Digital democracy: action and contacts

1 January 2015

Freedom of expression, rights to information and privacy

International Modern Media Institute (IMMI)
en.immi.is
Dedicated to developing havens for freedom of information, speech and expression. It creates supportive legal environments for the publication of investigative journalism and other threatened online media.

Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
eﬀ.org
Leading nonprofit organization defending civil liberties in the digital world.

Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA)
efa.org.au
A non-profit national organization that has been promoting digital freedom, access and privacy in Australia since 1994. Currently running the Citizens not Suspects campaign against indiscriminate data retention.

The Centre for Internet & Society (CIS)
cis-india.org
India-based organization dedicated to improving understanding of the internet and defending consumer and citizen rights on it.

Privacy International
privacyinternational.org
Defends and promotes rights to privacy. Has organized more than 50 campaigns around the world.

Tor Project
torproject.org
Has developed the Tor encryption tool that provides anonymity online and protects the privacy of the user against network surveillance and traffic analysis.

Access Now
accessnow.org
Defends and extends the digital rights of at-risk users around the world.

EDRi
edri.org
Brussels-based European Digital Rights advocacy group.

Freedom of the Press Foundation
freedom.press
Manages SecureDrop (open-source whistleblower submission system for media), supports encryption, whistleblowing and investigative journalism.

The Netizen Project
netizenproject.org
News and information for citizens of the internet. Research into government and corporate policies and practices in relation to free expression and privacy.

Open Rights Group (ORG)
openrightsgroup.org
Campaigns to defend digital rights and freedoms and puts journalists in touch with experts.

La Quadrature du Net
laquadrature.net
Advocates for French and European legislation to respect the founding principles of the internet, most notably the free circulation of knowledge.

The following work to protect media freedom and writers and journalists in general:
International Press Institute freemedia.at
The Committee to Protect Journalists cpj.org
Index on Censorship indexoncensorship.org
Article 19 article19.org
PEN International pen-international.org

Pirate Parties

Since the first Pirate Party was created in Sweden in 2006, new parties using the ‘Pirate’ label have sprung up in 40 countries. Mainly their priorities are civil rights, direct democracy and participation in government; reform of copyright and patent law; free sharing of knowledge, privacy, transparency and network neutrality.

Some Pirate activists have won seats, mainly in local or regional elections. Iceland’s Pirate Party is the most successful at national level, winning five per cent of the vote and accounting for three out of a total 63 members of parliament.

Pirate Parties International (pp-international.net) is the umbrella organization of the national parties.

Pirates without Borders (blog.pirates-without-borders.org) is an international organization of individuals.

Transparency and direct democracy initiatives

Citizens.is
citizens.is
Promotes democratic debate and works to increase citizens’ participation, online.

DemocracyOS
democracyos.org
Created by the Buenos Aires-based Net Democracy Foundation, this is an online platform for debating and voting on political issues. Currently used by groups in Argentina, Mexico and Spain.

Sunlight Foundation
sunlightfoundation.com
Advocates for open government globally and creates technology to dramatically expand access to vital government information to make public officials more accountable.

loomio.org
loomio.org
Created in New Zealand/Aotearoa, Loomio is free and open-source software for anyone, anywhere, to participate in decisions that affect them.

The Software Freedom Law Centre
softwarefreedom.org
Provides pro-bono legal services to developers of Free, Libre and Open Source Software.