Fight for the Future (formerly “Center for Rights in Action”) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit advocacy group focused on Internet-related issues such as support for net neutrality regulations in the Federal Communications Commission. The organization has also fought against an online privacy bill it dubbed as censorship and promotes causes dealing with copyright legislation.¹

But critics of Fight for the Future say it bands with like-minded groups to distort the truth and stands against free-market principles.²

Initiatives

Against Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)

Fight for the Future was against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), a bill intended to “promote prosperity, creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation by combating the theft of U.S. property,” according to the bill’s text. ³ SOPA would have expanded U.S. law enforcement’s ability to combat online copyright infringement and the online trafficking of counterfeit goods. Proponents said the legislation would not only protect intellectual property, but also save jobs and industry revenue, particularly from foreign websites. Supporters included the National Governors Association, National Conference of Legislatures, National Association of Attorneys General, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, AFL-CIO, and multiple labor unions. ⁴

Opponents of SOPA, such as Fight for the Future, claimed the bills threatened innovation and free speech, giving law enforcement too much power to block access to certain websites. It organized online petition drives against the bill and several websites participated in temporary blackouts on Jan. 18, 2012. ⁵ That led Jonathan Lamy, spokesman for the Recording Industry Association of America, to tell the Boston Globe that “it’s a dangerous and troubling development when the platforms that serve as gateways to information intentionally skew the facts to incite their users and arm them with misinformation.” ⁶

“Battle for the Net” & Supporting Net Neutrality

Fight for the Future organized the “Battle for the Net” campaign, which resulted in 3.7 million people contacting the Federal Communications Commission in support of net neutrality rules, which would prevent Internet service providers from charging customers more for bandwidth-intensive services than for low-bandwidth services. ⁷ Former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler (D) passed a regulation regulating internet service providers as public utilities, which Fight for the Future supported. His successor as FCC Chairman, Republican Ajit Pai, has sought to reverse the rule; Fight for the Future’s “Battle for the Net” website was active as of 2017 looking to stop the move. ⁸

Supporting FCC Ruling on Permission to Sell Consumer Data

Fight for the Future also advocated against a congressional effort to overturn an FCC rule approved under former Chairman Wheeler that would have required Internet service providers to get permission from consumers before selling their data. Those ISPs said the regulation put them at a disadvantage compared to providers like Google and Facebook who face less stringent regulation from the Federal Trade Commission. ⁹ After Congress voted to overturn the FCC rule, Fight for the Future crowd-sourced the funding of billboards in the districts of U.S. Reps. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) and John Rutherford (R-Florida) and Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Arizona) and Dean Heller (R-Nevada) listing the amount of donations they had received from the telecommunications industry and criticizing them for their votes. ¹⁰

Protect Direct Messaging Encryption

Fight for the Future has launched an advocacy campaign demanding social media platforms incorporate default end-to-end encryption for direct messaging, with their website claiming that such encryptions can “protect private messages” ¹¹ from “police surveillance, stalkers, your creepy ex, and identity thieves who might hack into your messages.” ¹²

The campaign was started after Facebook turned over direct messages between a mother and her 17-year-old daughter in Nebraska to local authorities in July 2022. Obtained through a search warrant, the messages show that in April 2022, the mother instructed her daughter, whom was 23-weeks pregnant at the time, on how to administer a “self-managed abortion” ¹³ before helping the latter bury the fetus. Nebraska state law forbids abortion procedures after 20 weeks, and in July 2022 both were charged with “allegedly removing, concealing or abandoning a dead human body and concealing the death of another person.” ¹⁴ Afterwards, a spokesperson from Meta responded to the story by stating “Nothing in the valid warrants we received from local law enforcement…mentioned abortion. The warrants concerned charges related to a criminal investigation and court documents indicate that police at the time were investigating the case of a stillborn baby who was burned and buried, not a decision to have an abortion.” ¹⁵  As of December 2022, both women are awaiting trial. ¹⁶

People

Tiffiniy Cheng and Holmes Wilson co-founded Fight for the Future and serve as its co-directors. The two also founded Open Congress, an inactive website that encouraged transparency from that body, and Miro, an open Internet infrastructure. ¹⁷

Cheng received total compensation of $41,671 in 2014, while Wilson received total compensation of $33,958 that year, according to the organization’s IRS form 990. ¹⁸

Nick Reville, co-founder of Fight for the Future, also serves as president of the board of directors. He co-founded Participatory Culture Foundation and Participatory Politics Foundation. ¹⁹

Funding

Also see Fight for the Future Education Fund (nonprofit)

The fundraising arm of the group, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Fight for the Future Education Fund, shows $312,034 in revenue and $324,476 in expenses on its 2015 IRS form 990. ²⁰

Groups that have donated to Fight for the Future include the Shuttleworth Foundation, Ford Foundation, Proteus Fund, Knight Foundation, Media Democracy Fund and Wallace Global Fund. ²¹ Other contributors include Yelp, DuckDuckGo, Data Foundry, Mother Jones board member Dave Glassco and actress Evangeline Lilly. ²²

1. Fight for the Future: About Us. Accessed August 22, 2017. https://www.fightforthefuture.org/aboutus/
2. Farrell, Michael B. “Internet’s big names unite against antipiracy bills.” The Boston Globe. January 19, 2012. Accessed August 22, 2017. https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2012/01/19/internet-protest-spurs-flood-tweets-calls-congress/15UqDwprL2SMnmxfal29JL/story.html
3. Web Cite: Text of H.R. 3261 in the 112^th Congress. Accessed August 22, 2017. http://www.webcitation.org/63oCICqjh?url=http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/pdf/112%20HR%203261.pdf
4. Cleland, Scott. “SOPA Fixes Isolate Opponents, especially Google.” Forbes December 14, 2011. Accessed August 22, 2017. https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottcleland/2011/12/14/sopa-fixes-isolate-opponents-especially-google/#7a563421196d
5. Goodman, Amy. “The Sopa blackout protest makes history.” The Guardian. January 18, 2012. Accessed August 22, 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/jan/18/sopa-blackout-protest-makes-history
6. Farrell, Michael B. “Internet’s big names unite against antipiracy bills.” The Boston Globe. January 19, 2012. Accessed August 22, 2017. https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2012/01/19/internet-protest-spurs-flood-tweets-calls-congress/15UqDwprL2SMnmxfal29JL/story.html
7. Battle for the Net: Home page. Accessed August 22, 2017. https://www.battleforthenet.com/
8. Battle for the Net: Home page. Accessed August 22, 2017. https://www.battleforthenet.com/
9. Naylor, Brian. “Congress Overturns Internet Privacy Regulation.” NPR March 28, 2017. Accessed August 22, 2017. http://www.npr.org/2017/03/28/521831393/congress-overturns-internet-privacy-regulation
10. Lecher, Colin. “Billboards target lawmakers who voted to let ISPs sell user information.” The Verge. May 4, 2017. Accessed August 22, 2017. https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/4/15545266/congress-privacy-vote-isp-billboards
11. Fight for the Future. “Open Letter: Make DMS Safe.” Fight for the Future. Accessed December 2, 2022. https://www.makedmssafe.com/#report.
12. Fight for the Future. “Open Letter: Make DMS Safe.” Fight for the Future. Accessed December 2, 2022. https://www.makedmssafe.com/#report.
13. Baker-White, Emily. “Facebook Gave Nebraska Cops a Teen’s DMS. They Used Them to Prosecute Her for Having an Abortion.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, August 10, 2022. https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilybaker-white/2022/08/08/facebook-abortion-teen-dms/?sh=5efa0dcb579c.
14. Baker-White, Emily. “Facebook Gave Nebraska Cops a Teen’s DMS. They Used Them to Prosecute Her for Having an Abortion.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, August 10, 2022. https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilybaker-white/2022/08/08/facebook-abortion-teen-dms/?sh=5efa0dcb579c.
15. Baker-White, Emily. “Facebook Gave Nebraska Cops a Teen’s DMS. They Used Them to Prosecute Her for Having an Abortion.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, August 10, 2022. https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilybaker-white/2022/08/08/facebook-abortion-teen-dms/?sh=5efa0dcb579c
16. Baker-White, Emily. “Facebook Gave Nebraska Cops a Teen’s DMS. They Used Them to Prosecute Her for Having an Abortion.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, August 10, 2022. https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilybaker-white/2022/08/08/facebook-abortion-teen-dms/?sh=5efa0dcb579c.
17. Fight for the Future: About Us. Accessed August 22, 2017. https://www.fightforthefuture.org/aboutus/
18. Guidestar: Fight for the Future Eduction Fund IRS form 990. Accessed August 22, 2017. http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2015/452/852/2015-452852041-0c0ca00b-9.pdf
19. Fight for the Future: About Us. Accessed August 22, 2017. https://www.fightforthefuture.org/aboutus/
20. Guidestar: Fight for the Future Eduction Fund IRS form 990. Accessed August 22, 2017. http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2015/452/852/2015-452852041-0c0ca00b-9.pdf
21. Fight for the Future: Supporters. Accessed August 22, 2017. https://www.fightforthefuture.org/supporters/

22. Fight for the Future: Supporters. Accessed August 22, 2017. https://www.fightforthefuture.org/supporters/