< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Welcome to your U.S. presidential election year, when all kinds of bad actors will flood the internet with election-related disinformation and misinformation aimed at swaying or suppressing…
Tag: Deeplinks
Congress Should Give Up on Unconstitutional TikTok Bans
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Congress’ unfounded plan to ban TikTok under the guise of protecting our data is back, this time in the form of a new bill—the “Protecting Americans from…
Congress Must Stop Pushing Bills That Will Benefit Patent Trolls
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> The U.S. Senate is moving forward with two bills that would enrich patent trolls, patent system insiders, and a few large companies that rely on flimsy patents,…
Reject Nevada’s Attack on Encrypted Messaging, EFF Tells Court
Nevada Makes Backward Argument That Insecure Communication Makes Children Safer < div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> LAS VEGAS — The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and a coalition of partners urged a federal court…
Access to Internet Infrastructure is Essential, in Wartime and Peacetime
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> We’ve been saying it for 20 years, and it remains true now more than ever: the internet is an essential service. It enables people to build and…
Podcast Episode: ‘I Squared’ Governance
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Imagine a world in which the internet is first and foremost about empowering people, not big corporations and government. In that world, government does “after-action” analyses to…
EFF to Ninth Circuit: There’s No Software Exception to Traditional Copyright Limits
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Copyright’s reach is already far too broad, and courts have no business expanding it any further, particularly where that reframing will undermine adversarial interoperability. Unfortunately, a federal…
EFF’s Submission to Ofcom’s Consultation on Illegal Harms
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> More than four years after it was first introduced, the Online Safety Act (OSA) was passed by the U.K. Parliament in September 2023. The Act seeks to…
The Foilies 2024
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Recognizing the worst in government transparency. The Foilies are co-written by EFF and MuckRock and published in alternative newspapers around the country through a partnership with the…
Four Reasons to Protect the Internet this International Women’s Day
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> Today is International Women’s Day, a day celebrating the achievements of women globally but also a day marking a call to action for accelerating equality and improving the lives of women…
Four Infosec Tools for Resistance this International Women’s Day
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> While online violence is alarmingly common globally, women are often more likely to be the target of mass online attacks, nonconsensual leaks of sensitive information and content,…
Four Actions You Can Take To Protect Digital Rights this International Women’s Day
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> This International Women’s Day, defend free speech, fight surveillance, and support innovation by calling on our elected politicians and private companies to uphold our most fundamental rights—both online and offline. 1. Pass…
Four Voices You Should Hear this International Women’s Day
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> Around the globe, freedom of expression varies wildly in definition, scope, and level of access. The impact of the digital age on perceptions and censorship of speech has been felt across…
The Atlas of Surveillance Removes Ring, Adds Third-Party Investigative Platforms
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> Running the Atlas of Surveillance, our project to map and inventory police surveillance across the United States, means experiencing emotional extremes. Whenever we announce that we’ve added new data points to…
Victory! EFF Helps Resist Unlawful Warrant and Gag Order Issued to Independent News Outlet
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Over the past month, the independent news outlet Indybay has quietly fought off an unlawful search warrant and gag order served by the San Francisco Police Department.…
Should Caddy and Traefik Replace Certbot?
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Can free and open source software projects like Caddy and Traefik eventually replace EFF’s Certbot? Although Certbot continues to be developed, we think tools like these help…
Privacy First and Competition
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> “Privacy First” is a simple, powerful idea: seeing as so many of today’s technological problems are also privacy problems, why don’t we fix privacy first? Whether you’re…
European Court of Human Rights Confirms: Weakening Encryption Violates Fundamental Rights
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> In a milestone judgment – Podchasov v. Russia – the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled that weakening of encryption can lead to general and indiscriminate…
Voting No on Prop E Is Easy and Important for San Francisco
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> San Francisco’s ballot initiative Proposition E is a dangerous and deceptive measure that threatens our privacy, safety, and democratic ideals. It would give the police more power…
Privacy Isn’t Dead. Far From It. | EFFector 36.3
As we continue the journey of fighting for digital freedoms, it can be hard to keep up on the latest happenings. Thankfully, EFF has a guide to keep you in the loop! EFFector 36.3 is out now and covers the…
Celebrating 15 Years of Surveillance Self-Defense
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> On March 3rd, 2009, we launched Surveillance Self-Defense (SSD). At the time, we pitched it as, “an online how-to guide for protecting your private data against government…
A Virtual Reality Tour of Surveillance Tech at the Border: A Conversation with Dave Maass of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> This interview is crossposted from The Markup, a nonprofit news organization that investigates technology and its impact on society. By: Monique O. Madan, Investigative Reporter at The Markup After reading my…
Ghana’s President Must Refuse to Sign the Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> After three years of political discussions, MPs in Ghana’s Parliament voted to pass the country’s draconian Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill…
We Flew a Plane Over San Francisco to Fight Proposition E. Here’s Why.
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Proposition E, which San Franciscans will be asked to vote on in the March 5 election, is so dangerous that last weekend we chartered a plane to…
Sen. Wyden Exposes Data Brokers Selling Location Data to Anti-Abortion Groups That Target Abortion Seekers
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> This post was written by Jack Beck, an EFF legal intern In a recent letter to the FTC and SEC, Sen. Ron Wyden (OR) details new information…
EFF to D.C. Circuit: The U.S. Government’s Forced Disclosure of Visa Applicants’ Social Media Identifiers Harms Free Speech and Privacy
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Special thanks to legal intern Alissa Johnson, who was the lead author of this post. EFF recently filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals…
Podcast Episode: Open Source Beats Authoritarianism
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> What if we thought about democracy as a kind of open-source social technology, in which everyone can see the how and why of policy making, and everyone’s concerns and preferences are…
EFF Statement on Nevada’s Attack on End-to-End Encryption
EFF learned last week that the state of Nevada is seeking an emergency order prohibiting Meta from rolling out end-to-end encryption in Facebook Messenger for all users in the state under the age of 18. The motion for a temporary…
EFF Urges Ninth Circuit to Reinstate X’s Legal Challenge to Unconstitutional California Content Moderation Law
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) urged a federal appeals court to reinstate X’s lawsuit challenging a California law that forces social media companies to file reports to…
EFF Opposes California Initiative That Would Cause Mass Censorship
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> In recent years, lots of proposed laws purport to reduce “harmful” content on the internet, especially for kids. Some have good intentions. But the fact is, we…
As India Prepares for Elections, Government Silences Critics on X with Executive Order
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> It is troubling to see that the Indian government has issued new demands to X (formerly Twitter) to remove accounts and posts critical of the government and…
Is the Justice Department Even Following Its Own Policy in Cybercrime Prosecution of a Journalist?
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> Following an FBI raid of his home last year, the freelance journalist Tim Burke has been arrested and indicted in connection with an investigation into leaks of unaired footage from Fox…
NSA Spying Shirts Are Back Just In Time to Tell Congress to Reform Section 702
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> We’ve been challenging the National Security Agency’s mass surveillance of ordinary people since we first became aware of it nearly twenty years ago. Since then, tens of…
Unregulated, Exploitative, and on the Rise: Vera Institute’s Report on Electronic Monitoring
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Incarceration rates in the United States have long been among the highest in the world, and in response to the systemic flaws and biases unveiled by the…
Defending Access to the Decentralized Web
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Decentralized web technologies have the potential to make the internet more robust and efficient, supporting a new wave of innovation. However, the fundamental technologies and services that…
Don’t Fall for the Latest Changes to the Dangerous Kids Online Safety Act
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> The authors of the dangerous Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) unveiled an amended version this week, but it’s still an unconstitutional censorship bill that continues to empower…
EFF to Court: Strike Down Age Estimation in California But Not Consumer Privacy
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) called on the Ninth Circuit to rule that California’s Age Appropriate Design Code (AADC) violates the First Amendment, while not casting doubt…
Hip Hip Hooray For Hipster Antitrust
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Don’t believe the hype. The undeniable fact is that the FTC has racked up a long list of victories over corporate abuses, like busting a nationwide, decades-long…
Privacy Isn’t Dead. Far From It.
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Welcome! The fact that you’re reading this means that you probably care deeply about the issue of privacy, which warms our hearts. Unfortunately, even though you care…
Voting Against the Surveillance State | EFFector 36.2
EFF is here to keep you up-to-date with the latest news about your digital rights! EFFector 36.2 is out now and covers a ton of the latest news, including: a victory, as Amazon’s Ring will no longer facilitate warrantless footage…
EFF Helps News Organizations Push Back Against Legal Bullying from Cyber Mercenary Group
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Cyber mercenaries present a grave threat to human rights and freedom of expression. They have been implicated in surveillance, torture, and even murder of human rights defenders,…
Draft UN Cybercrime Treaty Could Make Security Research a Crime, Leading 124 Experts to Call on UN Delegates to Fix Flawed Provisions that Weaken Everyone’s Security
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> Security researchers’ work discovering and reporting vulnerabilities in software, firmware, networks, and devices protects people, businesses and governments around the world from malware, theft of critical data, and other cyberattacks. The…
Protect Good Faith Security Research Globally in Proposed UN Cybercrime Treaty
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> < div class=”page” title=”Page 1″> < div class=”layoutArea”> < div class=”column”> Statement to be submitted by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, accredited under operative paragraph No. 9 of…
What is Proposition E and Why Should San Francisco Voters Oppose It?
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> If you live in San Francisco, there is an election on March 5, 2024 during which voters will decide a number of specific local ballot measures—including Proposition…
San Francisco Police’s Live Surveillance Yields Almost 200 Hours of Spying–Including of Music Festivals
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> A new report reveals that in just three months, from July 1 to September 30, 2023, the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) racked up 193 hours and 19 minutes of live…
Worried About AI Voice Clone Scams? Create a Family Password
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Your grandfather receives a call late at night from a person pretending to be you. The caller says that you are in jail or have been kidnapped…
What Apple’s Promise to Support RCS Means for Text Messaging
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> You may have heard recently that Apple is planning to implement Rich Communication Services (RCS) on iPhones, once again igniting the green versus blue bubble debate. RCS…
Dozens of Rogue California Police Agencies Still Sharing Driver Locations with Anti-Abortion States
Civil Liberties Groups Urge Attorney General Bonta to Enforce California's Automated License Plate Reader Laws < div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> SAN FRANCISCO—California Attorney General Rob Bonta should crack down on police agencies…
EFF and Access Now’s Submission to U.N. Expert on Anti-LGBTQ+ Repression
As part of the United Nations (U.N.) Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity (IE SOGI) report to the U.N. Human Rights Council, EFF and Access Now have submitted information addressing digital…
In Final Talks on Proposed UN Cybercrime Treaty, EFF Calls on Delegates to Incorporate Protections Against Spying and Restrict Overcriminalization or Reject Convention
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> UN Member States are meeting in New York this week to conclude negotiations over the final text of the UN Cybercrime Treaty, which—despite warnings from hundreds of…
In Final Talks on Proposed UN Cybercrime Treaty, EFF Calls on Delegates to Incorporate Protections Against Spying and Overcriminalization or Reject Convention
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> UN Member States are meeting in New York this week to conclude negotiations over the final text of the UN Cybercrime Treaty, which—despite warnings from hundreds of…
More Than a Decade Later, Site-Blocking Is Still Censorship
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> We’re taking part in Copyright Week, a series of actions and discussions supporting key principles that should guide copyright policy. Every day this week, various groups are…
Save your Twitter Account
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> We’re taking part in Copyright Week, a series of actions and discussions supporting key principles that should guide copyright policy. Every day this week, various groups are taking on different elements…
Tell the FTC: It’s Time to Act on the Right to Repair
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> Do you care about being able to fix and modify your stuff? Then it’s time to speak up and tell the Federal Trade Commission that you care about your right to…
San Francisco: Vote No on Proposition E to Stop Police from Testing Dangerous Surveillance Technology on You
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> San Francisco voters will confront a looming threat to their privacy and civil liberties on the March 5, 2024 ballot. If Proposition E passes, we can expect…
What Home Videotaping Can Tell Us About Generative AI
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> We’re taking part in Copyright Week, a series of actions and discussions supporting key principles that should guide copyright policy. Every day this week, various groups are…
Victory! Ring Announces It Will No Longer Facilitate Police Requests for Footage from Users
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> Amazon’s Ring has announced that it will no longer facilitate police’s warrantless requests for footage from Ring users. This is a victory in a long fight, not just against blanket police…
Fragging: The Subscription Model Comes for Gamers
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> We’re taking part in Copyright Week, a series of actions and discussions supporting key principles that should guide copyright policy. Every day this week, various groups are…
FTC Bars X-Mode from Selling Sensitive Location Data
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Update, January 23, 2024: Another week, another win! The FTC announced a successful enforcement action against another location data broker, InMarket. Phone app location data brokers are…
EFF and More Than 100+ NGOS Set Non-Negotiable Redlines Ahead of UN Cybercrime Treaty Negotiations
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> EFF has joined forces with 110 NGOs today in a joint statement delivered to the United Nations Ad Hoc Committee, clearly outlining civil society non-negotiable redlines for the proposed UN Cybercrime Treaty,…
The Public Domain Benefits Everyone – But Sometimes Copyright Holders Won’t Let Go
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Every January, we celebrate the addition of formerly copyrighted works to the public domain. You’ve likely heard that this year’s crop of public domain newcomers includes Steamboat…
The PRESS Act Will Protect Journalists When They Need It Most
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Our government shouldn’t be spying on journalists. Nor should law enforcement agencies force journalists to identify their confidential sources or go to prison. To fix this, we need…
It’s Copyright Week 2024: Join Us in the Fight for Better Copyright Law and Policy
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> We’re taking part in Copyright Week, a series of actions and discussions supporting key principles that should guide copyright policy. Every day this week, various groups are…
Tools to Protect Your Privacy Online | EFFector 36.1
New year, but EFF is still here to keep you up to date with the latest digital rights happenings! Be sure to check out our latest newsletter, EFFector 36.1, which covers topics ranging from: our thoughts on AI watermarking, changes…
The No AI Fraud Act Creates Way More Problems Than It Solves
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Creators have reason to be wary of the generative AI future. For one thing, while GenAI can be a valuable tool for creativity, it may also be used to…
Companies Make it Too Easy for Thieves to Impersonate Police and Steal Our Data
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> For years, people have been impersonating police online in order to get companies to hand over incredibly sensitive personal information. Reporting by 404 Media recently revealed that…
EFF’s 2024 In/Out List
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Since EFF was formed in 1990, we’ve been working hard to protect digital rights for all. And as each year passes, we’ve come to understand the challenges…
FTC Bars X-Mode from Selling Sensitive Location Data
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Phone app location data brokers are a growing menace to our privacy and safety. All you did was click a box while downloading an app. Now the…
EFF Unveils Its New Street Level Surveillance Hub
The Updated and Expanded Hub Sheds New Light on the Digital Surveillance Dragnet that Law Enforcement Deploys Against Everyone < div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> SAN FRANCISCO—The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today unveiled…
Privacy Badger Puts You in Control of Widgets
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> The latest version of Privacy Badger 1 replaces embedded tweets with click-to-activate placeholders. This is part of Privacy Badger’s widget replacement feature, where certain potentially useful widgets are blocked…
UAE Confirms Trial Against 84 Detainees; Ahmed Mansoor Suspected Among Them
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> The UAE confirmed this week that it has placed 84 detainees on trial, on charges of “establishing another secret organization for the purpose of committing acts of…
Craig Newmark Philanthropies – Celebrating 30 Years of Support for Digital Rights
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> EFF has been awarded a new $200,000 grant from Craig Newmark Philanthropies to strengthen our cybersecurity work in 2024. We are especially grateful this year, as it…
AI Watermarking Won’t Curb Disinformation
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Generative AI allows people to produce piles upon piles of images and words very quickly. It would be nice if there were some way to reliably distinguish…
EFF Urges Pennsylvania Supreme Court to Find Keyword Search Warrant Unconstitutional
These Dragnet Searches Violate the Privacy of Millions of Americans < div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> SAN FRANCISCO—Keyword warrants that let police indiscriminately sift through search engine databases are unconstitutional dragnets that target…
EFF Asks Court to Uphold Federal Law That Protects Online Video Viewers’ Privacy and Free Expression
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> As millions of internet users watch videos online for news and entertainment, it is essential to uphold a federal privacy law that protects against the disclosure of everyone’s viewing history, EFF…
Victory! Police Drone Footage is Not Categorically Exempt From California’s Public Records Law
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Video footage captured by police drones sent in response to 911 calls cannot be kept entirely secret from the public, a California appellate court ruled last week.…
Year In Review: Google’s Corporate Paternalism in The Browser
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> It’s a big year for the oozing creep of corporate paternalism and ad-tracking technology online. Google and its subsidiary companies have tightened their grips on the throat…
Digital Rights for LGBTQ+ People: 2023 Year in Review
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> An increase in anti-LGBTQ+ intolerance is impacting individuals and communities both online and offline across the globe. Throughout 2023, several countries sought to pass explicitly anti-LGBTQ+ initiatives…
Taking Back the Web with Decentralization: 2023 in Review
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> When a system becomes too tightly-controlled and centralized, the people being squeezed tend to push back to reclaim their lost autonomy. The internet is no exception. While…
How To Fight Bad Patents: 2023 Year In Review
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> At EFF, we believe that all the rights we have in the offline world–to speak freely, create culture, play games, build things and do business–must hold up…
States Attack Young People’s Constitutional Right to Use Social Media: 2023 Year in Review
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Legislatures in more than half of the country targeted young people’s use of social media this year, with many of the proposals blocking adults’ ability to access…
Fighting European Threats to Encryption: 2023 Year in Review
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> Private communication is a fundamental human right. In the online world, the best tool we have to defend this right is end-to-end encryption. Yet throughout 2023, politicians across Europe attempted to…
In the Trenches of Broadband Policy: 2023 Year In Review
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> EFF has long advocated for affordable, accessible, future-proof internet access for all. Nearly 80% of Americans already consider internet access to be as essential as water and…
Fighting For Your Digital Rights Across the Country: Year in Review 2023
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> EFF works every year to improve policy in ways that protect your digital rights in states across the country. Thanks to the messages of hundreds of EFF members across the country,…
First, Let’s Talk About Consumer Privacy: 2023 Year in Review
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Whatever online harms you want to alleviate on the internet today, you can do it better—with a broader impact—if you enact strong consumer data privacy legislation first.…
The Atlas of Surveillance Hits Major Milestones: 2023 in Review
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> “The EFF are relentless.” That’s what a New York Police Department lieutenant wrote on LinkedIn after someone sent him a link to the Atlas of Surveillance, EFF’s…
Kids Online Safety Shouldn’t Require Massive Online Censorship and Surveillance: Year in Review 2023
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> There’s been plenty of bad news regarding federal legislation in 2023. For starters, Congress has failed to pass meaningful comprehensive data privacy reforms. Instead, legislators have spent…
Protecting Students from Faulty Software and Legislation: 2023 Year in Review
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Lawmakers, schools districts, educational technology companies and others keep rolling out legislation and software that threatens students’ privacy, free speech, and access to social media, in the name of…
Equitable Access to the Law Got Stronger: 2023 Year in Review
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> It seems like a no-brainer that everyone should be able to read, copy, and share the laws we all must follow, but few things are simple in…
International Threats to Freedom of Expression: 2023 Year in Review
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> 2023 has been an unfortunate reminder that the right to free expression is most fragile for groups on the margins, and that it can quickly become a casualty during global conflicts.…
Just a Little Does a Whole Lot
You might’ve heard that most of EFF’s funding comes from regular people’s modest donations—we’re proud of that. But did you know that EFF members who donate $10 or less each month raised over $400,000 for digital rights this year? That…
2023 Year in Review: The U.S. Supreme Court’s Busy Year of Free Speech and Tech Cases
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> The U.S. Supreme Court has taken an unusually active interest in internet free speech issues. EFF participated as amicus in a whopping nine cases before the court…
EFF Membership: 2023 Year In Review
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> Throughout the many years that EFF has been around, our goal has remained consistent: creating a future where you have your rights when you go online, and one where they are…
Surveillance Self-Defense: 2023 Year in Review
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> It’s been a big year for Surveillance Self-Defense (SSD), our repository of self-help resources for helping better protect you and your friends from online spying. We’ve done a…
Recent Surveillance Revelations, Enduring Latin American Issues: 2023 Year in Review
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> The challenges in ensuring strong privacy safeguards, proper oversight of surveillance powers, and effective remedy for those arbitrarily affected continued during 2023 in Latin America. Let’s take…
The Last Mile of Encrypting the Web: 2023 Year in Review
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> At the start of 2023, we sunsetted the HTTPS Everywhere web extension. It encrypted browser communications with websites and made sure users benefited from the protection of…
Corporate Spy Tech and Inequality: 2023 Year in Review
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> Our personal data and the ways private companies harvest and monetize it plays an increasingly powerful role in modern life. Throughout 2023, corporations have continued to collect our personal data, sell…
Protecting Encryption And Privacy In The US: 2023 Year in Review
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> EFF believes you have the right to have a private conversation–in the physical world, and in the digital world. The best technology to protect that right is…
Sketchy and Dangerous Android Children’s Tablets and TV Set-Top Boxes: 2023 in Review
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> You may want to save your receipts if you gifted any low-end Android TV set-top boxes or children’s tablets to a friend or loved one this holiday…
Electronic Frontier Alliance Comes Back Strong: 2023 in Review
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> The Electronic Frontier Alliance (EFA) is a loose network of local groups fighting for digital rights in the United States, chaired by EFF. Members’ efforts have been…