The Internet Education Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public and policymakers about the potential of a decentralized global Internet to promote communications, commerce and democracy.
 1992 | Legislation Opens the Internet to Commercial TrafficIn 1992 Congressman Rick Boucher, then a key House Science Subcommittee Chairman, passed legislation allowing commercial traffic to flow over the Internet backbone. The law crafted by Congressman Boucher was a 1992 Amendment to the National Science Foundation (NSF) Act of 1950, H.R 5344, and created what we now regard as the Internet -- which had previously been only used for academic purposes. | |
1996 | Communications Decency Act PassedThe Communications Decency Act (CDA) would have punished (with a two-year prison sentence) any person who published any content online that was "indecent." Indeceny is a broadcast speech standard that today is popularly known because of a few major mishaps, including Janet Jackson's wardobe malfunction and rock singer Bono using the F-word at a televised award ceremony. The Senate held no hearings on the CDA and its applicability to the Internet. It was passed as an amendment to a massive telecommunications package. | |
1996 | The Congressional Internet CaucusThe Internet Caucus was formed by Senator Leahy and former Senator Burns along with Congressman Boucher and former Congressman White. The Internet Caucus is a bipartisan, bicameral group of members of Congress working to educate their fellow policymakers about the promise and potential of the Internet. | |
 1997 | Internet Education FoundationAlarmed by Congress' lack of familiarity with the Internet -- as exhibited during the CDA discussions -- and responding to polls showing parents need information on guiding their children's Internet communications, Jerry Berman founded the Internet Education Foundation. | |
 1997 | The Internet Caucus Advisory CommitteeThe IEF coordinates the ICAC program and provides framework for the staffing and the funding for ICAC administration, web sites, publications, and events. The ICAC is a diverse group of over 190 organizations representing a broad cross-section of the public interest community and the Internet industry. The ICAC program is designed to educate policymakers about the Internet-related policy issues through fair and balanced educational events and initiatives. ICAC ensure the events and initiatives are both balanced and well informed. | |
 1997 | First Internet Online Summit: Focus on ChildrenDecember 1 - IEF coordinated the first Internet online summit and still hosts the site's historical archive. The Summit addressed ways to assure that steps are taken to make children's online experiences safe, educational, and entertaining. More than 650 participants representing over 300 organizations came together for the Summit. | |
 1998 | AmericaLinksUpAugust - IEF was the founding organization behind AmericaLinksUp, a kid's online teach-in and educational campaign. This campaign was shaped by various organizations concerned with providing children with a safe and rewarding experience online. IEF still maintains the website's historical archive. | |
 1999 | GetNetWiseIEF launched GetNetWise (GNW), a public service created by various Internet industry corporations and public interest organizations to help ensure that Internet users have safe, constructive, and educational experiences online. The first iteration primarily focused on child online safety by providing robust resources to empower parents to make informed decisions. In fact, PC Magazine lists GetNetWise as one of its "Top 100 Websites" they "can't live without." | |
 1999 | COPA CommissionIn 1999 Congress appointed the Child Online Protection Act (COPA) Commission to "identify technological or other methods that will help reduce access by minors to material that is harmful to minors on the Internet." Without any funding provided by Congress, the Commission got to work on its task thanks to generous contributions from various stakeholders. IEF donated staff time and server space to host much of the information gathered by the Commission on a dedicated web site -- COPACommission.org. IEF still maintains the web site that features the groundbreaking report issued by the Commission to this day. The COPACommission.org site receives hundreds of thousands of visits a year and the Commission report is downloaded thousands of times a month. | |
 2000 | European Internet FoundationFebruary - The European Internet Foundation is the European counterpart to the Congressional Internet Caucus. The House Co-Chairs of the Congressional Internet Caucus -- Congresmen Boucher and Goodlatte -- were present at EIF's founding ceremony. EIF is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating European leadership on Internet related trends, effects and policy issues. It contributes to open, informed involvement of European business, government, and public interest in the digital revolution. | |
 2001 | P3PToolboxThe P3P Toolbox was a one-stop resource developed by IEF in cooperation with the World Wide Web Consortium and a coalition of Internet industry leaders and public interest organizations. The toolbox provided privacy officers and Webmasters with the information they needed to make their web sites P3P compliant. The site is no longer active but is still maintained by IEF. | |
2003 | GNW 2.0 RelaunchJuly 21 - IEF re-launched GetNetWise 2.0 to educate a broader range of Internet users. To keep up with the advancement of the Internet, IEF added sections committed to educating consumers on how to protect themselves from threats associated with spam, spyware, privacy, and security. IEF included safety tips, information about tools, and step-by-step flash video tutorials. | |
2004 | Consumer Spyware InitiativeOctober 15 - IEF partnered with Dell to develop, the Consumer Spyware Initiative (CSI), a public awarenesss and educational campaign. CSI hoped to better arm consumers in the battle against spyware with troubleshooting toolkits and prevention tips. | |
 2005 | Anti Spyware CoalitionIEF joined the Anti Spyware Coalition (ASC), a group composed of anti-spyware software companies, academics, and consumer groups dedicated to building a consensus about definitions and best practices in the debate surrounding spyware and other potentially unwanted technologies. The ASC seeks to bring together a diverse array of perspectives on the problem of controlling spyware. | |
2005 | State of the Net ConferenceFebruary 9 - IEF launched the First annual Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee State of the Net Conference. This conference gives those who follow policy developments a first look at the policy direction of Congress. The conference panel discussions focus on trust, privacy, and security, intellectual property and innovation, and media convergence and Internet architecture. The conference illustrates where federal decision-making will lead in the future and also provides opportunities to network and forge relationships with other stakeholders in the growth and development of the Internet. | |
2005 | RFID RountableMarch - The Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee established the RFID Roundtable to assure informed decision-making on policy issues related to RFID. Small RFID "tags" allow the identification and tracking of physical items using radio waves, and have far reaching implications for processes as wide-ranging as factories, hospitals, airports, battlefields and retail stores. The RFID Roundtable project explores these and other related issues through roundtable discussions, tech demos, and educational materials. | |
 2005 | FTC launches OnGuardOnlineSeptember - . The Federal Trade Commission launched OnGuardOnline to provide consumers with practical tips from the federal government and the technology industry to help consumers be "on guard" against Internet fraud. IEF supplied The Federal Trade Commission with flash tutorials and its database of tools from its GNW catalog. | |
2006 | Wireless Security InitiativeMarch - IEF partnered with Symantec to launch the Wireless Security Initiative (WSI), a joint educational campaign and partnership. This campaign aims to inform and protect consumers and small businesses from wireless security threats and vulnerabilities. The first module focused on WiFi home networking and public use, and will be followed by an educational module on securing cell phones and PDA's. | |
 2006 | The Get Net Safe TourMay 16 - IEF is a coalition member of the Get Net Safe Tour and participated at the initial launch event in DC. During the tour of 12 U.S. cities experts visit school assemblies and parents' nights, local community and senior events, business luncheons and Internet fairs to help give people the tools and information they need to remain safe when surfing the Internet. The tour was spearheaded by Microsoft and invovled a coalition of various government and non-government entities. | |
 2006 | IKeepSafe.org Video Tools TutorialsJune - IEF is part of The Internet Keep Safe Coalition's educational campaign to teach basic rules of Internet safety to children and parents, reaching them online and in school. IkeepSafe.org uses syndicated flash video tutorials from GNW to illustrate online safety practices. | |
2007 | State of the Net WestAugust - IEF, in collaboration with Santa Clara University, hosted the first-ever ICAC State of the Net West Conference to dialogue on top technology policy issues impacting the Silicon Valley. Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren led the roundtable discussion with participants from academia, the public interest community, and technology companies. The discussion was designed as a channel for West Coast thought leaders from the academic community and private sector to help inform the technology policy issues debated in Washington and better reflect the fast-paced evolution of the marketplace. | |
 2007 | Global State of the NetNovember - IEF, in cooperation with the Oxford Internet Institute, will host the first of its kind Global State of the Net Conference to bring together influential legislators from the U.S., U.K. and E.U. parliamentary Internet groups to foster healthy inter-parliamentary dialogue of global Internet policy and promote cross-border cooperation. | |