by John Perry Barlow Thursday, November 8, 1990 The Electronic Frontier Foundation was started by a visit from the FBI. In late April of 1990, I got a call from Special Agent Richard Baxter of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He asked if he could come by the next day and discuss a certain investigation with me. His unwillingness to discuss its nature over the phone left me with a sense of global guilt, but I figured turning him down would probably send the wrong signal.