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Security research is vital to protecting the computers upon which we all depend, and protecting the people who have integrated electronic devices into their daily lives. To conduct security research, we need to protect the researchers, and allow them the tools to find and fix vulnerabilities. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s anti-circumvention provisions, Section 1201, can cast a shadow over security research, and unfortunately the progress we’ve made through the DMCA rule-making process has not been sufficient to remove this shadow.
DMCA reform has long been part of EFF’s agenda, to protect security researchers and others from its often troublesome consequences. We’ve sued to overturn the onerous provisions of Section 1201 that violate the First Amendment, we’ve advocated for exemptions in every triennial rule-making process, and the Coders Rights Project helps advise security researchers about the legal risks they face in conducting and disclosing research.
Today, we are honored to stand with a group of security companies and organizations that are showing their public support for good faith cybersecurity research, standing up against use of Section 1201 of the DMCA to suppress the software and tools necessary for that research. In the statement below, the signers have united to urge policymakers and legislators to reform Section 1201 to allow security research tools to be provided and used for good faith security research, and to urge companies and prosecutors to refrain from using Section 1201 to unnecessarily target tools used for security research.
The statement in full:
We the undersigned write to caution against use of Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to suppress software and tools used for good faith cybersecurity research. Security and encryption researchers help build a safer future for all of us by identifying vulnerabilities in digital technologies and raising awareness so those vulnerabilities can be mitigated. Indeed, some of the most critical cybersecurity flaws of the last decade
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