BeginnerIn this article you will find a non-exhaustive list of activists and bloggers who are also working for a livable world in the digital age. You can continue to learn, network or support directly here.
For me, accessnow is a guiding star in the fight for digital freedom rights. You operate internationally, multilingually and have colleagues all over the world. accessnow focuses on the free, technical helpdesk for activists and journalists and people in digital need. You have Bruce Schneier on the board and are also politically involved in digital freedom issues. accessnow also organizes its own event once a year, the “RightsCon”.
digitalcourage is the German “authority” in the fight for digital freedom rights. Politically very active with numerous campaigns. There is an annual Big Brother Award where companies with particularly unethical digital behavior are “honored”. Recently, you can also work directly at Digitalcourage.
EDRi is a kind of European “umbrella organization” for privacy and online rights organizations in European countries. The EDRi is very close to the EU and tries to positively influence European legislation there. The EDRi organizes workshops, coordinates campaigns and also constitutional complaints before the European Court of Justice. You can see important current projects here .
The EFF has a similar international focus and focus as accessnow . As one of the oldest defenders of digital privacy, the EFF is respected around the world, but focuses its campaigns mainly on the US. The EFF also provides a well-maintained guide to digital self-defense – Surveilance Self Defense.
Datenschutz-Praxis originally a newspaper format from WEKA MEDIEN GmbH, today offers a really well-made and informative website on the subject of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The offer is primarily aimed at data protection officers in companies and authorities, but is also very valuable for operators of websites, blogs and apps.
Kuketz IT Security is an extremely clear, no-nonsense, technical blog by Mike Kuketz on all things IT security, privacy, and hacking. For me the best German blog on the subject.
For me, netzpolitik.org is the German online editorial office for digital freedom rights. They address all important German and European issues relating to the Internet, society and politics. In doing so, they are not impartial, but actively advocate for a world worth living in the digital age. Just recommendable is the series of articles against the planned chat control of the European Commission.
The Austrian lawyer Max Schrems and his association noyb have built up a whole team of lawyers and experts in Vienna. With strategic lawsuits, they are trying to really enforce the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
They’ve already brought Facebook to its knees twice. In October 2015, noyb prevailed before the European Court of Justice that the ECJ overturned the transatlantic data protection agreement “Safe Harbor”. In June 2020, he also brought down the successor regulation “Privacy Shield” before the ECJ. I think whoever supports here can really change something.
PrivacyGuides.org is the best “quick reference” for digital self-defense for me. Always up-to-date, independent and with clear criterias for their recommendations. PrivacyGuides takes a tool-based approach. For example, you search for a trusted password manager and they suggest several relevant and trustworthy solutions. This requires sometimes that you are already in the subject or you have time and lust to try out different solution.
Important to know! PrivacyGuides is a fork of PrivacyTools.io. PrivacyTools.io has nothing to do with privacy anymore. Theire recommendations include these days products and manufacturers that definitely do not protect the privacy of their customers. You can read more about it here.
On the Restore Privacy website you will find current and trustworthy IT product reviews, product comparisons and recommendations to help you with your IT security on the Internet. They focus on the most important things such as password security, trusted browsers, search engines, VPN, email, cloud storage and messengers. The news is good too. I find Restore Privacy to be a good complement to PrivacyGuides.
Rob Braxman Tech – “The Internet Privacy Guy” is a developer, security analyst and hacker with a YouTube channel with 355,000 followers on the topic of Internet privacy and anonymity. I’ve lost count of how many videos Rob has made. But I’ve noticed that Rob has been broadcasting from the saloon cabin of his sailing yacht lately ;-).
Tactical Tech aims to show how digital technologies can contribute to a more just, democratic and sustainable society. They mix this concern with a lot of art and aesthetics on their website. Tactical Tech is based in Berlin and has already done a lot of interesting projects, e.g.:
- Data Detox Kit – A Guide to Digital Self-Defense
- Exposing the Invisible – A Workshop / Course Internet Research in Publicly Accessible Databases (OSINT)
Techlore‘s motto is “privacy for all.” They want to show that data protection and IT security are not only achievable, but also simple and accessible. Among other things, they have produced a “Going Incognito” video series where, for $64, you are virtually trained to be an expert on your own privacy and anonymity on the Internet. They have published sources and information material on GitHub. You have to take a look there.
Would you like to be on the list? You think someone else is missing? Then …
Sources, tips and links for further reading
PS: Thanks also to thruthseeker08 for the cover picture
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