Reply from EFF ON Brett comment on Barlow

["Dave Farber" <farber () gmail com>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: cindy <cindy () eff org>
> Date: March 22, 2018 at 11:32:22 AM EDT
> To: Dave Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
> Cc: Aaron Jue <aaron () eff org>
> Subject: Fwd: [IP] Needed Barlow quote favorites?
>
>
> Hi Dave,
>
> Sorry to be a little late in responding. We normally let Brett’s postings about us here and elsewhere roll off our 
> backs since it’s so unfounded, but I think two points are appropriate here:  
>
> First, I’m pretty sure Brett is wrong that the “multinationals” referenced Barlow in the quote is Google.  That quote 
> is from an interview in Reason in 2004, the year Google first went public.  In the same interview Barlow also said 
> this:  "Most libertarians are worried about government but not worried about business. I think we need to be worrying 
> about business in exactly the same way we are worrying about government.”  At EFF we try to do both, although it’s 
> true that constitutional litigation (my speciality) is by definition focused on governments.  
>
> Second, Brett is absolutely wrong about EFF.  Given how long he’s peddled this line, I suspect that actual facts — 
> verifiable from our published financials —  don’t matter much to him.  But so that others aren’t misled, our audited 
> financial statements are here:  https://www.eff.org/files/annual-report/).  Here’s some additional information:
>
> 1) EFF’s budget in 2017 was $12.0 million. This is the fiscal year, July 1/June 30 - those audited financial 
> statements are not done yet but will be posted soon. 
>
> -EFF received $75,000 from Google in calendar year 2017.  Most of this was earmarked for a blog post series on the 
> impact of the Alice patent decision called “saved by Alice” where we profile small businesses that were helped by 
> this decision: https://www.eff.org/alice. The Alice decision brought some much needed patent troll relief for small 
> businesses and is worthy of celebration and protection and I’m delighted that Google agrees with us on this one.   
>
> - EFF received $25,000 in from Facebook in 2017 to sponsor our Tech Trivia contest. We have heard that they will do 
> the same in 2018.
>
> 2) EFF's budget in 2016 was $10.4 million (https://www.eff.org/files/annual-report/2016/index.html).  EFF received 
> $15,500 from Google in calendar year 2016. EFF received nothing from Facebook in 2016 other than some purchase of 
> tickets by its lawyers to attend our annual Legal Trivia event.  
>
> Most of our corporate donation funding for the past few years has come from the Humble Bundle, where our friends at 
> Wolffire Games let purchasers donate to EFF (and other charities) along with their game purchase.   The rest, in 
> total, is still a pretty small percentage of our annual budget.  EFF is overwhelmingly funded by our individual 
> members — over 40,000 strong We couldn’t be more grateful for their support.  
>
> Brett disagrees with us on some policy positions.  But I think he does a disservice to your community with this sort 
> of unfounded attack. 
>
> Finally, EFF and the Freedom of the Press Foundation will be hosting an event about Barlow’s ideas at the Internet 
> Archive on April 7 from 2-6. More details coming soon.  
>
> Cindy
>
>
> > On Feb 28, 2018, at 9:58 AM, Brett Glass <brett () lariat net> wrote:
> >
> > At 02:52 PM 2/27/2018, you wrote:
> >
> > > "We have a deeply symbiotic relationship with large corporations. I wouldn't want to eliminate them, because they 
> > > are the engines of our economic well being at the moment. But we need something -- and I think it's governmental -- 
> > > to reregulate the market and make it free, because the multinationals have taken it away. I don't see anything 
> > > particularly free about a plutocracy."
> >
> > Taken out of context. Barlow, when he said "multinationals," was in fact talking about Google - for which EFF now 
> > lobbies. The organization has completely abandoned its cyberlibertarian mission and has become simply a despicable 
> > corporate lobbying shop.
> >
> > --Brett Glass 
>
>
> ***********************************
> Cindy Cohn                            
> Executive Director                    
> Electronic Frontier Foundation
> 815 Eddy Street
> San Francisco, CA 94109
> (415) 436-9333 x108
> ----Cindy () eff org
> ---- www.eff.org
>  
> Join EFF! https://supporters.eff.org/donate 
>
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> ***********************************
> Cindy Cohn                            
> Executive Director                    
> Electronic Frontier Foundation
> 815 Eddy Street
> San Francisco, CA 94109
> (415) 436-9333 x108
> ----Cindy () eff org
> ---- www.eff.org
>  
> Join EFF! https://supporters.eff.org/donate 



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