Nominations are open for the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s annual Pioneer Awards, which are given out “to recognize leaders on the electronic frontier who are extending freedom and innovation in the realm of information technology.” The nominations are open to the general public until August 6.
What does it take to be a Pioneer? There are no specific categories, but nominees must have contributed substantially to the health, growth, accessibility, or freedom of computer-based communications. Their contributions may be technical, social, legal, academic, economic or cultural. This year’s pioneers will join an esteemed group of past award winners that includes World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee, security expert Bruce Schneier, open source advocate Mozilla Foundation, and privacy rights activist Beth Givens.
I was privileged to receive the Pioneer Award in 2007, an honor that remains one of my proudest.