The Information Policy Action Committee is Formed to Lobby Congress for Pro-Technology Reform

April 17, 2006 at 8:01 pm - by Dale Dietrich

Categories: Lobbying

Ren Bucholz (EFF), David Alpert (Google) and Mark Stoller, have banded together to form a new Political Action Committee called the Information Policy Action Committee (IPAC) to lobby Congress for “pro-Geek”, “pro-technology” reform. Because the EFF is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity, it can’t get involved in any electoral politics. The RIAA & MPAA are not barred by law from lobbying Congress. The founders of IPAC realized that “geeks need to be engaged in electoral politics in a direct way” as a tool to counter the multi-million-dollar lobbying efforts of the industry heavyweights. From the IPAC website:

We believe that technological innovation and individual creativity are vital to the future of this country. We believe that a prosperous and democratic society depends on freedom for all individuals to pursue scientific invention and artistic expression. Unfortunately, new, more draconian copyright and patent laws threaten to stifle these freedoms and restrict public participation in science, art, and political discourse.