EFF Austin: Organizing and Making a Difference in Central Texas

Austin, Texas is a major tech hub with a population that’s engaged in advocacy and paying attention. Since 1991, EFF-Austin an independent nonprofit civil liberties organization, has been the proverbial beacon alerting those in central Texas to the possibilities and implications of modern technology. It is also an active member of the Electronic Frontier Alliance (EFA). On a recent visit to Texas, I got the chance to speak with Kevin Welch, President of EFF-Austin, about the organization, its work, and what lies ahead for them:

How did EFF-Austin get started, and can you share how it got its name?

EFF-Austin is concerned with emerging frontiers where technology meets society. We are a group of visionary technologists, legal professionals, academics, political activists, and concerned citizens who work to protect digital rights and educate the public about emerging technologies and their implications. Similar to our namesake, the national Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), “the dominion we defend is the vast wealth of digital information, innovation, and technology that resides online.” EFF-Austin was originally formed in 1991 with the intention that it would become the first chapter of the national Electronic Frontier Foundation. However, EFF decided not to become a chapters organization, and EFF-Austin became a separately-incorporated, independent nonprofit organization focusing on cyber liberties, digital rights, and emerging technologies.

What’s the mission of EFF-Austin and what do you promote?

EFF-Austin advocates for establishment and protection of digital rights and defense of the wealth of digital information, innovation, and technology. We promote the right of all citizens to communicate and share information without unreasonable constraint. We also advocate for the fundamental right to explore, tinker, create, and innovate along the frontier of emerging technologies.

EFF-Austin has been involved in a number of initiatives and causes over the past several years, including legislative advocacy. Can you share a few of them?

We were one of the earliest local organizations that began to call out the Austin City Council over their use of automated license plate readers (ALPRs). After several years of fighting, EFF-Austin was proud to join the No ALPRs coalition as a founding member with over thirty local and state activist groups. Through our efforts, Austin decided not to renew our ALPR pilot project, becoming one of the only cities in America to reject ALPRs. Building on this success, the coalition is broadening its scope to call out other uses of surveillance in Austin, like proposed contracts for park surveillance from Liveview Technologies, as well as data privacy abuses more generally, such as the potential partnership with Valkyrie AI to non-consensually provide citizen data for model training and research purposes without sufficient oversight or guardrails. In support of these initiatives, EFF-Austin also partnered with the Austin Technology Commission to propose much stricter oversight and transparency rules around how the city of Austin engages in contracts with third party technology vendors.

EFF-Austin has also provided expert testimony on a number of major technology bills at the Texas Legislature that have since become law, including the Texas Data Privacy And Security Act (TDPSA) and the Texas Responsible AI Governance Act (TRAIGA).

How can someone local to central Texas get involved?

We conduct monthly meetups with a variety of speakers, usually the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00pm at Capital Factory (701 Brazos St, Austin, TX 78701) in downtown Austin. These meetups can range from technology and legal explainers to digital security trainings, from digital arts profiles to shining a spotlight on surveillance. In addition, we have various one-off events, often in partnership with other local nonprofits and civic institutions, including our fellow EFA member Open Austin. We also have annual holiday parties and SXSW gatherings that are free and open to the public. We don’t currently have memberships, so any and all are welcome.

While EFF-Austin events are popular and well-attended, and our impact on local technology policy is quite impressive for such a small nonprofit, we have no significant sustained funding beyond occasional outreach to our community. Any local nonprofits, activist organizations, academic initiatives, or technology companies who find themselves aligned with our cause and would like to fund our efforts are encouraged to reach out. We also always welcome the assistance of those who wish to volunteer their technical, organizational, or legal skills to our cause. In addition to emailing us at info@effaustin.org, follow us on Mastodon, Bluesky, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or Meetup, and visit us at our website at https://effaustin.org.