Nominations are Now Open for the 2020 Barlows

to be Presented at the Pioneer Award Ceremony

 Update 7/1/20: Nominations for 2020 are now closed.

Here's your chance to nominate your favorite digital rights luminary for a 2020 Barlow! This year’s winners will join an esteemed group of past award winners that includes the visionary activist Aaron Swartz, global human rights and security researchers The Citizen Lab, open-source pioneer Limor "Ladyada" Fried, and whistle-blower Chelsea Manning, among many remarkable journalists, entrepreneurs, public interest attorneys, and others.

What is a Barlow? EFF dedicated our annual Pioneer Award Ceremony to Internet visionary, Grateful Dead lyricist, and EFF co-founder John Perry Barlow, who left the analog world on February 7, 2018. His dedication to online freedom led to a decades-long movement of Internet activism that shows no sign of stopping. From 2018 onward, recipients are awarded a “Barlow," previously known as the Pioneer Awards, in recognition of the spirit that ignited EFF and left an indelible mark on this connected world.

What does it take to be a Barlow winner? The nominees must have contributed substantially to the health, growth, accessibility, or freedom of computer-based communications. The contribution may be technical, social, economic, or cultural.

Who can submit a nomination? Anyone may nominate a potential Barlow recipient, and you may nominate more than one recipient. You may also nominate yourself or your organization. Please submit separate forms for each nominee.

What fields are required? To be valid, all nominations must contain your reason, however brief, for nominating the individual or organization. Also, we strongly prefer that you include a means of contacting the nominee. If you don't have their personal email address or phone number, a link to their active social media account can be substituted. In addition, while anonymous nominations will be accepted, ideally we'd like to be able to contact the nominating parties in case we need further information.

Who is eligible for a Barlow? Nominations may be of individuals, systems, or organizations in the private or public sectors.

Who is not eligible? Current members of EFF's staff and operating board and past award recipients are not eligible.

What happens for the nominees that win? Persons or representatives of organizations receiving an EFF Barlow will be invited to participate in the virtual ceremony in September 2020. We encourage everyone to join us that day to celebrate this year's honorees!

Nominations close on June 30th at 11:59 Pacific time, so don't hesitate!

If you have any questions, please email events@eff.org.