Online Civil LIberties Activism Organizations List, Ver. 11.8 ============================================================= Outposts on the Electronic Frontier - international, national, regional & local groups supporting the online community's rights to privacy and intellectual freedom. PART 4 An ACTION/EFF FAQ by Stanton McCandlish Updated: Jan. 21, 1997 Archived at: http://www.eff.org/pub/Activism/activ_groups.faq See also http://www.eff.org/pub/Activism/activ_resource.faq, the Online Activism Resources List. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- * National Campaign for Freedom of Expression (NCFE) [no info available] * National Computer Security Association (NCSA) NCSA is the premier provider of security, reliability, and ethics information and services. NCSA provides information security-related: training, testing, research, product certification, help-desk and consulting services. NCSA delivers information through publications, conferences, forums, and seminars - in both traditional and electronic formats. NCSA manages an Internet web site and several CompuServe forums which host private on-line training and seminars in addition to public forums and libraries and which address hundreds of information and communications security issues. NCSA's InfoSecurity Resource Catalog provides one-stop-shopping for books, guides, training and tools. NCSA's mission is to foster improvement in all aspects of world-wide digital security, reliability and ethics by providing key services to all three principal constituents: 1) end users of digital technologies, 2) computer and communications industry product developers and vendors, and 3) computer and information security experts. NCSA is both a member-oriented organization and a service company. [Caveat: NCSA is a trade association/user group, and as such is relevant to this list only in as much as they oppose government surveillance restrictions on cryptography and other privacy-related technology. NCSA focuses mostly on anti-virus and anti-cracker activities. This NCSA is not to be confused with the NCSA that makes FTP and Mosaic software - that's the National Center for Supercomputing Applications] General: Stephen Sands <74777,3061@compuserve.com> or FTP: ftp.ncsa.com, /pub/ WWW: http://www.ncsa.com/ncsamain.html ftp://ftp.ncsa.com/pub/ CompuServe: GO NCSA Snail: 10 South Courthouse Avenue Carlisle PA 17013 USA Voice: +1 717 258 1816, ext. 205 Fax: +1 717 243 8642 * National Emergency Civil Liberties Committee (NECLC) A (fairly low-profile) civil liberties organization founded in 1951. They do not appear to have any online resources of any kind at present. They publish a hardcopy newsletter, _Rights_. Snail: 175 5th Av. New York City NY 10010 USA Voice: +1 212 637 2040 * National Public Telecomputing Network (NPTN) - a.k.a. Free-Net The National Public Telecomputing Network exists to make free public access to computerized communications and information services a reality; to help people in cities throughout the U.S. and the world to establish free, open access, community computer systems (Free-Nets); to link those systems together into a common network similar to National Public Radio or PBS on TV; to help supplement what the local systems are able to produce with high quality network-wide services and features. NPTN is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. [Note: "Free-Net" is a service mark of the National Public Telecomputing Network (NPTN), registered in the U.S. and other countries. While not all community networks are a part of the NPTN family, NPTN and its Affiliates and Organizing Committees represent the first and only international network of community computing systems. General: info@nptn.org [note: this is not an automailer, but a person] Canadian Free-Net mailing list: listprocessor@cunews.carleton.ca, (subscribe CAN-FREENET ) Charlotte NC Free-Net list: listserv@unccvm.uncc.edu (subscribe CITYNET ) FTP: nptn.org, /pub/nptn/ WWW: http://www.nptn.org/ Snail: National Public Telecomputing Network P.O. Box 1987 Cleveland, Ohio 44106 Voice: +1 216 498 4050 Fax: +1 216 498 4051 NPTN Free-Net Affliates Community Computer Systems modem number Big Sky Telegraph Dillon, Montana +1 406 683 7680 Buffalo Free-Net Buffalo, New York +1 716 645 6128 Cleveland Free-Net Cleveland, Ohio +1 216 368 3888 COIN Columbia, Missouri +1 314 884 7000 Denver Free-Net Denver, Colorado +1 303 270 4865 Lorain County Free-Net Elyria, Ohio +1 216 366 9721 Medina County Free-Net Medina, Ohio +1 216 723 6732 National Capital Free-Net Ottawa, Ont., Canada +1 613 564 3600 Tallahassee Free-Net Tallahassee, Florida +1 904 576 6330 Tristate Online Cincinnati, Ohio +1 513 579 1990 Tri-Cities Free-Net Hanford, Washington +1 509 375 1111 Victoria Free-Net Victoria, BC, Canada +1 604 595 2300 Wellington Citynet Wellington, New Zealand +64 4 801 3060 Youngstown Free-Net Youngstown, Ohio +1 216 742 3072 For more detailed information, including internet addresses and login instructions, see ftp.eff.org, pub/Groups/NPTN-Freenet/login.info [NOTE: There are many other community network access providers, both NPTN and independent, and more are created every month.] * National Writers' Union (NWU) NWU (UAW Local 1981 AFL/CIO) is a trade union for freelancers: tech writers, journalists, book authors, poets, novelists, ghostwriters, corporate writers-professionals in all genres. We have about 4000 members. Our New Technologies Campaign aims to halt digital piracy and define ethical practices while the media are still young. Membership in the NWU is open to all qualified writers. [NWU is a fairly typical union in most regards, and deals primarily with contracting, wages, and other profession-related issues. However, NWU also produces contracting guidelines for electronic publishing, probably the first of their kind, and, more to the point, has come out very strongly in favor of privacy and free-expression rights online.] General: nwu@netcom.com Snail: 873 Broadway #203 New York NY 10003 USA (There are numerous local branches elsewhere) Voice: +1 212 254 0279 Fax: +1 212 254 0673 * OMB Watch OMB Watch is a nonprofit research, educational & advocacy organization that monitors Executive Branch activities affecting nonprofit, public interest & community groups. OMB (the White House Office of Management & Budget) is the main focus as it oversees nearly all executive branch functions. Our goal is to encourage broad public participation in government decision-making to promote a more open & accountable gov/t. Our activities include: technical assistance on budget, regulatory accountability, govt. secrecy, & general govt. decision-making through publications, training sessions & direct links to certain govt. data; community forums on the federal budget to reorder priorities to domestic needs; RTK NET (Right-to-Know computer network); advocacy--through the tools to empower community groups and coordination of coalitional efforts in a variety of areas; support of public access to and use of gov't information. Most activity conducted offline, so send a snailmail address if you want OMB Watch materials. General: Patrice McDermot * Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) "The Progress & Freedom Foundation believes cyberspace is a frontier, not a government project." [No other boilerplate available, but there's this quote: "'The goal of this project is simple', Jeffrey A. Eisenach, director of the Progress and Freedom Foundation, wrote in a fund-raising letter. 'To train, by April, 1996, 200,000-plus citizens into a model for replacing the welfare state and reforming our government.'" (LA Times 12/19/94, page A31) Caveat: _The_Network_Observer_ #1.12 reports that, whatever PFF may do in the public interest, if anything, the organization has strong ties to Rep. Newt Gingrich (Speaker of the House), works on FDA and drug-industry issues besides telecommunications, and is headed by a former director of GOPAC, Gingrich's political action committee (known for propagadistic campaigning and statements such as "important issues can be of limited value [to campaigners]...Does it [a positive proposal] help, or at least not harm, efforts to raise money?"), which in turn has strong ties to the Republican party, cable and telco lobbies, and the Christian Right. On the other hand, _TNO_ also says: "Mr. Gingrich has made some encouraging statements about making Congressional materials available to citizens on the Internet". YYMV!] General: pff@aol.com WWW: http://www.pff.org/ http://www.townhall.com/pff/ AOL: PFF (pff@aol.com) Snail: 1250 H St. NW, Suite 550 Washington DC 20005 USA * Taxpayer Assets Project (TAP) TAP was founded by Ralph Nader in 1988 to monitor the management and sale of government property. TAP's work has focused on: Public Access to Government Information; Natural Resources and Public Lands; Pricing of Drugs Developed with Federal Funds; Telecommunications Policy TAP is directed by James Love, who also directs CPT (which, like TAP, is a project of the Center for Study of Responsive Law.) TAP has been the primary non-profit force behind securing citizen access to government information online, and has strongly opposed Internet censorship legislation. General: tap@tap.org FTP: essential.org, /pub/tap/ Gopher: gopher.essential.org WWW: http://essential.org/tap/ http://sunnyside.com/pub/taxpayer_assets (document library - see file "INDEX") Snail: PO Box 19367 Washington DC 20036 USA Voice: +1 202 387 8030 Fax: +1 202 234 5176 * Telecommunications Policy Roundtable (TPR) The TPR is a coalition of more than 100 organizations which was organized in the spring of 1993 to discuss federal telecommunications and information policy. The group as a whole meets every month in Washington, DC, and it also sponsors several regular and ad hoc committees and subcommittees to address specific roundtable concerns. TPR members include EFF, CME, CNI, TAP, and CPSR. TPR sponsors an open-to-all mailing list forum for discussion of U.S. telecom policy, called ROUNDTABLE. General: Jeff Chester Coralee Whitcomb Paul Johnson Technical admin: Craig Summerhill Mailing list subscription: listproc@cni.org, message body: "SUBSCRIBE ROUNDTABLE " Mailing list admin: Jamie Love Voice: +1 202 628 2620 (Center for Media Education, initial contact for organizations wishing to joing TPR) Fax: +1 202 234 5176 (c/o Jamie Love at TAP) * US Privacy Council (USPC) A coalition of US privacy groups and individuals founded in 1991 to deal with privacy issues in the US. USPC works in Washington DC monitoring legislation and the activities of government agencies. USPC works closely with other groups on privacy issues including National ID cards, reforming credit reporting, Caller ID and international issues. General: privtime@access.digex.net Snail: P.O. Box 15060 Washington DC 20003 USA Voice: +1 202 829 3660 * Voters Telecom Watch (VTW) The Voters Telecomm Watch is a volunteer organization dedicated to monitoring federal legislation that affects telecommunications and civil liberties. VTW is based primarily out of New York, though they have volunteers throughout the US. Voters Telecomm Watch keeps scorecards on legislators' positions on legislation that affects telecommunications and civil liberties. General: vtw@vtw.org Admin: shabbir@panix.com Press contact: stc@vtw.org Mailing list requests (announcements): listproc@vtw.org, message body: "subscribe vtw-announce " Mailing list requests (discussion): listproc@vtw.org, message body: "subscribe vtw-list " FTP: ftp.eff.org, /pub/Groups/VTW/ [minimal info] Gopher: gopher.panix.com, 1/vtw [much more info than at ftp site] WWW: gopher://gopher.panix.com/11/vtw Voice: +1 718 596 2851 * Wireless Opportunities Coalition (WOC) The Wireless Opportunities Coalition is a diverse group of organizations and companies dedicated to preserving and expanding the opportunities for growth in the wireless industry. The Coalition's primary focus is to support the development, manufacture, and use of wireless communications and related devices which are not licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) but are regulated under "Part 15" of the FCC's rules. The Wireless Opportunities Coalition is working to communicate - to the FCC, Congress, and the public - the importance of preserving access to the use of these low-cost, unlicensed devices on the public airwaves. The organization is currently fighting efforts of the AVM (Automatic Vehicle Monitoring) industry to essentially take over the bandwidth allocated to Part 15 services. AVM also is considered an extreme privacy threat by many. WOC appears to be driven by it's commercial members, and to be concerned little with the privacy problems of AVM, focussing on the damage to other industries that AVM proponents may cause. Membership does, however, appear to be open to all, and they include an interactive membership form on their WWW page. [Further caveat: _The_Network_Observer_ #1.12 notes that WOC "is a creation of a public relations firm called Issue Dynamics Inc, whose largest clients include Bell Atlantic and a lobbying alliance of the US regional phone companies. (To be fair, they also include the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.)...My point is that they are a public relations firm practicing their craft on the Internet. In the future, I expect that ordinary citizens using the Internet will want to inform themselves about who's behind all of those slick web pages." As TNO notes WOC's spectrum fight is probably a good cause, but one must still wonder about what else WOC does. Final note: Not to be confused with the other WOC, Women Organizing for Change.] General: rolfb@wireless.policy.net FTP: ftp.eff.org, /pub/Groups/WOC/ Gopher: wireless.policy.net, 1/.Wireless gopher.eff.org, 1/Groups/WOC WWW: http://wireless.policy.net/wireless/wireless.html http://www.eff.org/pub/Groups/WOC/ http://idi.net/ REGIONAL/LOCAL -------------- Norway (Norge/Noreg) ---------------------- ** Buskerud/Drammen ** * DrammensNett DrammensNett is an interest organization, its main goal is to connent the Drammen region to the national Norwegian Information Infrastructure. The organization was founded August 30, 1994 by organizations, companies and private persons in the Drammen region. We are planning to start an Internet connection for the region in March 1995. General: flyen@drammensnett.no DrammensNett dicussion mailing list: dnett@nki.no Mailing list subscriptions: listserv@nki.no, message body: "subscribe dnett [Firstname] [Lastname]" WWW: http://www.nvg.unit.no/~bent/dn/ Snail: P. O. Box 29 N-3001 Drammen, Norway Voice: +47 32 89 66 70 Fax: +47 32 83 74 10 Spain (Espan~a) ---------------- ** Madrid ** * CUANTAFE [see APEDANICA, under National - Spain] UK/GREAT BRITAIN ------------------ ** NORTHERN IRELAND ** COUNTRY-WIDE * Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) An independent Northern Ireland civil liberties organization. [No other info available. In all likelihood, a civil rights group concerned with "the Troubles", more than a civil liberties group as we know it, but there's insufficient info to be sure.] ** SCOTLAND ** LOTHIAN * Learning Opportunities in Computer Applications within Lothian (LOCAL) An organization created to: provide networking for the handicapped, provide computer training, creation of electronic clubs for youth activities, development of global e-penpal systems for cultural exchange, promote online educational and employment opportunities (incl. industrial training), set up electronic links between the handicapped and distant family members, electronic one-to-one tuition to supplement classrooms, link up organizations working with children, support documentary reasearch systems online, encourage international inter-networking, promote "virtual workgroups" and other online joint projects. General: Robert Regan Snail: Kaimes Landfill Kirknewton EH27 8EJ UK Voice: +44 31 451 5195 USA ---- ** Multi-State (but Non-National) and Regional ** THE CAROLINAS (N. CAROLINA & S. CAROLINA) * Internet Association of the Carolinas (IAC) The Internet Association of the Carolinas is an organization that speaks for, and acts in unison in matters of common interest that affect, the well-being of its members, member organizations, and the global Internet. IAC was formally organized in 1994. The Association is a high-energy source of education and information, a strong regional voice, and a positive influence that focuses on internetworking for delivering benefits to active members and to the Internet itself. The Association is a non-profit business league created to promote the Internet and to educate its users, and to assist Internet Access Providers, On-Line Service Providers, and business entities allied to the Internet in identifying, developing, and enhancing the Internet marketplace. [Like IUC, IAC is a combination of trade association and users' group, and primarily concerned with other issues that political activism and civil liberties, but highly likely to take a strong stance against privacy violation and censorship.] General: info@iac.org WWW: http://www.iac.org/iac/ Snail: 160 Wind Chime Court Raleigh NC 27615-6459 USA DC METRO AREA (DC, SUBURBAN MD, N. VA) * [See District of Columbia.] ** Alabama ** HUNTSVILLE & N. ALABAMA * Linux Users of North Alabama (LUNA) [formerly Huntsville Group] LUNA is more than an advocacy group for Linux (a freeware version of Unix for PCs), having become involved in network access issues on a local basis, including encouragement of the BBS community, assisting the startup of a local Internet access site, working on UAH's campus network, providing tutorials on networking home computers, and assisting communications development at a local high school. "LUNA is here to provide community networking", says Matt Midboe. Though not currently working on policy issues, LUNA's technically-oriented members concentrate on bringing cyberspace to people who did not have the capability and know-how before. General: Matt Midboe [also try postmaster@luna.cs.uah.edu to see if this new site is up yet.] ** California ** STATE-WIDE * California Voter Foundation (CVF) CVF is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that promotes voter registration, participation and education in California through the utilization of new communication technologies. In 1994, CVF developed the California Online Voter Guide, which contained over 300 election-related documents (including original material from 32 state-wide candidates), and registered over 14,000 logins and 36,000 file retrievals. CVF will continue pioneering the field of online voter education, and plans to offer new models for the 1996 election. Plans for 1995 include a partnership with the San Jose Mercury News/Pew Charitable Trust Legislative Education Project, to facilitate the involvement in political reform efforts in California. Other issues of interest to CVF include political dislosure reform, electronic filing of campaign finance records, and campaign finance reform. CVF was founded in 1989 by former California Secretary of State March Fong Eu. An electronic newsletter is in the works - please contact us if you would like a subscription. General: Kim Alexander, Exec. Dir. (kimalex@netcom.com) Gopher: gopher.kn.pacbell.com, 1/.voter (Calif. Online Voter Guide) WWW: gopher://yana.kn.pacbell.com/11/.voter/ (Calif. Online Voter Guide) Voice: +1 916 737 6270 Fax: +1 916 737 6246 Snail: P.O. Box 1151 Sacramento CA 95815-1151 USA * Californians Against Censorship Together (Cal-ACT) Cal-ACT was founded in July of 1986 partly in response to the censorious recommendations of the Meese Commission Report on Pornography. Concerned with the threat of censorship in America, our members banded together to form CAL-ACT, a not-for-profit association with a mandate to defend our right to freedom of expression, especially sexual expression. We are in the midst of a cultural civil war which particularly focuses on sexuality. However, it is only one battlefield in the broad cultural civil war that has spread across this country. Battles are being fought simultaneously on a wide variety of fronts where would-be censors have targeted everything from Comics to the Fine Arts, to Rock, to Rap, to the Music Industry as a whole, to Libraries and whole School Systems, even Hollywood and Television. Cal-ACT publishes a monthly newsletter. Whether on an informational picket line, lobbying, or educating, we have been in the forefront of many of the battles for our First Amendment rights over the past eight years. General: calact@netcom.com Bobby Lilly, Chairperson WWW: http://www.calact.org * Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (PRC) The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse is a non-profit consumer education project funded by the Telecommunications Education Trust, a program of the Telecommunications Education Trust. We are a service for California consumers, providing an 800-number hotline, free information sheets, publication of an annual policy report, and open research facilities. Our publications can be accessed by gopher. The PRC focuses on technology-related privacy issues and the protection of personal information. These issues include: direct marketing, credit reports, workplace monitoring, Social Security numbers, government records, wireless phones and medical records. The PRC tracks federal and state legislation that affects privacy rights. We also research the effects of future services and technologies on privacy rights, such as the National Information Infrastructure and health care reform. PRC has been in operation since October 1992. General: prc@privacyrights.org WWW: http://www.privacyrights.org Snail: 5384 Linda Vista Rd. #306 San Diego, CA 92110 Voice: +1 619 298 3396 Fax: +1 619 298 5681 SAN FRANCISCO BAY/BERKELEY AREA * BAWiT (Bay Area Women in Telecom) Hosted by CPSR/Berkeley, and probably involved with (now defunct) This!Group, BAWiT is a group of women working with telecom to make the online community inclusive rather than exclusive of women and minorities. The working group's activities include outreach and mentoring, and providing speakers for events & informal online discussions. Info: Judi Clark Mail lists: listserv@cpsr.org (message body containing: subscribe bawit-announce [1st & last name]) * This!Group [This!Group is dormant as of this writing, but enthusiasm for new projects and activism might get the ball rolling again. T!G's raison d'etre appears to've been providing an EFF/SEA sort of organization in the Bay area.] General: Judi Clark , Mitch Ratcliffe (godsdog@netcom.com) ** Connecticut ** STATE-WIDE * Connecticut Foundation for Open Government (CFOG) The Connecticut Foundation for Open Government (CFOG) is a tax-exempt, non-profit corporation established to increase public awareness and understanding of the benefits and importance of open government. Its board of directors is composed of leaders from business, education, government and the news media. CFOG organized the 1995 National Privacy and Public Policy Symposium in Hartford CT. General: Richard Akeroyd