La Quadrature du Net

What La Quadrature du Net does

La Quadrature du Net (LQDN) is a French non-profit association (association loi 1901) founded in 2008 to defend digital rights and civil liberties in the digital environment. Originally created to oppose the Olivennes graduated-response law, the organization has expanded its mandate to cover mass surveillance, algorithmic discrimination, facial recognition, internet censorship, video-surveillance algorithms, and the social/environmental impacts of digital infrastructure. It pursues this mandate through a combination of legal advocacy, strategic litigation before French and EU courts (notably the Council of State and the CJEU), coalition organizing with European digital-rights networks (EDRi, Reclaim Your Face, Hiatus), and grassroots public education via a multilingual website, live-streamed debates, and investigative partnerships with outlets such as Disclose.

The organization's technological footprint is intentionally modest and open-source. It develops and maintains two named tools: Quadramoula, a donation management platform built on PHP/Symfony and hosted publicly on GitLab, and Attrap (Automate de Traque des Arrêtés Préfectoraux), a tool that aggregates prefectoral decrees on local surveillance-technology deployments. These tools support operational and civic-monitoring functions rather than commercial product lines, and the organization does not sell or license technology. No API, SDK, or commercial product offering is disclosed.

LQDN is funded almost entirely by donations. Its annual fundraising target is €250,000, with roughly 50% coming from European philanthropic foundations (FPH, Un monde par tous, Limelight Foundation, Digital Freedom Fund, Civitates, and occasional EDRi support) and the remainder from individual supporters via one-time and recurring donations. Corporate donations are subject to strict caps (no single company above 20% of annual budget, individual donations capped at €10,000/year, and member approval required above €1,000). The organization does not have French tax-deduction status (rescrit fiscal), receives no public funding, and operates from a single office in Paris (115 Rue de Ménilmontant, 75020). Approximately 78% of total expenses go to permanent staff salaries, implying a small core team. Customer/donor engagement is conducted through digital content (website articles in French, English, Spanish, and German), PeerTube/YouTube/Twitch live streams, an annual donation campaign, and earned media rather than traditional go-to-market channels.

Name

La Quadrature du Net

Legal name

La Quadrature du Net

Website

https://laquadrature.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

La Quadrature du Net is a French non-profit association founded in 2008 that defends digital rights and civil liberties through legal advocacy, strategic litigation, coalition organizing, and open-source civic-monitoring tools, funded primarily by individual donations and European philanthropic foundations with an annual budget near €250,000.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Rights Advocacy

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Rights, Privacy & Free Expression Advocacy (BPAGAFAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Human Rights Monitoring, Documentation & Advocacy (BPADAGAK), Legal Aid & Client Advocacy Services (BPAGAEAM)

Keywords

• Digital rights advocacy
• Civil liberties
• Surveillance monitoring
• Algorithmic accountability
• Strategic litigation

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Individual donations (one-time and recurring): The organization raises funds through individual donations from supporters. Monthly recurring donations are preferred and constitute a significant portion of annual revenue. Donations can be made by credit card, check, or bank transfer.
2. Foundation grants and philanthropic support: La Quadrature du Net receives support from various European philanthropic foundations, accounting for approximately 50% of its annual budget. Supported by: Fondation pour le progrès de l'Homme (FPH), Fondation Un monde par tous, Limelight Foundation, Digital Freedom Fund, Civitates, and occasional support from EDRi (European Digital Rights).
3. Corporate donations (strictly limited): The organization accepts corporate donations under strict conditions: no single company may contribute more than 20% of the annual budget, individual company donations capped at €10,000 per year, and any donation over €1,000 requires approval from association members.

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

La Quadrature du Net is a French non-profit association that defends digital rights and civil liberties through legal advocacy, strategic litigation, public education campaigns, and the development of open-source monitoring tools. Its core activities include challenging surveillance laws and government algorithms before the French Council of State and CNIL, publishing legal analyses and investigative guides (e.g., facial recognition defense guide), coordinating civil society coalitions (Technopolice, Hiatus), and operating open-source tools such as Attrap (for tracking prefectoral surveillance decrees) and Quadramoula (donation platform).

Product overview

La Quadrature du Net is a French advocacy and non-profit organization focused on defending digital freedoms and civil liberties in the digital environment. It is not a commercial product or technology company. The organization publishes campaigns, guides, reports, and articles on topics including surveillance, censorship, data protection, and technopolice issues. It operates a donation platform (Quadramoula) and organizes public education initiatives through live streams and publications. The organization campaigns against technologies it deems harmful to liberties, such as facial recognition systems, algorithmic scoring by social administration bodies, and video surveillance algorithms, but does not itself sell or offer commercial technology products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Won Council of State ruling recognizing illegality of Hadopi surveillance system (April 30, 2026)
• +3 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• DisclosecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 March 2026La Quadrature du Net partnered with the investigative journalism outlet Disclose to publish an investigation into police facial recognition usage in France and to release a joint legal defense guide demonstrating the illegality of facial recognition during identity checks. The partnership combines journalistic investigation with legal advocacy.
• Union syndicale SolidairesmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 April 2025A major French trade union federation. Jointly co-authored the Tribune for a moratorium on large data centers (April 2025) alongside La Quadrature du Net, Attac France, and other civil society organizations. Represents broader social movement alliances.
• Attac FrancemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 April 2025A French alter-globalization association. Co-signatory of the Tribune for a moratorium on large data centers, representing alliance in broader civil society mobilization against digital extractivism.
• Hiatus coalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 February 2025A coalition of French civil society organizations launched at the initiative of La Quadrature du Net to resist the massive and generalized deployment of artificial intelligence. The coalition was formed ahead of the Paris AI Action Summit (February 2025) and includes diverse organizations from the human rights, environmental, and digital rights sectors.
• EDRi (European Digital Rights)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLa Quadrature du Net is a member of EDRi, a European network of digital rights NGOs. Through EDRi, the organization coordinates advocacy at the EU level on AI regulation (AI Act), facial recognition, surveillance policy, and fundamental rights. It receives occasional financial support from EDRi and collaborates on pan-European campaigns.
• Human Rights ObserversminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerA collective monitoring human rights violations at borders and in public spaces. Participated in a live stream with La Quadrature du Net on border surveillance technologies as part of the 2026 fundraising campaign.
• StatewatchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAn independent research organization monitoring EU justice and home affairs. Participated in a La Quadrature du Net live stream on border surveillance and digital control technologies.
• Le Nuage était sous nos pieds (collective)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA Marseille-based collective investigating the social, ecological, and political impacts of digital infrastructure (data centers, submarine cables). The collective is affiliated with La Quadrature du Net, the Gammares collective, and Technopolice Marseille. La Quadrature du Net co-published the collective's investigative report on digital infrastructure land-grabbing in Marseille.
• La Legal Team AntiracisteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerA legal collective working against racism and discrimination. Collaborated with La Quadrature du Net on a live stream examining surveillance and repression techniques used by French intelligence services against Muslim populations.
• CAGE InternationalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAn international civil liberties organization working against surveillance and repression of Muslim communities. Participated in a joint live stream with La Quadrature du Net on intelligence service repression techniques.
• Commown cooperativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerA French cooperative offering fair digital services (ethical smartphones and connectivity). Co-signatory of the Tribune for a moratorium on data centers, representing cooperative and alternative digital economy actors.
• Reclaim Your Face coalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA European coalition of NGOs advocating for a ban on facial recognition and biometric surveillance. La Quadrature du Net participated in this coalition which gathered dozens of NGOs and over 250,000 European citizens calling for prohibition of facial recognition.
• Le Collectif des GammaresminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerA Marseille-based collective focused on popular education about water issues. Affiliated with the 'Le Nuage était sous nos pieds' collective alongside La Quadrature du Net, investigating digital infrastructure impacts on water and territory.
• Technopolice MarseillecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA local chapter of the Technopolice campaign operating in Marseille, analyzing and resisting police surveillance technologies at the local level. Affiliated with La Quadrature du Net and part of the 'Le Nuage était sous nos pieds' collective.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Amnesty International: Global human rights organization with significant work on surveillance, privacy, and AI-related repression. Much larger and broader in scope, but thematically comparable on digital civil liberties advocacy.
• FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights): Larger global human rights federation that litigates and advocates on digital surveillance, repression and algorithmic discrimination. Overlapping mission but much broader portfolio beyond digital rights.

Direct peers

• EDRi (European Digital Rights): European federation of digital rights NGOs of which La Quadrature du Net is a member. Directly comparable as a pan-European digital rights advocacy organization coordinating litigation, policy advocacy and campaigns on privacy, surveillance and AI.
• Statewatch: UK/EU independent research organization monitoring state surveillance, policing and civil liberties in Europe, listed as a La Quadrature partner. Directly comparable on EU surveillance monitoring and analysis work.
• Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): The most prominent US digital rights organization, combining litigation, open-source tools, and grassroots fundraising for privacy and free expression advocacy. Highly comparable mission, funding model and tool-building approach.
• Access Now: International digital rights organization focused on privacy, surveillance, and internet freedom with strong EU presence. Directly comparable in scope of advocacy on biometric surveillance and AI policy.
• Bits of Freedom: Dutch digital rights NGO focused on privacy, freedom of communication and algorithmic accountability, also an EDRi member. Comparable in scale, advocacy style and reliance on donations and foundation grants.
• Privacy International: UK-based NGO conducting strategic litigation, investigations and advocacy against government surveillance and data exploitation. Closely comparable to La Quadrature's surveillance and algorithmic accountability work.
• NOYB (None Of Your Business): Vienna-based GDPR enforcement organization run by Max Schrems, using strategic litigation to defend digital rights in the EU. Directly comparable on EU privacy litigation and Council/Court of Justice actions.

Emerging players

• Disclose: French investigative journalism outlet that partnered with La Quadrature on facial recognition investigations. Adjacent player using journalism rather than advocacy, but increasingly overlapping on surveillance investigations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgit.laquadrature.net/la-quadrature-du-net/site-de-don/quadramoula
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@laquadrature
• Xx.com/laquadrature
• Facebookfacebook.com/102481643126722

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about La Quadrature du Net