Signal Foundation

The Signal Foundation, officially the Signal Technology Foundation,[2][3] is an American non-profit organization founded in 2018 by Moxie Marlinspike and Brian Acton.[4] Its mission is "to develop open-source privacy technology that protects free expression and enables secure global communication."[7]

Signal Foundation
Signal Technology Foundation
PredecessorOpen Whisper Systems
FoundedJanuary 10, 2018 (2018-01-10)[1]
Founders
Type501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
82-4506840 [2]
FocusOpen-source privacy technology
Headquarters650 Castro Street, Suite 120-223 [3]
Location
Area served
Global
Key people
SubsidiariesSignal Messenger LLC.
Revenue (2018)
$609,365 [5]
Staff (2020)
36 [6]
Websitesignalfoundation.org

The foundation shares its name with the Signal messaging app.

History

On February 21, 2018, Moxie Marlinspike and WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton announced the formation of the Signal Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.[4][8] The foundation was started with an initial $50 million in funding from Acton, who had left WhatsApp's parent company, Facebook, in September 2017.[8] The Freedom of the Press Foundation had previously served as the Signal project's fiscal sponsor and continued to accept donations on behalf of the project while the foundation's non-profit status was pending.[4]

The initial $50M in funding was a loan, not a donation, from Brian Acton to the new non-profit Signal Technology Foundation. By the end of 2018, the loan had increased to $105,000,400, which is due to be repaid on February 28, 2068. The loan is unsecured and at 0% interest.[5]

People

As of October 2020, the Signal Foundation board of directors has three members:[7]

Acton is also the president.[5]

Signal Messenger LLC
Signal Messenger
Formation10 January 2018 (2018-01-10)[9]
Founders
TypeLimited liability company[10]
ProductsSignal, Signal Protocol
Key people
Parent organization
Signal Technology Foundation
AffiliationsFreedom of the Press Foundation[4][11]
Websitesignal.org

Signal Messenger LLC. was founded simultaneously with the Signal Technology Foundation and operates as its subsidiary. Its CEO is Moxie Marlinspike[10] and it is responsible for the development of the Signal messaging app[12] and the Signal Protocol.

References
  1. "Signal Technology Foundation". OpenCorporates. Delaware Department of State: Division of Corporations. 15 July 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  2. "Signal Technology Foundation". Nonprofit Explorer. Pro Publica Inc. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  3. "Statement of Information" (PDF). businesssearch.sos.ca.gov. California Secretary of State. 28 August 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  4. Marlinspike, Moxie; Acton, Brian (21 February 2018). "Signal Foundation". Signal.org. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  5. "Signal Technology Foundation - Form 990 for period ending December 2018". Nonprofit Explorer. ProPublica. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  6. Wiener, Anna (19 October 2020). "Taking Back Our Privacy". The New Yorker. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  7. "Signal Foundation". signalfoundation.org. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  8. Greenberg, Andy (21 February 2018). "WhatsApp Co-Founder Puts $50M Into Signal To Supercharge Encrypted Messaging". Wired. Condé Nast. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  9. "Signal Messenger, LLC". OpenCorporates. Delaware Department of State: Division of Corporations. 15 July 2018. Archived from the original on 14 February 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  10. "Statement of Information" (PDF). businesssearch.sos.ca.gov. California Secretary of State. 3 October 2018. Archived from the original on 14 February 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  11. Timm, Trevor (8 December 2016). "Freedom of the Press Foundation's new look, and our plans to protect press freedom for 2017". Freedom of the Press Foundation. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  12. "Signal Terms & Privacy Policy". signal.org. Signal Messenger LLC. 25 May 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2021.

Further reading
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.