About our organisation
Bits of Freedom was founded in 1999. We shape internet policy in order to advance an open and just society. One in which people can hold power accountable and effectively question the status quo. We do this through advocacy, campaigning and litigation, in the Netherlands and Brussels.
Bits of Freedom has fourteen staff members, a board and an advisory committee. Hundreds of volunteers contribute their efforts each year. We are a founding and active member of European Digital Rights (EDRi). We receive financial support from thousands of donors and numerous corporate supporters, foundations and project subsidies. To safeguard our independence, we do not accept money from governments.
Our team is composed of a mix of talented starters, experienced staff and promising trainees and interns. We are an inclusive workplace, with a diversity of perspectives. Our personnel policy promotes equal opportunities and aims to contribute to correcting inequalities in our organization, network and sector. Our employment policy is based on five pillars: socioeconomic security, equal opportunities, work autonomy, a healthy balance between work and private life, and professional development.
Landelijke Vereniging van Klachtbehandelaars (LVKB) serves as Bits of Freedom's independent complaint committee for complaints about unwanted behavior. No complaints about Bits of Freedom were received by LVKB in 2023.
This past year we said goodbye to our communications lead Bér Engels and welcomed his successor Maartje Knaap (who, among other things, put together the annual report you're reading now!). We also welcomed our first student trainee, Ramla Yusuuf. Joining our advisory committee were Haroon Ali, Marieke Kuypers, Petra Oldengarm and Justine Pardoen, and we said goodbye to Ot van Daalen, Linda Duits, Anneke Jansen, Olaf Kolkman and Mohamed el Maslouhi. Janine Huizenga left our board and we found a fantastic successor in Rosien van Toor.
We collaborated a lot in 2023, leading to richer perspectives and more diverse courses of action. With Public Interest Litigation Project, we organized meetings for civil society organizations to increase civil opposition to Big Tech. We partnered with Amnesty International Netherlands, Open State Foundation, PublicSpaces, SETUP and Waag in our advocacy in The Hague, and in Brussels we worked closely within the umbrella organization European Digital Rights (EDRi). We look forward to continuing these collaborations in the new year.
