Boston Tech Leaders Fund ACLU Privacy Initiative

Will target government surveillance made easy by technology

Two luminaries of the Boston tech community have contributed $1 million to launch an initiative at the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts meant to safeguard privacy in an era when government agencies have greater access than ever before to personal data.

The initial donation from Paul Sagan, former chief executive officer of the Internet services company Akamai Technologies Inc., and Joshua Boger, founder of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., will help fund the Technology for Liberty & Justice for All project. The initiative will examine how rapid advancements in technology and the pervasiveness of the Web could be used to impinge upon individual civil liberties.