Center for Individual Freedom

The Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) is an Alexandria, Virginia based U.S. nonprofit conservative policy advocacy and astroturfing[1][2] organization. It was founded in 1998 by former tobacco industry executives who sought to counter government restrictions on smoking.[3]

The Center for Individual Freedom has led efforts to defeat efforts to compel "dark money" groups like it from being forced to reveal their donors. It won a big victory in September 2012 when a U.S. appeals court overturned a lower court decision that increased disclosure requirements. Despite this, Mother Jones reported in April 2012 that the Center for Individual Freedom had been given $2.75 million from Crossroads GPS, the conservative non-profit started by Karl Rove.[4] Paul Ryan, an attorney with the Campaign Legal Center (a group in favor of campaign finance regulation), says CFIF's anti-disclosure cases are without merit but adds that challenging disclosure laws is a new attempt to deregulate campaign finance.[4]

In the 2010 elections CFIF spent $2.5 million supporting Republican candidates, and in the 2012 elections it spent $1.9 million.[5]

An investigation by Gizmodo found that CFIF was intimately involved in the communications industry's astroturfing campaign against net neutrality.[1][6]

References
  1. Cameron, Dell (February 21, 2019). "How an Investigation of Fake FCC Comments Snared a Prominent D.C. Media Firm". Gizmodo.
  2. Tony Mecia & Haley Byrd (September 21, 2018). "Off the Hook: How Organizations Are Using Telemarketing to Reach Congress". Weekly Standard.
  3. Geiger, Kim; Hamburger, Tom (October 24, 2010). "Group funding GOP campaigns had its origins backing tobacco". Los Angeles Times.
  4. Kroll, Andy (April 20, 2012). "It Takes Dark Money to Make Dark Money". Mother Jones.
  5. Stein, Sam (September 19, 2012). "Center for Individual Freedom, Conservative Group, Spends Big Against House Dems". Huffington Post.
  6. "Blockbuster Gizmodo investigation reveals probable masterminds of the massive anti-Net Neutrality identity theft/astroturf campaign". BoingBoing. February 22, 2019.

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