La Quadrature du Net

Description

La Quadrature du Net promotes and defends fundamental freedoms in the digital world. It fights censorship and surveillance by both states and private companies, and works for a free, decentralised and empowering internet.

It was founded in 2008 during the campaign against the French HADOPI law. It became a formally declared association in 2013. It is based in Paris.

The organisation pursues three modes of action: producing and debating analyses of the political and legal issues raised by digital technology, and political and legal advocacy aimed at parliamentarians, courts, government, the European Commission and independent authorities. It also raises public awareness and runs training so activists and the public can resist surveillance and censorship.

It is part of a French network of digital-rights and free-software groups, including Framasoft, April, Federation FDN, Exodus Privacy and Nos Oignons. It partners with human rights bodies such as Amnesty International France and the Ligue des Droits de l’Homme through the Observatoire des Libertés et du Numérique. Internationally it works with European Digital Rights, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Amnesty International and institutions such as the UN and the Council of Europe.

Strategy is set by 21 members, supported by a small paid operational team handling legislative monitoring, communication, campaigns and workshops, and by many volunteers. More than half of its roughly 500,000 euro annual budget comes from individual donations, and the rest comes from foundations, including the Fondation Charles Léopold Mayer, Open Society Foundations, the Limelight Foundation, the Digital Freedom Fund and Civitates.