yasha levine, writing in 2018 for magazine "the baffler", described the eff as astroturf created and funded by silicon valley, stating they don't actually defend rights for the users of internet platforms, instead defending large internet companies (which are, according to him, eff's biggest benefactors) by lobbying for said companies' interests and deviating attention from their business practices (especially regarding copyright and privacy) to government practices regarding privacy and censorship, as well as actually lobbying in ways that actively harm internet users.