EFF & FSF Support?

[LZ1 672]

Hello !

 

Would AirVPN be interested in supporting the Electronic Frontier Foundation and/or the Free Software Foundation? No specific project or technology as such.

 

It seems a bit remiss of AirVPN to not support these, in my view .

 

About The EFF

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading nonprofit organization defending civil liberties in the digital world. Founded in 1990, EFF champions user privacy, free expression, and innovation through impact litigation, policy analysis, grassroots activism, and technology development. We work to ensure that rights and freedoms are enhanced and protected as our use of technology grows.

Even in the fledgling days of the Internet, EFF understood that protecting access to developing technology was central to advancing freedom for all. In the years that followed, EFF used our fiercely independent voice to clear the way for open source software, encryption, security research, file sharing tools, and a world of emerging technologies.

Today, EFF uses the unique expertise of leading technologists, activists, and attorneys in our efforts to defend free speech online, fight illegal surveillance, advocate for users and innovators, and support freedom-enhancing technologies.

Together, we forged a vast network of concerned members and partner organizations spanning the globe. EFF advises policymakers and educates the press and the public through comprehensive analysis, educational guides, activist workshops, and more. EFF empowers hundreds of thousands of individuals through our Action Center and has become a leading voice in online rights debates.

EFF is a donor-funded US 501©(3) nonprofit organization that depends on your support to continue fighting for users.

 

About The FSF

The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a nonprofit with a worldwide mission to promote computer user freedom. We defend the rights of all software users.

As our society grows more dependent on computers, the software we run is of critical importance to securing the future of a free society. Free software is about having control over the technology we use in our homes, schools and businesses, where computers work for our individual and communal benefit, not for proprietary software companies or governments who might seek to restrict and monitor us. The Free Software Foundation exclusively uses free software to perform its work.

The Free Software Foundation is working to secure freedom for computer users by promoting the development and use of free (as in freedom) software and documentation—particularly the GNU operating system—and by campaigning against threats to computer user freedom like Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) and software patents.

 

Why should AirVPN do it? Because:

• Both organisations routinely make new technologies available which help to enhance peoples freedoms. Not just software-wise either, but hardware too.
• Both organisations comply with AirVPNs mission on multiple levels. Many kinds of freedom form the basis of free societies. Free speech, freedom of assembly, etc. So what about free software/privacy?
• The EFF fights the required legal battles that come before or after new technology or laws that limit, constrict and/or endanger us all in more ways than one.
• The FSF provides a completely different philosophy/approach to hardware and software; namely that it should be completely free. Not proprietary & closed. Eddie being open helps us all.
• Support will also mean even more support for software like HTTPS Everywhere, which both the EFF & The Tor Project made. AirVPN already supports The Tor Project, so why not add the EFF?
• Because the FSF is a hardcore supporter of free software & freedom of software provides a range of benefits for everyone:
  
  As a software developer, free software lets you build and improve on the work of others, as part of a social community — built on the principles of sharing.
  As an artist, you can do things with free software that proprietary software does not allow. All free software allows you to use it for any purpose.
  As a user, free software removes you from the power struggle of proprietary software, where you are able to help yourself and are not dependent on a single developer or company to help you.
  As a student, you can study and modify the software you use, learning from and enhancing the tools that you use for education.
  

I think it's one thing to support various technical means of opposing state & company control, closedness and censorship, but quite another thing to oppose these things through legal means.

Because while technical tools are great, one could argue that we shouldn't, in an ideal world, even need them. But we do, because various laws force us to, if we want to maintain

a shred of privacy and security. But whether or not these organisations do battle legally, they both still provide a wealth of different tools and technologies which help advance

AirVPNs mission. So in a sense, it's like a package deal !

 

Even the best VPN in the galaxy won't have much to say in the face of running on a compromised system.

Even the best combination of security practices, software & hardware can come under attack when governments give themselves permission to do things that are illegal & immoral for everyone else to do.

 

In addition, supporting organisations which fight the necessary legal battles, could perhaps have direct implications for AirVPNs server locations, as Air writes:

A new server location must comply to every AirVPN requirement. Contrarily to some of our competitors, we don't add locations just to have "one more country flag", in disrespect of service quality and customers' security. We take every care in order to provide high quality of service and high security. The servers datacenters must comply to our requirements for privacy, bandwidth, traffic, peering, net neutrality and usage policy. All these factors together restrict significantly the range of viable choices. The privacy requirements alone cuts out entire countries, while several other countries are discarded because they have an insufficient infrastructure. This is the only way to keep the service in line with our vision and our quality and security standards.

Of course there's many parameters to take into account when it comes to server locations; not least cost & infrastructure availability. But I'm sure we can agree that it's easier to set up a server in a

country that doesn't have laws or systems hostile to AirVPNs mission statement; perhaps one of the major reasons we haven't had many Iranian and Mainland Chinese servers, hmm?

For a primer on what the FSF is really about, you can watch this.

 

Thank you :]

[Keksjdjdke 35]

This would be a great addition to airvpn.

[LZ1 672]

This would be a great addition to airvpn.

I appreciate the support!

It's hard(er) to run a secure setup if organisations like these aren't supported, IMO.

[OpenSourcerer 1435]

LZ1, you probably won't believe this, but you're reading minds. Ever since I mentioned HTTPS Everywhere in my extensions thread I hoped someone would finally open a thread like this and ask to fund the EFF (there, it goes like this: "the EFF does much more things - maybe open a separate No-Profit thread for them?!"). And now it happened. Finally.

Yes, I second both suggestions.

 

Why didn't I do it? Valid question. I don't know, I tend to forget things. Somebody give this man a medal, I will most probably forget it again.

[sigmund_freud 2]

i really like what EFF is doing and i definitely 100% agree.

[jonnymoon96 4]

would airvpn meet the FSF criteria of free software only most vpns are not able also a lot of vpn providers support the EFF most VPNs with non free clients are not able to meet the FSF standards 

[LZ1 672]

would airvpn meet the FSF criteria of free software only most vpns are not able also a lot of vpn providers support the EFF most VPNs with non free clients are not able to meet the FSF standards 

Good question. I only know that the Eddie client is open-source, but I don't know if it would meet all of the FSF requirements, since they're pretty hardcore. However I'm sure AirVPN wouldn't fail completely.

But you know, that's something we could perhaps find out, if AirVPN supports them! Open-software, whether it's called "Open-Source" or "Free Software", directly helps AirVPN accomplish its mission, if the software is truly open to people to share and inspect.

 

 

@giganerd

:*

I forgive you. I've waited long enough, so I had to take matters into my own hands  

Haha

[Staff 9972]

@LZ1

See the license. Eddie is released under GPLv3. GPL was originally written by Stallman of the FSF.

 

Kind regards

[LZ1 672]

@LZ1

See the license. Eddie is released under GPLv3. GPL was originally written by Stallman of the FSF.

 

Kind regards

Ah yes, thank you for clarifying that Staff .

 

I just re-read the guidelines: EFF & FSF should've had separate threads I see. Sorry I overlooked this; do PM me if it's more convenient/better/whatever and I'll split them up .

[OmniNegro 155]

Frankly, the FSF is a group of arguing bureaucrats. They have great ideas that I support, but they have too unique a definition of "free" to be a positive force in the software world.

 

If they branched out to art, then to be considered free, a painting would have to be made on cloth they approved, and with paints they also approved. Then, the very brush strokes of the art would have to be signed off on by a committee to verify that it is actually "free", and the price of such freedom is zero artistic expression. Just rubberstamped approvals and disapprovals.

 

As I said, I like the FSF, but free does not need explanation, and does not need approval. Moreover, two people can have radically different interpretations of the word without either being wrong.

[LZ1 672]

Hey the already AirVPN funded Tor Project just changed their board of directors and one thing was especially interesting in an AirVPN context:

The new board members also include three women, including Cindy Cohn, the executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation

The EFF !

[noah1shadow 2]

definitely agreed!

[Kepler_452b 77]

OP, I 100% support your suggestion. EFF and FSF are two of the very few organizations that are actually fighting for privacy and freedom of information sharing. It's a David and Goliath battle and they need all the help and support they can get.

[Stijlloosert 2]

Outstanding idea! More = Better and besides suits perfect by the AirVPN's principles

I'm personal support already Bits of freedom, a Dutch Digital rights organisation (https://www.bof.nl/home/english-bits-of-freedom/) and founders of the European Digital Rights Initiative https://edri.org/, If my information is correct, BOF is also pretty successful, of-course mostly in the Netherlands. 

[pedro1 1]

I'll suggest adding FSFE to the list. FSFE tries to take a non adversarial approach to promoting free/libre software, while FSF does not.

[LZ1 672]

I'll suggest adding FSFE to the list. FSFE tries to take a non adversarial approach to promoting free/libre software, while FSF does not.

I suggest you kindly make your own thread then, as we can't have multiple ones in one thread. Technically each should have their own. But thanks. .

 

Sent to you from me with datalove

[grok 3]

Such support for the EFF and the FSF is a 'natural'. It is also a most important form of solidarity (however limited each of these three organizations may be themselves, individually). And today, it is all the more important that as many people and organizations as possible unite widely, against the power of the monolithic corporate State.

 

Each one of these organizations -- and others -- should give as high a profile as possible to each other, in all their common work, where possible and appropriate.

 

Hope you/we make it happen.

 

-- grok.

[vangosh 3]

Just adding my 2cents in support of the EFF. I appreciate the broad approach they have taken.

 

They advocate and try to educate politicians, which is important when the other side has such powerful lobbyists. They contribute legal briefs in court cases. They've advocated for issues relating to NSA surveillance, local surveillance like license plate readers and stingrays, DMCA and jailbreaking, patent trolling, online privacy, etc.

 

I like that they fight FUD helping people who are less tech savvy than those in this forum. They've supported software and services to increase the use of encryption with projects like HTTPS Everywhere and Let's Encrypt. They have also helped the press in various ways: making staff available for interviews to be a voice of reason on air, helping journalists who are not the most tech-savvy people with sensitive information, and pushing back against erosion of press freedom internationally. 

 

https://www.eff.org/thanks shows their donors and fundraising partners, such as the Humble Bundle, the makers of Minecraft, the MacArthur Foundation, and many VPN providers. Air's logo ought to be in that page

[Khariz 109]

I agree. Support the EFF!

[Robotnik2017 2]

Good idea LZ1, also people can support EFF financially, independent of Air.

The whjole idea of intercepted networks just seems insupportable, but unfortunately people like open web at whatever cost. I reckon they wouldn't be so happy if the Postal Service had somebody standing outside their front door reading their letters.

[LZ1 672]

Good idea LZ1, also people can support EFF financially, independent of Air.

The whjole idea of intercepted networks just seems insupportable, but unfortunately people like open web at whatever cost. I reckon they wouldn't be so happy if the Postal Service had somebody standing outside their front door reading their letters.

Thank you . Indeed

 

Welcome to AirVPN by the way!

[frost 0]

I'd love to see more support for EFF. Not only are they privacy activists but they're anti-censorship and pro-transparency advocates.

[LZ1 672]

I'd love to see more support for EFF. Not only are they privacy activists but they're anti-censorship and pro-transparency advocates.

Well said, I agree! Welcome to AirVPN by the way

[amazeballs 2]

Great idea mate.  I think it would be a natural fit.

 

I'm a member of the EFF anyway, but anything that the good folk at AirVPN can do to help the other good folk at EFF would be the very definition of a 'win-win'.

[De Facto Pantalones 12]

First post!  Quick story... when I first started hunting for a new VPN (I was dissatisfied with my previous provider), I actually wrote EFF to see if they recommended any specific VPN providers.  They did not, and what struck me as funny was the 2-3 people I had respond seemed a bit baffled that I'd even ask them (although this was a cpl/few years back).  Perhaps with bolstered support from those of us here, they (EFF) may start recommending AirVPN?   EFF is a dynamite organization & cause.