Today’s Mercury News Personal Technology section offers a long list of suggestions on how to spend (or not) the special U.S. tax rebate that will soon be in the mail.
Here’s what I suggested:
Invest your tax refund in something that will pay real dividends in coming years — your rights in the Digital Age.Big Government and Big Business fear technology and cyberspace more than most people understand. Both are working to control it. If they win, you’ll lose some traditional liberties — and they’ll be difficult to reclaim.
On the front lines, combatting the governmental and corporate control freaks, are organizations that could use your financial help. Here are three, among many others:
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has taken on some of the most important issues in recent years. The EFF is currently leading the battle to protect prevent the entertainment industry from using copyright law to destroy “fair use” of the music, books and other content you buy.
The American Civil Liberties Union works to preserve liberty every day. The Bill of Rights is under constant attack, and no organization has worked harder to keep the Constitution alive than the ACLU.
The Electronic Privacy Information Center monitors and tries to combat the ongoing threats to our privacy.
Support these worthy groups. Invest in your rights.