between aligned groups.
That’s not to say we stay on the sidelines: EFF’s organizers respond to requests from community groups with hands-on support. This includes helping to create an effective local campaign, host successful events, write a local op-ed, or tackle the administrative headaches faced by new and growing groups. We also lend EFF’s platform by promoting local work. In short, membership comes with an EFF support-line which, pending capacity, can help make local work more impactful.
EFF’s organizing team also brings groups together with a number of member-only convenings. Exclusive EFA videoconferences are hosted every month, with talks and workshops from digital rights and organizing experts, as well as an opportunity to brainstorm or workshop work with other organizers in the network. Organizers also regularly host in-person EFA meetups and socials, and will leverage EFF’s network to assist with local networking necessary for coalition work. EFF also hosts multiple socials and in-person EFA meetups exclusive to members across the country throughout the year.
As an added bonus, EFA groups also get discounts on EFF annual memberships, unlocking additional exclusive events, mailings, and member gifts.
New Look, Site, and ResourcesBringing a new look to the EFA site (and new swag) was the perfect excuse to also extend and update our resources for organizers.
EFF staff meet an endless stream of people frustrated with constant infringements of our rights, especially when these intrusions start hitting us at home. There are sometimes clear ways to take action when congress or big tech are making bad decisions. But what about when it’s in your own backyard?
That’s where the EFA allies directory (https://efa.eff.org/allies) comes in. Finding a local group can turn that pent up frustration into action. Even if your nearest group has a different focus, they’ll be like-minded digital right defenders familiar with other local resources and organizations. Our site offers an easy way to filter by state, and get a quick introduction to each group and how to best contact them.
Organizer ToolkitsWhile EFF’s organizing team is always eager to help groups grow, many groups run into the same hurdles. That’s why we’ve prepared several organizer toolkits with evergreen advice for starting and growing a group. These include:
These toolkits are designed to be easily printed and shared, and are available at launch in both English and Spanish.
Building a Movement TogetherThe relaunch of the EFA is not just a cosmetic change; it represents our renewed commitment to supporting grassroots digital rights advocacy. The strength of the EFA network lies in its diversity and the dedication of its members. In an era where civil liberties and digital rights are under constant threat, a coordinated and well-supported grassroots movement is essential for addressing the digital rights challenges of today, and tomorrow.
So EFF calls on you to get involved. Find a local group, discuss joining the EFA with your group, or even get some friends together to start a new group. We need people from all walks of life, with a range of experience and expertise, to be a part of the work which will shape the future.
For more information on how the EFA works and to join the fight, please check out our FAQ page or reach out to EFF’s organizing team at organizing[at]eff.org. Join us in building a future where digital rights are upheld and respected.
Police use of face recognition technology (FRT) poses a particularly massive risk to our civil liberties, particularly for Black men and women and other marginalized communities. That's why EFF supports a ban on government FRT use. Half-measures aren't up to the task.
However, even as half-measures go, California's legislature is currently considering a particularly weak proposal in the form of A.B. 1814, authored by Asm. Phil Ting (San Francisco). It would introduce paltry limits that will do nothing to address the many problems that police use of face recognition raises. In fact, the bill's language could make things worse in California.
This something? It's worse than nothing—by a long shot.
For example, major police departments in California have pledged not to use Clearview AI, a company that's been sued repeatedly for building its database from scraped social media posts, in light of public pressure. But A.B. 1814 expressly gives police departments the right to access "third-party databases," including Clearview AI. This could give law enforcement agencies cover to use databases that they have previously distanced themselves from and will erode progress civil liberties advocates have already made. The bill also states police have access to any state database, even if the images were not collected for law enforcement purposes.
California should not give law enforcement the green light to mine databases, particularly those built for completely different reasons. This goes against what people are expecting when they give their information to one database, only to learn later that information has been informing police face surveillance.
Finally, A.B. 1814 fails to even meet the bar of restrictions other police departments have agreed to adopt. As we have previously written, the Detroit Police Department agreed to limits on its use of face recognition technology after it falsely arrested Robert Williams as a result of a incorrect face recognition "match." As part of these limits, the Detroit police have agreed to "bar arrests based solely on face recognition results, or the results of the ensuing photo lineup." Their agreement also affirms that prosecutors and defense attorneys will have access to information about any uses of FRT in cases where law enforcement files charges.
The California bill does not even include these safeguards. It says that police can not use a database match as the sole basis for an arrest, but it would allow a photo lineup based on a match to be considered a second technique. This puts people who look like the suspect in front of witnesses who may be likely to pick that person—even if it is an entirely different person. That lets law enforcement agencies easily clear the low bar the bill sets.
A.B. 1814 is sitting in the Senate Appropriations Committee. EFF has joined with dozens of civil liberties organizations to urge the committee not to advance the bill. If it does move forward, we'll be asking you to help us fight it on the Senate floor.
Proponents of the bill have argued that, essentially, it is better to do something than have no guardrails in place. But this something? It's worse than nothing—by a long shot.
