La Quadrature du Net (LQDN) promotes and defends fundamental freedoms in the digital world. We fight against censorship and surveillance, both from States or private companies. We questions how the digital world and society influence each other. We work for a free, decentralised and empowering Internet.

Who are we ?

History and companions of the organisation

La Quadrature du Net was created in 2008, fighting one of its first fights against the French HADOPI Law. In the years since, the world has changed a lot, with technology growing ever more present. We have also witnessed an accumulation of drastic security measures, the narrowing of the democratic space, but also by the headlong rush of centralised and technocratic computing.

And yet, the free (libre) and decentralised Internet holds its head high. A tight and creative web of activists organised itself in France. From Framasoft to April through Federation FDN, Exodus Privacy, Nos Oignons and even small sized companies, a lot of groups are working hard, in relation with other organisations around the world, to ensure that networked comptuting can remain an area of ​​individual and collective emancipation. In this web of French digital activism, La Quadrature du Net has joined the ranks of pioneer associations which, as soon as 1990, specialised in the defense of fundamental freedoms on the Internet, like the Association des Utilisateurs d’Internet or IRIS (Imaginons un Réseau Internet Solidaire). As such, it has established numerous contacts with other human rights organisations, such as its partners in the Observatoire des Libertés et du Numérique (Freedoms and Digital Observatory) : Amnesty International France, CECIL, Creis -Terminal, the Ligue des Droits de l’Homme (Human Rights League), the Syndicat de la magistrature and the Syndicat des Avocats de France. At an international level, we are also working with associations like EDRi, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, but also NGOs like Amnesty International or international organisations dedicated to defense of fundamental freedoms (UN, Council of Europe).

In the activist landscape, La Quadrature du Net is at a crossroad between a free (libre) activist movement, inspired by the emancipatory ethic of hackers and other pioneers from the free Internet, and human rights associations, whether French or not.

Modes of action

La Quadrature pursues its action:

• through the production and debating of analyses about political and legal issues of our computarised world, and its possible outcomes. It wishes to do it as much as possible by anticipating rather than reacting, in order to draw a positive trajectory in front of of the technocratic hegemony of the de facto alliance of States and giant digital multinationals.
• through political and legal advocacy, to bring these analyses to people in position of power. In addition to parliamentarians, the courts, the government, the European Commission or independent administrative authorities, it is also important to make this advocacy and these strategies of influence known to everyone, so that they can be understood and inspire others to go in the same direction.
• by raising awareness and training, so that our vision of digital technology and its practices can be debated and enhanced from the expertise of everyone, and thus spread in society (« popular education »). It is for example to ensure that our allies in the militant world can grasp certain tools, develop methods that emancipate them from surveillance and censorship. It is also about helping everyone understand the issues and being able to use computers in a conscious and reasoned way.

You can read our Activities Report for 2023 here.

Structure of the association

Funded as a collective by half a dozen of activists in 2008, La Quadrature du Net has become a declared association in 2013 (see our history). It is made up today of 21 members, who debate, develop and implement the strategy and actions of La Quadrature, each one with its expertise and its activist history. These members are for the most La Quadrature’s fellow travelers, and have integrated it at the time of its opening in early 2018. See the strategic review written then.

Since then, La Quadrature du Net has adopted a membership policy, which explains how you can become member of the association (FR).
Some members of La Quadrature du Net (non-exhaustive list):

The operational team of La Quadrature du Net implements the strategic decisions of the members, coordinate and make the work easier for the entire organisation. This team do the daily work of the association : legislative watch, communication, campaigns or workshops. As we consider this work needs a daily presence, the members of this operational team are payed for their work.

• Mathieu Labonde, in charge of administrative and logistical work
• Marne (Marine Strazielle), communication director
• Myriam Michel, manager
• Nono, technical expert
• Noemie Levain, legal expert
• Félix Tréguer, research director
• Bastien Le Querrec, legal expert
• Alex, research expert

Finally, La Quadrature du Net exists mostly because of a huge volunteer investment and a lot of individual donations.These donations represent almost 60% of our budget and allow us to remain independent. The determined commitment of all these volunteers in our actions has a bigger value, because it brings energy, enthusiasm, knowledge, expertise and lots of fun to our struggles.

Financial support of La Quadrature du Net

Almost 60% of our budger (currently 400 000 to 450 000€ per year) comes from individual donations, during our annual funding campaign or during some thematic/political campaigns. The rest of our budget comes from several foundations : the Fondation Charles Léopold Mayer pour le Progrès de l’Homme, the Un Monde par tous foundation, the Open Society Foundations, the Limelight Foundation and the Digital Freedom Fund.

We also have, since the creation of La Quadrature du Net, an important support from the society Octopuce, which provides us our Linux hosting and some technical support.

Balance sheet for 2023

Logo and content

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