For Immediate Release: January 27, 2004

Consumer Amici

Alliance for Public Technology (APT) is a nonprofit organization of public interest groups and individuals. APT’s members work together to foster broad access to affordable, usable information and communications services and technology for the purpose of bringing better and more affordable health care to all citizens, expanding educational opportunities for lifelong learning, enabling people with disabilities to function in ways they otherwise could not, creating opportunities for jobs and economic advancement, making government more responsive to all citizens and simplifying access to communications technology.

American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). ALEC is the largest individual bi-partisan membership organization of state legislators.

CSE Freedom Works Foundation (CSE) is hundreds of thousands of grassroots citizens dedicated to free markets and limited government, and the highest level of personal involvement in public policy activism. Through recruitment, training, and political participation, CSE has become an army of activists committed to improving the well-being of American consumers through common-sense economic policies.

The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) is a nonprofit membership organization for companies and senior executives from diverse sectors of the computer and communications industry. CCIA was established nearly three decades ago to represent their members’ vital interests, especially the need to promote competitive and fair open markets, open systems, and open networks. CCIA is its members’ extended eyes, ears and voice in Washington, working proactively to protect and promote its members’ interests, and to advance the key common interests of our industry.

Consumer Action is a non-profit, membership-based organization that was founded in San Francisco in 1971. Since then, Consumer Action has continued to serve consumers nationwide by advancing consumer rights, referring consumers to complaint-handling agencies through its free hotline, publishing educational materials in Chinese, English, Korean, Spanish, Vietnamese and other languages, advocating for consumers in the media and before lawmakers, and comparing prices on credit cards, bank accounts, and long distance services.

The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) has, since 1968, advocated policies and programs that help ensure a marketplace with vigorous competition, products that are useful and safe, marketing that is truthful and informative, and adequate consumer redress. CFA is particularly sensitive to the needs of the least affluent and educated consumers, who have little discretionary income to waste and are especially vulnerable to deceptive or fraudulent sales.

The Digital Future Coalition (DFC) is committed to striking an appropriate balance in law and public policy between protecting intellectual property and affording public access to it. The DFC is the result of a unique collaboration of many of the nation's leading non-profit educational, scholarly, library, and consumer groups, together with major commercial trade associations representing leaders in the consumer electronics, telecommunications, computer, and network access industries. Since its inception, the DFC has played a major role – domestically and internationally – in the ongoing debate regarding the appropriate application of intellectual property law to the emerging digital network environment.

The Pacific Research Institute (PRI) is a free-market think tank providing practical solutions for the issues that impact the daily lives of all individuals. PRI’s mission is to champion freedom, opportunity, and personal responsibility by advancing free-market policy solutions.

Public Knowledge is a Washington, D.C. based public-interest advocacy and research organization dedicated to fortifying and defending a vibrant "information commons" – the shared information resources and cultural assets that we own as a people. It works with diverse creators, consumers, civic groups and enlightened businesses to ensure that public access, creativity and competition are embodied in the digital age. One of its core goals is to ensure that intellectual property law and policy reflect the cultural bargain intended by the framers of the constitution: providing an incentive to creators and innovators while benefiting the public through the free flow of information and ideas.

The US Internet Industry Association (USIIA) is the North American trade association for Internet commerce, content and connectivity. Founded in 1994, USIIA advocates effective public policy for the Internet and provides its members with essential business news, information, support and services.

Utility Consumers Action Network (UCAN) is a nonprofit membership organization based in San Diego, Calif. Established in 1983, it advocates for consumers' interests in the areas of energy, telecommunications, and the Internet.

Privacy Amici

American Association of Law Libraries was founded in 1906 to promote and enhance the value of law libraries to the legal and public communities, to foster the profession of law librarianship, and to provide leadership in the field of legal information. Today, with over 5,000 members, the Association represents law librarians and related professionals who are affiliated with a wide range of institutions: law firms; law schools; corporate legal departments; courts; and local, state and federal government agencies.

The American Library Association is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 64,000 members. Its mission is to promote the highest quality library and information services and public access to information. ALA offers professional services and publications to members and nonmembers.

The American Civil Liberties Union's mission is to fight civil liberties violations wherever and whenever they occur. Most of its clients are ordinary people who have experienced an injustice and have decided to fight back. The ACLU is also active in national and state capitals, fighting to ensure that the Bill of Rights will always be more than a "parchment barrier" against government oppression and the tyranny of the majority.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri (ACLU-EM) is a non-partisan, not-for-profit, membership organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of civil liberties in eastern Missouri. Located in St. Louis, ACLU/EM is an affiliate of the national ACLU.

Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a not-for-profit membership organization comprising the leading research libraries in North America. Its mission is to shape and influence forces affecting the future of research libraries in the process of scholarly communication. ARL programs and services promote equitable access to and effective use of recorded knowledge in support of teaching, research, scholarship, and community service. The Association articulates the concerns of research libraries and their institutions, forges coalitions, influences information policy development, and supports innovation and improvements in research library operations. ARL operates as a forum for the exchange of ideas and as an agent for collective action.

Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is a nonprofit public interest organization dedicated to protecting civil liberties and free expression in the digital world. With over 11,000 members, EFF represents the interests of Internet users in both court cases and the broader policy debates surrounding the application of law in the digital age. EFF opposes misguided legislation, initiates and defends court cases preserving individuals’ rights, launches global public campaigns, introduces leading edge proposals and papers, hosts frequent educational events, engages the press regularly, and publishes a comprehensive archive of digital civil liberties information at one of the most linked-to websites in the world, www.eff.org.

Electronic Frontiers Georgia (EFGA) is a Georgia based nonpartisan civil liberties organization. EFGA is not affiliated with the Electronic Frontier Foundation. EFGA's purpose is to ensure that the principles embodied in the Constitution and Bill of Rights are protected as new communications technologies emerge. EFGA works to convince lawmakers that measures, which support broader public access to information, should be enacted into law. EFGA is particularly concerned with raising public awareness among citizens and elected representatives regarding issues relating to freedom, privacy, and access in the digital world.

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) was formed in 1978 to provide a national network of programs serving victims of domestic violence. There are over 2,000 programs currently in the United States. NCADV provides technical assistance, general information and referrals, community awareness campaigns, and does public policy work at the national level. NCADV has participated in many amicus briefs over the years on issues related to victims of domestic violence, especially when their safety and confidentiality are at risk.

PrivacyActivism is a non-profit organization dedicated to informing and empowering individuals about their privacy rights on the Internet. Through a mixture of education (using graphics such as posters and video games), activism, and the law, the organization strives to make complex issues of privacy law, policy, and technology accessible to all. PrivacyActivism can be found on the Internet at www.privacyactivism.org.

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse is a nonprofit consumer education and advocacy program, established in 1992, based in San Diego, Calif. It provides information and assistance to consumers on a variety of informational privacy issues including identity theft, telemarketing, Internet privacy, and financial privacy. It represents consumers' interests in public policy proceedings (legislative and regulatory agency) at the state and federal level.

WiredSafety.org largest online safety, education and help group in the world. It is a cyber-neighborhood watch and operates worldwide in cyberspace through our more than 9,000 volunteers worldwide. It offers a wide variety of educational and help services to the internet community at large. Its Cyber911 help line gives netizens access to help when they need it online.

About PRI
For more than two decades, the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy (PRI) has championed individual liberty through free markets. PRI is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting the principles of limited government, individual freedom, and personal responsibility.