People For Internet Responsibility (PFIR) is currently a global, ad hoc network of individuals who are concerned about the present and future operations, development, management, and regulation of the Internet in responsible ways. PFIR is in the process of incorporating as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation. The main goal of PFIR is to provide a resource for individuals around the world to gain an ability to impact these crucial Internet issues, which will affect virtually all aspects of our cultures, societies, and lives in the 21st century. PFIR is nonpartisan, has no political agenda, and does not engage in lobbying.

With the rapid commercialization of the Internet and its World Wide Web, there are increasing concerns that decisions regarding these resources are being irresponsibly skewed through the influence of powerful, vested interests (in commercial, political, and other categories) whose goals are not necessarily always aligned with the concerns of individuals and the people at large. Such incompatibilities have surfaced in areas including domain name policy, spam, security, encryption, freedom of speech issues, privacy, content rating and filtering, and a vast array of other topics. New ones are sure to come!

While corporate, political, and other related entities most certainly have important roles to play in Internet issues, it is unwise and unacceptable for their influences to be effectively the only significant factors affecting the broad scope of Internet policies.

There are numerous examples. While e-commerce can indeed be a wonderful tool, it is shortsighted in the extreme for some interests to treat the incredible creation that is the Internet as little more than a giant mail-order catalog, with "dot-com" associated hype on seemingly every ad, billboard and commercial. Protection of copyrights in a global Internet environment, without abusive monitoring, is a challenge indeed. The Internet can be a fantastic tool to encourage the flow of ideas, information, and education, but it can also be used to track users' behaviors and invade individuals' privacy in manners that George Orwell never imagined in his 1984 world.

Above all, it's critical that reasonable discussion be encouraged that is free from the overly polarized "yelling and screaming" that often characterizes ongoing debates about Internet issues. It is very important to provide some degree of balance against those persons or groups who might attempt to impose their views on the Internet by edict, without meaningful input from the people whose lives will ultimately be most affected.

It is hoped that individuals and organizations who are in agreement with PFIR's objectives will be interested in helping to underwrite PFIR's efforts.

The best way to get started is to join the PFIR mailing list! Announcements, position statements and papers, status reports, and moderated digests sent to this list will keep you abreast of ongoing PFIR activities, issues, and projects. The frequency of items sent to this list will never exceed one per day, and currently is much less frequent. There is of course no charge to join this mailing list or to receive materials from this list.

Your name and/or e-mail address will be used only for the purposes of distributing and maintaining the PFIR mailing list. You will not receive any commercial solicitations or unrelated mailings from PFIR, and the list will not be made available to any outside parties.

Individuals, organizations, media, etc. who are interested in more information regarding PFIR or related Internet issues are invited to contact:

Phone, Fax, or E-mail:

Lauren Weinstein