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Computer-Related Political Groups ================================= This document is included in the PGP software release package. PGP is "Pretty Good Privacy", a public-key encryption program from Philip Zimmermann. PGP is a very political piece of software. It seems appropriate to mention here some computer-related activist groups that are concerned with issues such as impacts of computers on society, algorithm patents, etc. Here is some information on these groups, provided by each group. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) ---------------------------------------- Last Updated: 14 June 1993 The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) was founded in July, 1990, to assure freedom of expression in digital media, with a particular emphasis on applying the principles embodied in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights to computer-based communication. From the beginning, EFF was determined to become an organization that would combine technical, legal and public policy expertise, and would apply these skills to the myriad issues and concerns that arise whenever a new communications medium is born. By remaining faithful to this initial vision, EFF has become an organized voice for the burgeoning community of nationally and inter- nationally networked computer users. We perform the multiple roles of guardian, advocate and innovator, to serve and protect the public interest in the information age. GOALS OF THE ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION, 1993 EFF's mission is to understand the opportunities and challenges of digital communications, in order to foster openness, individual freedom and community. We expect to carry out our mission through activities in the following areas: POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND ADVOCACY. EFF has been working to promote an open architecture for telecommunications by various means, including the Open Platform Initiative, the fight against the FBI's Digital Telephony wiretap proposal, and efforts to free robust encryption technologies from NSA control. FOSTERING COMMUNITY. Much of the work we have done has been directed at fostering a sense of community in the online world. Because we realize that we know far less about the conditions conducive to the formation of virtual communities than is necessary to be effective in creating them, we will devote a large portion of our R & D resources to developing better understanding in this area. LEGAL SERVICES. EFF was born to defend the rights of computer users against overzealous and uninformed law enforcement officials. This continues to be an important focus of EFF's work. We provide legal information to individuals who request it and support for attorneys who are litigating. We maintain print and online legal archives, disseminate this information, and make it available for downloading. Our board and staff are continuously engaged in writing and speaking about these issues. RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT. We have started many projects over the years as their need became apparent. Going forward, EFF will allocate resources to investigate and initiate new projects. To ensure that our projects have the greatest impact and can reasonably be completed with the resources available, EFF will sharpen its selection and review process. MEMBERSHIP IN THE ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION If you support our goals and our work, you can show that support by becoming a member now. Members receive our bi-weekly electronic newsletter, EFFector Online (if you have an electronic address that can be reached through the Net), answers to your legal questions, special releases and other notices on our activities. (Because we believe that support should be freely given, you can receive these things even if you do not elect to become a member.) Your membership dues and other donations are fully tax deductible. OUR ADDRESSES Electronic Frontier Foundation 1001 G St., NW Suite 950 East Washington, DC 20001 +1 202 347 5400 +1 202 393 5509 FAX Internet: eff@eff.org MEMBERSHIP IN THE ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION ============================================================= Print out and mail to: Membership Coordinator Electronic Frontier Foundation 1001 G St., NW, Suite 950 East, Washington, DC 20001 I wish to become a member of EFF. I enclose: $_______ $20.00 (student or low income membership) $40.00 (regular membership) Name: Organization: Address: City or Town: State: Zip: Phone (optional): ( ) FAX (optional): ( ) Email address: I enclose a check [ ]. Please charge my membership in the amount of $________ to my Mastercard [ ] Visa [ ] American Express [ ] Number: Expiration date: Signature: ________________________________________________ Date: Our privacy policy: The Electronic Frontier Foundation will never sell any part of our membership list. We will, from time to time, share this list with other nonprofit organizations whose work we determine to be in line with our goals. However, you must explicitly grant us permission to share your name with these other groups. Member privacy is our default. I hereby grant permission to EFF to share my name with other nonprofit groups from time to time as it deems appropriate. [ ] Initials:___________________________ Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility ------------------------------------------------ CPSR empowers computer professionals and computer users to advocate for the responsible use of information technology and empowers all who use computer technology to participate in the public debate. As technical experts, CPSR members provide the public and policymakers with realistic assessments of the power, promise, and limitations of computer technology. As an organization of concerned citizens, CPSR directs public attention to critical choices concerning the applications of computing and how those choices affect society. By matching unimpeachable technical information with policy development savvy, CPSR uses minimum dollars to have maximum impact and encourages broad public participation in the shaping of technology policy. Every project we undertake is based on five principles: * We foster and support public discussion of and public responsibility for decisions involving the use of computers in systems critical to society. * We work to dispel popular myths about the infallibility of technological systems. * We challenge the assumption that technology alone can solve political and social problems. * We critically examine social and technical issues within the computer profession, nationally and internationally. * We encourage the use of computer technology to improve the quality of life. Founded in 1981 by a small group of computer scientists concerned about the use of computers in nuclear weapons systems, CPSR has grown into a national public-interest alliance of computer industry professionals dedicated to examining the impact of technology on society. Currently, CPSR has 21 chapters in the U.S. and affiliations with similar groups worldwide. In addition to our National Office in Palo Alto, CPSR maintains offices in Washington D.C. and Cambridge, Massachusetts. CPSR PROJECTS As computer technology becomes increasingly pervasive, the issues facing us become more complex. CPSR provides a forum where we can examine technology's impact on our lives, the lives of our fellow citizens, and on society as a whole. By sponsoring both national and local projects, CPSR serves as a catalyst for in-depth discussion and effective action in key areas: Civil Liberties and Privacy The 21st Century Project: Technology Policy and Human Needs Workplace Issues and Participatory Design Reliability and Risk In addition, CPSR's chapter-based projects and national working groups tackle issues ranging from the development of nanotechnology and virtual reality to computing and ethics to community computing to computers and education. HOW TO BECOME A MEMBER CPSR is a democratically organized grass roots alliance. Our accomplishments are the result of the member activism. Many CPSR members serve as national organizers Just fill out the membership form, enclose a check and mail it to CPSR, P.O. Box 717, Palo Alto, CA 94301. CPSR's cost to provide members with services is covered by the $75 dues. To keep CPSR membership open to a wide range of people, we offer dues levels of $20 and $50. MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS When you become a member of CPSR, you are joining a nationwide network of computer professionals who are committed to bringing social responsibility to all aspects of computer technology. CPSR sponsors, supports, and participates in conferences, roundtables and meetings on advanced issues in computing, local civic networks, cryptography, participatory design, and computers and social change. Every fall the CPSR Annual Meeting brings together the foremost representatives of the technology industry to explore current topics in seminars and panel discussions. Our conferences and chapter meetings provide important opportunities to meet other members and share ideas and expertise. OTHER MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS INCLUDE: * a quarterly newsletter which provides in-depth analysis of key issues in computing as well as updates on CPSR activities and action alerts, * an organized voice for socially responsible computing in Washington, * well-researched public testimony and public policy development, * invitations and discounts to CPSR events, * discounts on research papers, books, and educational videotapes, * on-line information and discussion of key issues in computing, * membership in a local CPSR chapter (where available) and notices of chapter meetings and activities, * participation in local and national working groups which allow you to have effective impact on the issues you care about, * information and referral about crucial issues in computing. ORGANIZATIONAL INFORMATION CPSR National Office P.O. Box 717 Palo Alto, CA 94301 415-322-3778 415-322-3798 (FAX) E-mail: cpsr@csli.stanford.edu CPSR Cambridge Office P.O. Box 962 Cambridge, MA 02142 617-625-6985 chapman@lcs.mit.edu CPSR Washington Office 666 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Suite 303 Washington, D.C. 20003 202-544-9240 202-547-5481 FAX rotenberg@washofc.cpsr.org Staff Managing Director, Evelyn Pine Assistant to the Director, Nikki Draper Cambridge Office Director, Gary Chapman Washington Office Director, Marc Rotenberg PRIVACY NOTICE: The CPSR membership database is never sold, rented, lent, exchanged, or used for anything other than official CPSR activity. CPSR may elect to send members mailings with information from other groups, but the mailings will always originate with CPSR. ====================== clip and mail ========================== CPSR MEMBERSHIP FORM Name _________________________________________________________ Address _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ City/State/Zip __________________________________________________ Home phone ____________________ Work phone _____________________ Company _________________________________________________________ Type of work ____________________________________________________ E-mail address __________________________________________________ CPSR Chapter __ Acadiana __ Austin __ Berkeley __ Boston __ Chicago __ Denver/Boulder __ Los Angeles __ Madison __ Maine __ Milwaukee __ Minnesota __ New Haven __ New York __ Palo Alto __ Philadelphia __ Pittsburgh __ Portland __ San Diego __ Santa Cruz __ Seattle __ Washington, DC __ No chapter in my area CPSR Membership Categories __ $ 75 REGULAR MEMBER __ $ 50 Basic member __ $ 200 Supporting member __ $ 500 Sponsoring member __ $1000 Lifetime member __ $ 20 Student/low income member __ $ 50 Foreign subscriber __ $ 50 Library/institutional subscriber Additional tax-deductible contribution to support CPSR projects: __ $50 __ $75 __ $100 __ $250 __ $500 __ $1000 __ Other Total Enclosed: $ ________ Make check out to CPSR and mail to: CPSR P.O. Box 717 Palo Alto, CA 94301 -- The League for Programming Freedom ---------------------------------- Protect Your Freedom to Write Programs Join the League for Programming Freedom (Version of January 15, 1993) Ten years ago, programmers were allowed to write programs using all the techniques they knew, and providing whatever features they felt were useful. This is no longer the case. New monopolies, known as software patents and interface copyrights, have taken away our freedom of expression and our ability to do a good job. "Look and feel" lawsuits attempt to monopolize well-known command languages; some have succeeded. Copyrights on command languages enforce gratuitous incompatibility, close opportunities for competition, and stifle incremental improvements. Software patents are even more dangerous; they make every design decision in the development of a program carry a risk of a lawsuit, with draconian pretrial seizure. It is difficult and expensive to find out whether the techniques you consider using are patented; it is impossible to find out whether they will be patented in the future. The League for Programming Freedom is a grass-roots organization of professors, students, businessmen, programmers and users dedicated to bringing back the freedom to write programs. The League is not opposed to the legal system that Congress intended--copyright on individual programs. Our aim is to reverse the recent changes made by judges in response to special interests, often explicitly rejecting the public interest principles of the Constitution. The League works to abolish the new monopolies by publishing articles, talking with public officials, boycotting egregious offenders, and in the future may intervene in court cases. On May 24, 1989, the League picketed Lotus headquarters on account of their lawsuits, and then again on August 2, 1990. These marches stimulated widespread media coverage for the issue. We welcome suggestions for other activities, as well as help in carrying them out. Membership dues in the League are $42 per year for programmers, managers and professionals; $10.50 for students; $21 for others. Please give more if you can. The League's funds will be used for filing briefs; for printing handouts, buttons and signs; whatever will persuade the courts, the legislators, and the people. You may not get anything personally for your dues--except for the freedom to write programs. The League is a non-profit corporation, but not considered a tax-exempt charity. However, for those self-employed in software, the dues can be a business expense. The League needs both activist members and members who only pay their dues. We also greatly need additional corporate members; contact us for information. If you have any questions, please write to the League, phone (617) 433-7071, or send Internet mail to lpf@uunet.uu.net Jack Larsen, President Dean Anderson, Secretary Steve Sisak, Treasurer Jack Larsen can be contacted at (708) 698-1160; Fax (708) 698-6221. To join, please send a check and the following information to: League for Programming Freedom 1 Kendall Square #143 P.O.Box 9171 Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (Outside the US, please send a check in US dollars on a bank having a US correspondant bank, to save us check cashing fees.) Your name: The address for League mailings, a few each year; please indicate whether it is your home address or your work address: The company you work for, and your position: Your phone numbers (home, work or both): Your email address, so we can contact you for demonstrations or for writing letters. (If you don't want us to contact you for these things, please say so, but please give us your email address anyway so we can save paper and postage by sending you the newsletter by email.) Is there anything about you which would enable your endorsement of the LPF to impress the public? For example, if you are or have been a professor or an executive, or have written software that has a good reputation, please tell us. Would you like to help with LPF activities? The corporate charter of the League for Programming Freedom states: The purpose of the corporation is to engage in the following activities: 1. To determine the existence of, and warn the public about restrictions and monopolies on classes of computer programs where such monopolies prevent or restrict the right to develop certain types of computer programs. 2. To develop countermeasures and initiatives, in the public interest, effective to block or otherwise prevent or restrain such monopolistic activities including education, research, publications, public assembly, legislative testimony, and intervention in court proceedings involving public interest issues (as a friend of the court). 3. To engage in any business or other activity in service of and related to the foregoing paragraphs that lawfully may be carried on by a corporation organized under Chapter 180 of the Massachusetts General Laws. The officers and directors of the League will be elected annually by the members.