"The Institute for Applied Autonomy (IAA) was founded in 1998 as a technological research and development organization dedicated to the cause of individual and collective self-determination. Our mission is to study the forces and structures which affect self-determination and to provide technologies which extend the autonomy of human activists." - IAA Mission Statement

The Institute for Applied Autonomy is an activist group which focuses on dissemination of knowledge, autonomy

Autonomy

Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it is the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...

, and methods of self-determination

Self-determination

Self-determination is the principle in international law that nations have the right to freely choose their sovereignty and international political status with no external compulsion or external interference...

 through artistic expression and application of military-like technology to the topics of Criminal Mischief, decentralized systems and individual autonomy. It was founded in 1998 as an informal research collective around the central theme of contestational robotics. The group of anonymous artists is known for employing technology in protest. Among its better known initiatives is i-See, a decentralized CCTV map distribution software containing user-generated data including positioning of surveillance cameras in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, as well as several other international city centers, in protest of privacy violations on the general public, and TXTMob

TXTMob

TXTmob is a service, similar to electronic mailing lists, that lets you share mobile phone SMS text messages with both friends and total strangers...

, a registration system for cell phones to allow protest groups rapid, anonymous communication.
In February 2008, the New York City Law Department issued a subpoena to the programmer of TXTMob asking him to reveal users of the service and contents of messages sent during the 2004 Republican National Convention

2004 Republican National Convention protest activity

2004 Republican National Convention protest activity includes the broad range of marches, rallies, performances, demonstrations, exhibits, and acts of civil disobedience in New York City to protest the 2004 Republican National Convention and the nomination of President George W. Bush for the 2004 U.S...

.

Other IAA project are the Graffiti writer, and Terminal air.

All IAA artwork has been copylefted

Copyleft

Copyleft is a play on the word copyright to describe the practice of using copyright law to offer the right to distribute copies and modified versions of a work and requiring that the same rights be preserved in modified versions of the work...

, with permission for use as long as it is attributed.