Do The Tech Watchdog Groups Need Watching? 2Do The Tech Watchdog Groups Need Watching? 2

Advocacy Inc. And The Tech Exec
Not every company feels the need to seek advice from tech advocacy groups before launching a product. Software makers are occupied with making software, says Kristin Lovejoy, CTO with Consul, a provider of risk assessment software recently acquired by IBM. "No, I'm not looking to EPIC for guidance," Lovejoy says. "EPIC isn't dealing with the same kinds of issues. It's still seen by the layman as left of the left."

Even those who acknowledge the groups' watchdog role see them alienating well-meaning businesspeople with their confrontational approach. "My problem with a lot of these groups is that they tend to be, 'We don't like most of IT, and we're going to impose a lot of regulations on innovation,'" says Rob Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a Washington policy group formed last year to advise lawmakers on IT issues. Atkinson also is a member of the Task Force on National Security in the Information Age, co-chaired by Markle president Baird and former Netscape Communications chairman James Barksdale.

Don't expect advocacy groups to change their approaches, including their over-the-top tactics. "We do take a fairly highly principled position, and in some cases that does involve pointing out some of the more dramatic and disturbing elements of things we find," says EFF chairman Templeton. "But we do see it as our job to show where things could go and to stop those things from happening. What we're really saying is that there need to be checks and balances on power."

Says Cerf: "Sometimes you have to be colorful to get attention, but I worry that overly dramatic warnings can backfire if they weaken credibility."

It's a good point. The CDTs, EFFs, and EPICs of the world are most effective when they question authority rather than use scare tactics to command the spotlight. Regardless of their approach, though, business technologists shouldn't tune them out.

Illustration by Viktor Koen

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How To Get Vendors To Share Their Plans
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