EFF today launched a fund-raising campaign to support its multi-front battle to protect and defend bloggers' rights -- your freedom to tell your fellow citizens about things they need to know, regardless of whether politicians [PDF], companies, or anyone else would rather you remain silent.

There is no system of public defenders in place to protect people like Edward Felten, the Princeton University professor who was threatened by the RIAA because he planned to publish his research on SDMI. There is no system to protect people like Nelson Pavlosky and Luke Smith, the Swarthmore students who were threatened by Diebold Election Systems, Inc., because they dared to post internal memos indicating potential flaws in Diebold e-voting machines.

There is EFF. But only so long as people like you join as members.

As part of the bloggers' rights campaign, EFF has posted what could be described as a Miranda Rights for Bloggers. It tells you what your rights are and how EFF is fighting to protect them. Here, a snippet to give you a taste:

You Have the Right to Blog Anonymously. EFF has fought for your right to speak anonymously on the Internet, establishing legal protections in several states and federal jurisdictions, and developing technologies to help you protect you identity. With your support, EFF can continue to defend this right, conducting impact litigation to establish strict standards to unmask an anonymous critic in more jurisdictions.

You Have the Right to Keep Sources Confidential. In Apple v. Does, EFF is fighting to establish the reporters' privilege for online journalists before the California courts. With your support, EFF can defend news bloggers from subpoenas seeking the identity of confidential sources in more jurisdictions.

You Have the Right to Make Fair Use of Intellectual Property. In OPG v. Diebold, Diebold, Inc., a manufacturer of electronic voting machines, had sent out copyright cease-and-desist letters to ISPs after internal documents indicating flaws in their systems were published on the Internet. EFF established the publication was a fair use. With your support, EFF can help fight to protect bloggers from frivolous or abusive threats and lawsuits.