[We are] dealing with the symptoms of … the collision between Society and Cyberspace. We have concluded that a cure can lie only in bringing civilization to Cyberspace. Unless a successful effort is made to render that harsh and mysterious terrain suitable for ordinary inhabitants, friction between the two worlds will worsen. Constitutional protections, indeed the perceived legitimacy of representative government itself, might gradually disappear. We could not allow this to happen unchallenged, and so arises the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Predictor: Kapor, Mitchell
Prediction, in context:In the 1990 founding statement for the Electronic Frontier Foundation site, EFF co-founders Mitchell Kapor and John Perry Barlow write: ”Modern economies are increasingly divided between those who are comfortable and proficient with digital technology and those who neither understand nor trust it. In essence, this development disenfranchises the latter group, denying them any possibility of citizenship in Cyberspace and, thus, participation in the future. Furthermore, as policy makers and elected officials remain relatively ignorant of computers and their uses, they unknowingly abdicate most of their authority to corporate technocrats whose jobs do not include general social responsibility. Elected government is thus replaced by institutions with little real interest beyond their own quarterly profits … [We are] dealing with the symptoms of … the collision between Society and Cyberspace. We have concluded that a cure can lie only in bringing civilization to Cyberspace. Unless a successful effort is made to render that harsh and mysterious terrain suitable for ordinary inhabitants, friction between the two worlds will worsen. Constitutional protections, indeed the perceived legitimacy of representative government itself, might gradually disappear. We could not allow this to happen unchallenged, and so arises the Electronic Frontier Foundation.”
Biography:Mitchell Kapor founded the Lotus Development Corporation and also founded the Electronic Frontier Foundation with WELL (Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link) members John Perry Barlow and John Gilmore in 1990 in direct response to a threat to free speech. He was an outspoken supporter of open access to the Internet, and was asked to speak in many venues about the issue, including Congressional hearings. (Pioneer/Originator.)
Date of prediction: July 10, 1990
Topic of prediction: Global Relationships/Politics
Subtopic: Government
Name of publication: Electronic Frontier Foundation - Founding Statement
Title, headline, chapter name: Across the Electronic Frontier
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.eff.org/Misc/Publications/Mitch_Kapor/electronic_frontier.eff
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney