When EFF was founded on July 10, 1990, it was revolutionary to imagine ordinary people possessing technology that could instantly erase distance, create connection, and access much of the world’s knowledge. The early Internet was an extraordinary place burgeoning with possibilities, and while the early users of digital world didn’t necessarily reflect the wider world or always get things right, they could see that this “new home of Mind” would change everything.
But EFF wasn’t founded on a naïve belief that the coming change would create a digital utopia. Quite the contrary. For all the joy, creativity, and togetherness that technology can help bring, EFF took root because even from those early days it was clear that powerful new digital tools could be used to hurt as well as to heal. Censorship, corporate and government surveillance, and efforts to lock down and control innovation and innovators were all present from the beginning, too. EFF was created to fight against injustice and stand for freedom.
Thirty years later we’re still standing, and taller than ever before. Our team remains committed to ensuring that technology supports freedom, justice and innovation for all the people of the world. As the technologies evolve and change, as the Internet reaches to the far corners of the globe, and as the distinction between online and offline is increasingly erased, our team has grown, shifted and stood up again and again. Just as our founders dreamed, we are proud that today we remain a beacon for all seeking a better digital future for everyone.
EFF’s guiding principles shine ever brighter against darkened skies. Our values define our work, especially as the world navigates the murky waters of a pandemic and unprecedented reckonings with our ideals of equity and justice. Technology affects and is affected by most everything we do, so it’s crucial that we recognize how privacy, free expression, and digital creativity can help in this moment.
People are coming of age never knowing a world without the Internet. That fact makes EFF’s wealth of experience and beaming light more valuable than ever. So as we celebrate EFF’s 30th anniversary over the coming year, we’ll also reflect on the lessons we’ve learned— and are still grappling with—in a series of documents and posts collected below. I’m proud to help this movement grow stronger alongside EFF each year, and I look forward to all we will accomplish together in the next decade of digital freedom.
Cindy Cohn
EFF Executive Director
CELEBRATE EFF'S 30TH ANNIVERSARY AND HELP PROTECT FREEDOM ONLINE
EFF at 30: Freeing the Internet, with Net Neutrality Pioneer Gigi Sohn
EFF at 30: Surveillance Is Not Obligatory, with Edward Snowden
EFF at 30: Protecting Free Speech, with Senator Ron Wyden
EFF at 30: Saving Encryption, with Technologist Bruce Schneier
Pioneer Award Ceremony 2020: A Celebration of Communities
Join EFF's 30th Anniversary Livestream and Party Like It's 1990!
Across the Electronic Frontier
by: Mitchell Kapor and John Perry Barlow
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Washington, D.C.
July 10, 1990
A Not Terribly Brief History of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
Thursday, November 8, 1990
Legal Victories
Since its founding in 1990, EFF has consistently taken critical cases, challenged tough opponents, and achieved landmark victories. EFF has prevailed in lawsuits against the federal government, the FCC, the world's largest entertainment companies, and major electronics companies, among others.
A History of Protecting Freedom Where Law and Technology Collide
The Electronic Frontier Foundation was founded in July of 1990 in response to a basic threat to speech and privacy.
