Tech Report: Internet Freedom Watchdog Group Formed

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – An activist group looking to maintain free-flowing information on the Internet and protect it from what it sees as bad legislation was launched on Thursday.

Known as the Internet Defense League, its purpose is to act as online policy watchdogs against bills it says  may threaten Internet freedom, such as the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA), which were struck down in January.

The IDL announced its arrival by projecting a cat symbol in the skies above San Francisco, New York, Washington, D.C., London and the Mongolian city of Ulaanbaatar, which the IDL calls "a bat-signal for the internet." This is in reference to Batman, as the latest version, "The Dark Knight Rises" is hitting movie theaters across the country on Thursday.

KCBS Technology Analyst Larry Magid:

It is still unclear exactly which policies the group will tackle in the future. For now, the coalition said it has advocates on stand-by to comment on proposed laws and code that websites can embed and use as an "alert code" to protest future bills.

Early members of the organization include California Congressman Darrell Issa, Dutch politician Marietje Schaake and web companies and organizations like WordPress, Mozilla, Electronic Frontier Foundation and Reddit.

You can hear Larry Magid's Tech Report Monday through Friday at 3:50pm on KCBS All News 740AM and 106.9FM.

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