It’s time for the second installment of campfire tales from our friends, The Encryptids—the rarely-seen enigmas who’ve become folk legends. They’re helping us celebrate EFF’s summer membership drive for internet freedom!

Through EFF's 34th birthday on July 10, you can receive 2 rare gifts, be a member for just $20, and as a bonus new recurring monthly or annual donations get a free match! Join us today.

So...do you ever feel like tech companies still own the devices you’ve paid for? Like you don’t have alternatives to corporate choices? Au contraire! Today, Monsieur Jackalope tells us why interoperability plays a key role in giving you freedom in tech...

-Aaron Jue
EFF Membership Team

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C

all me Jacques. Some believe I am cuddly. Others deem me ferocious. Yet I am those things and more. How could anyone tell me what I may be? Beauty lives in creativity, innovation, and yes, even contradiction. When you are confined to what is, you lose sight of what could be. Zut! Here we find ourselves at the mercy of oppressive tech companies who perhaps believe you are better off without choices. But they are wrong.

Control, commerce, and lack of competition. These limit us and rob us of our potential. We are destined for so much more in tech! When I must make repairs on my scooter, do I call Vespa for their approval on my wrenches? Mais non! Then why should we prohibit software tools from interacting with one another? The connected world must not be a darker reflection of this one we already know.

The connected world must not be a darker reflection of this one we already know.

EFF’s team—avec mon ami Cory Doctorow!—advocate powerfully for systems in which we do not need the permission of companies to fix, connect, or play with technology. Oui, c’est difficile: you find copyrighted software in nearly everything, and sparkling proprietary tech lures you toward crystal prisons. But EFF has helped make excellent progress with laws supporting your Right to Repair, they speak out against tech monopolies, they lift up the free and open source software community, and they advocate for creators across the web.

Join EFF

Interoperability makes good things great

You can make a difference in the fight to truly own your devices. Support the EFF’s efforts as a member this year and reach toward the sublime web that interconnection and creativity can bring.

Cordialement,

Monsieur Jackalope

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