by Paul Jay, CBC News Online

We're late to getting to this, but digital rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation announced a couple of weeks back the winners of this year's Pioneer Awards and we'd be remiss if we didn't mention they will be honouring Canadian Cory Doctorow.

The Toronto-born digital rights activist and co-editor of popular geek blog Boing Boing also worked for EFF until December 2005 as its European Affairs Coordinator. He will receive the honour next week along with Yale law professor Yochai Benkler - author of The Wealth of Networks - and security technologist Bruce Schneier.

As EFF executive director Shari Steele said in a statement:

"This year's award winners have all provided important analysis and criticism of our digital world, educating the public on how electronic systems really work and what it means to us and our future..."

"...I'm thrilled to honour Yochai, Cory, and Bruce. They are truly pioneers of the electronic frontier."

The ceremony on March 27 in San Deigo will also feature a debate on copyright, YouTube and Web 2.0 between outspoken HDNet Chairman and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and the EFF's Fred von Lohmann.

Oh, and in a shameless plug for our own website, you can read Doctorow's criticism of digital rights management software in our story on digital rights and Windows Vista.