Shifting the power of tech to people
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 sixteen 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.
Developments in 2024
This past year we said goodbye to our tech investigator Joran van Apeldoorn and our working student Ramla Yusuuf. We welcomed Romée Postma as donor relations officer and Isani Franzua Martinez as HR and office manager🔗View our entire team. Daphne de Boer did an internship with us, and we worked with two freelancers, namely Zarlasht Zia and Sarah Berckenkamp. Zarlasht stood in as a designer, while Sarah helped us frame our new Multi-Year Strategy🔗Read Multi-Year Strategy PDF and organizational structure. The Advisory Council took leave of Maxim Februari when his second term ended. Sahidah Somer left the board, which found a worthy successor in Zusanna Leutscher🔗View our entire board. Every member of the board and the team was very happy to see Sophie Logothetis, our incomparable chair, sign up for another term.
In 2024 we reduced our workweek from 40 hours to 36 hours. We also announced the switch to a co-director model, and meanwhile Nico Voskamp has started as managing director. Having joined us in 2021 in the department of partnerships and development, Nico is familiar with all the ins and outs of our organization. We adopted policies on short-term care leave and purchased leave. At the time of writing, everyone who has been with Bits of Freedom for more than a year has been appointed to the permanent staff. There are no freelancers working under long-term contracts.
Many partnerships were formed in 2024🔗See all our partnerships. We collaborated with Public Interest Litigation Project to take legal action against digital wrongs, and joined forces with Amnesty International Nederland, Open State Foundation, PublicSpaces, SETUP and Waag for lobbying purposes in The Hague. In Brussels we established close working relationships within the umbrella organization European Digital Rights (EDRi). We look forward to continuing these partnerships in the coming year.
The Landelijke Vereniging van Klachtbehandelaars (LVKB) [Dutch Association of Complaints Officers] handles any complaints of misconduct against Bits of Freedom. In 2024 the LVKB did not receive any complaints against Bits of Freedom.