Admiring Our Heroes for International Women's Day: Five Women In Tech That EFF Admires

"Her story reminds me that journalism at its best is an act of moral courage, not just a profession. In the face of threats, poison, and relentless pressure to stay silent, she chose to continue writing about what she saw, insisting that ordinary people's lives were worth the world's attention. She refused to compromise with power, even when she knew it could cost her life."

"Cindy has been fighting for our digital rights for 30 years, leading EFF's legal work and eventually the whole organization. She helped courts understand that code is speech deserving of constitutional protections at a time when many judges weren't entirely sure what code even was. She led the fight against NSA spying, and even though outdated and ill-fitting doctrines like the state secrets privilege prevented courts from ruling on the obvious unconstitutionality of the NSA's mass surveillance program, the fight itself led to real reforms."

"For as long as social movements have organized in the shadow of state surveillance, women have been designing the protocols, mutual aid networks, and information flows that keep people alive. Those threats feel ever-escalating: fusion centers and predictive policing systems, algorithmic discrimination, and the surveillance infrastructure that disproportionately harms marginalized communities."

EFF staff members highlight five women who have inspired their work in digital rights and technology activism. Anna Politkovskaya demonstrated moral courage through fearless journalism despite threats and pressure. Cindy Cohn advanced digital rights through three decades of legal work, helping courts recognize code as protected speech and fighting NSA mass surveillance. Jane and others have designed protocols and mutual aid networks to protect people from escalating state surveillance threats. These women prioritize truth, hold power accountable, defend free expression, and champion user privacy and innovation. Their work demonstrates that defending digital rights requires unwavering commitment to justice, even when facing significant personal risk and institutional obstacles.

Read at Electronic Frontier Foundation