EFF Plugs the Senate's USA Freedom Act, Loses More Credibility

The danger when dealing with advocacy organizations and DC is that they "go native." It's a variant of the principal-agent problem: advocacy groups cease to act in the best interest of their members/funders. They become enamored of their own press releases, their own ability to have a "seat at the table," or better yet to convene everyone around their table to draft a backroom deal--even if the resulting law is better than no law at all.

The late Paul Weyrich, founder of the Heritage Foundation and ALEC, talked about this a lot in the context of conservative groups and GOP politicians. Whatever you think of his politics, Weyrich's insight was correct. I wrote about this in the CISPA context in 2012 here: http://www.cnet.com/news/advocacy-group-flip-flops-twice-ove...

Now back to EFF: post-CALEA the group moved from its DC lobbyist row offices (which I remember fondly) to SF to avoid being part of that DC deal-cutting swamp. They intentionally haven't reopened a DC policy office--I think only David Sobel is in DC and he does FOIA not policy--though they easily could have.

So I'd say your faith in EFF is well-placed. EFF is working in your interests and the interests of its other members, the snide aside in the linked article notwithstanding.

Now even honorable organizations make mistakes, and I believe EFF is being too enthusiastic about a deeply flawed bill. I would side with the Sunlight Foundation and other groups opposing it. But no organization is going to agree with all of its members 100% of the time, and if you like everything else they do, there's no reason to cease your support now.

In terms of passing new legislative initiatives (modulo some appropriations stuff), the legislative branch is already effectively Republican-controlled because of the GOP House.

The big Senate changes are probably Udall's departure and Feinstein and Leahy losing their committee chairs. Udall's successor is also pro-reform but without the seniority. As for Leahy, there's a reason why the Sunlight Foundation and the other groups have been critical of his bill.

For background I wrote this last year:

http://www.cnet.com/news/nsa-senate-oversight-bill-may-handc... ...the Vermont Democrat also authored the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, which is now looming over Web companies, as well as the deeply unpopular Protect IP Act. Leahy had introduced significant portions of the Patriot Act under the name Enhancement of Privacy and Public Safety in Cyberspace Act (PDF) more than a year before the September 11 attacks happened...

"grants broad immunity to corporations that are undercutting our right to privacy"