< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Machine learning, artificial intelligence, algorithmic decision making–regardless of what you call it, and there is hot debate over that, this technology has been touted as a supposed…
Tag: Deeplinks
EFF Continues Fight Against Unconstitutional Geofence and Keyword Search Warrants: 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 continues to fight back against high-tech general warrants that compel companies to search broad swaths of users’ personal data. In 2023, we saw victory and setbacks…
Stupid Patent of the Month: Selfie Contests
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Patents are supposed to be an incentive to invent. Too often, they end up being a way to try to claim “ownership” of what should be basic…
EFF Has a Guiding Star 🌠
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> Do you ever look at something once and then get targeted ads? Have you ever been exposed in some company’s data breach? Have you ever heard a lawmaker push restrictions on…
EFF Urges Supreme Court to Set Standard for How Government Can and Can’t Talk to Social Media Sites About Censoring Users’ Posts
First Amendment Bars Coercive Censorship Demands But Some Communications Are Permissible < div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> WASHINGTON, DC—The Supreme Court should clarify standards for determining if the government permissibly advised or convinced…
EFF Has a Guiding Star 🌠
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> Do you ever look at something once and then get targeted ads? Have you ever been exposed in some company’s data breach? Have you ever heard a lawmaker push restrictions on…
The Great Interoperability Convergence: 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 easy to feel hopeless about the collapse of the tech sector into a group 0f monopolistic silos that harvest and exploit our data, hold our communities…
EFF Has a Guiding Star 🌠
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> Do you ever look at something once and then get targeted ads? Have you ever been exposed in some company’s data breach? Have you ever heard a lawmaker push restrictions on…
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 end of every year, we look back at the last 12 months and evaluate what has changed for the better (and worse) for digital rights. …
FTC’s Rite Aid Ruling Rightly Renews Scrutiny of Face Recognition
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday announced action against the pharmacy chain Rite Aid for its use of face recognition technology in hundreds of stores. The regulator…
Victory: Utah Supreme Court Upholds Right to Refuse to Tell Cops Your Passcode
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Last week, the Utah Supreme Court ruled that prosecutors violated a defendant’s Fifth Amendment privilege against self incrimination when they presented testimony about his refusal to give…
Does Less Consumer Tracking Lead to Less Fraud?
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Here’s another reason to block digital surveillance: it might reduce financial fraud. That’s the upshot of a small but promising study published as a National Bureau of…
Digital Rights Updates with EFFector 35.16
Have no fear, it’s the final EFFector of the year! Be the digital freedom expert for your family and friends during the holidays by catching up on the latest online rights issues with EFFector 35.16. This issue of our newsletter…
EFF Joins Forces with 20+ Organizations in the Coalition #MigrarSinVigilancia
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Today, EFF joins more than 25 civil society organizations to launch the Coalition #MigrarSinVigilancia (“To Migrate Without Surveillance”). The Latin American coalition’s aim is to oppose arbitrary…
The Surveillance Showdown That Fizzled
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Like the weather rapidly getting colder outside, the fight over renewing, reforming, or sunsetting the mass surveillance power of Section 702 has been put on ice until…
Internet Archive Files Appeal Brief Defending Libraries and Digital Lending From Big Publishers’ Legal Attack
The Archive’s Controlled Digital Lending Program is a Lawful Fair Use that Preserves Traditional Library Lending in the Digital World < 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—A cartel of major publishing companies…
Is This the End of Geofence Warrants?
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Google announced this week that it will be making several important changes to the way it handles users’ “Location History” data. These changes would appear to make…
Speaking Freely: Dr. Carolina Are
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Dr. Carolina Are is an Innovation Fellow at Northumbria University Centre for Digital Citizens. Her research primarily focuses on the intersection between online abuse and censorship. Her…
Without Interoperability, Apple Customers Will Never Be Secure
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> Every internet user should have the ability to privately communicate with the people that matter to them, in a secure fashion, using the tools and protocols of their choosing. Apple’s iMessage…
No Robots(.txt): How to Ask ChatGPT and Google Bard to Not Use Your Website for Training
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Both OpenAI and Google have released guidance for website owners who do not want the two companies using the content of their sites to train the company’s…
The House Intelligence Committee’s Surveillance ‘Reform’ Bill is a Farce
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Earlier this week, both the House Committee on the Judiciary (HJC) and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) marked up two very different bills (H.R.…
In Landmark Battle Over Free Speech, EFF Urges Supreme Court to Strike Down Texas and Florida Laws that Let States Dictate What Speech Social Media Sites Must Publish
Laws Violate First Amendment Protections that Help Create Diverse Forums for Users’ Free Expression < div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> WASHINGTON D.C.—The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and five organizations defending free speech urged…
Think Twice Before Giving Surveillance for the Holidays
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> With the holidays upon us, it’s easy to default to giving the tech gifts that retailers tend to push on us this time of year: smart speakers,…
EFF Reminds the Supreme Court That Copyright Trolls Are Still a Problem
< 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 spend a lot of time calling out the harm caused by copyright trolls and protecting internet users from their abuses. Copyright trolls are serial…
Meta Announces End-to-End Encryption by Default in Messenger
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Yesterday Meta announced that they have begun rolling out default end-to-end encryption for one-to-one messages and voice calls on Messenger and Facebook. While there remain some privacy concerns…
Speaking Freely: Alison Macrina
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Cohn: Alright, we’re doing a Speaking Freely Interview with Alison- Alison why don’t you say your name? Alison Macrina, like Ballerina Cohn: From the Library Freedom Project-…
The Combined Federal Campaign Pledge Period is Closing Soon!
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) closes on January 15, 2024! U.S. federal employees and retirees can make a pledge to help support EFF’s lawyers, activists, and technologists…
Digital Rights Groups Urge Meta to Stop Silencing Palestine
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Legal intern Muhammad Essa Fasih contributed to this post. In the wake of the October 7 attack on Israel and the ensuing backlash on Palestine, Meta has…
Our “How to Fix the Internet” Podcast is an Anthem Awards Finalist— Help Make It a Winner!
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> EFF’s “How to Fix the Internet” podcast is a finalist in the Anthem Awards Community Voice competition, and we need YOUR help to put it over the…
How to Secure Your Kid’s Android Device
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> After finding risky software on an Android (Google’s mobile operating system) device marketed for kids, we wanted to put together some tips to help better secure your…
Tor University Challenge: First Semester Report Card
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> In August of 2023 EFF announced the Tor University Challenge, a campaign to get more universities around the world to operate Tor relays. The primary goal of…
Victory! Montana’s Unprecedented TikTok Ban is Unconstitutional
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> A federal court on Thursday blocked Montana’s effort to ban TikTok from the state, ruling that the law violated users’ First Amendment rights to speak and to…
U.S. Senator: What Do Our Cars Know? And Who Do They Share that Information With?
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> U.S. Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts has sent a much-needed letter to car manufacturers asking them to clarify a surprisingly hard question to answer: what data cars collect? Who has the…
Latest Draft of UN Cybercrime Treaty Is A Big Step Backward
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> A new draft of the controversial United Nations cybercrime treaty has only heightened concerns that the treaty will criminalize expression and dissent, create extensive surveillance powers, and…
The Intelligence Committees’ Proposals for a 702 Reauthorization Bill are Beyond Bad
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Both congressional intelligence committees have now released proposals for reauthorizing the government’s Section 702 spying powers, largely as-is, and in the face of repeated abuse. The House…
The Government Shouldn’t Prosecute People With Unreliable “Black Box” Technology
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> On Tuesday, EFF urged the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, the highest court in that state, to affirm that a witness who has no knowledge of the proprietary…
Speaking Freely: Ron Deibert
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Ron Deibert is a Canadian professor of political science, a philosopher, an author, and the founder of the renowned Citizen Lab, situated in the Munk School of…
Let Them Know It’s Time to Power Up
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> Power Up Your Donation Week is here! Right now, your contribution will have double the impact on digital privacy, security, and free speech rights for everyone. Power Up! Donate to EFF…
How We Fundraise
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Hello from the fundraising team at EFF! If you are reading this, you are probably already a donor to EFF (thank you!) or are considering supporting us…
Digital Rights Updates with EFFector 35.15
With the holiday season upon us, it can be difficult to keep track of the latest digital rights news. Lucky for you, EFF’s EFFector newsletter has you covered with the latest happenings, from a breakdown of our latest Privacy Badger…
Alaa Abd El-Fattah: Letter to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
< 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 signed on to the following letter alongside 33 other organizations in support of a submission to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD),…
The Eyes on the Board Act Is Yet Another Misguided Attempt to Limit Social Media for Teens
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Young people’s access to social media continues to be under attack by overreaching politicians. The latest effort, Senator Ted Cruz’s blunt “Eyes on the Board” Act, aims…
Protecting Kids on Social Media Act: Amended and Still Problematic
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Senators who believe that children and teens must be shielded from social media have updated the problematic Protecting Kids on Social Media Act, though it remains an…
On His 42nd Birthday, Alaa Abd El Fattah’s Family Files UN Petition for His Release
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Today is the birthday of Alaa Abd El Fattah, a prominent Egyptian-British coder, blogger, activist, and one of the most high-profile political prisoners in the entire Arab world.…
EFF to Supreme Court: Fifth Amendment Protects People from Being Forced to Enter or Hand Over Cell Phone Passcodes to the Police
Lower Court Ruling Undermining Protections Against Self Incrimination Should Be Reversed < div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today asked the Supreme Court to overturn a ruling undermining…
To Best Serve Students, Schools Shouldn’t Try to Block Generative AI, or Use Faulty AI Detection Tools
< 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 gained widespread attention earlier this year, but one group has had to reckon with it more quickly than most: educators. Teachers and school administrators have…
Speaking Freely: Agustina Del Campo
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Agustina Del Campo is the Director at the Center for Studies on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information (CELE) at the University of Palermo in Buenos…
Low Budget Should Not Mean High Risk: Kids’ Tablet Came Preloaded with Sketchyware
< 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 easy to get Android devices from online vendors like Amazon at different price points. Unfortunately, it is also easy to end up with an Android device…
EFF Urges FTC to Address American Resellers of Malware on Android TV Set-Top Boxes
Regulators must step in to halt the sale to consumers of devices that are known to be compromised by malware. < 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 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) must…
To Address Online Harms, We Must Consider Privacy First
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> Every year, we encounter new, often ill-conceived, bills written by state, federal, and international regulators to tackle a broad set of digital topics ranging from child safety to artificial intelligence. These…
Reauthorizing Mass Surveillance Shouldn’t be Tied to Funding the Government
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Section 702 is the controversial and much-abused mass surveillance authority that expires in December unless Congress renews it. EFF and others have been working hard to get…
S.T.O.P.: Putting a Check on Unchecked Local N.Y. Government Surveillance
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> Recently I got the chance to speak with longtime Electronic Frontier Alliance member Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.). They’ve got a new Advocacy Manager, Kat Phan, and exciting projects are coming…
Debunking the Myth of “Anonymous” Data
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Today, almost everything about our lives is digitally recorded and stored somewhere. Each credit card purchase, personal medical diagnosis, and preference about music and books is recorded…
It’s Time to Oppose the New San Francisco Policing Ballot Measure
< 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 Mayor London Breed has filed a ballot initiative on surveillance and policing that, if approved, would greatly erode our privacy rights, endanger marginalized communities, and…
Platforms Must Stop Unjustified Takedowns of Posts By and About Palestinians
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> Legal intern Muhammad Essa Fasih contributed to this post. Social media is a crucial means of communication in times of conflict—it’s where communities connect to share updates, find help, locate loved…
Speaking Freely: David Kaye
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> David Kaye is a clinical professor of law at the University of California, Irvine, the co-director of the university’s Fair Elections and Free Speech Center, and the…
This Month, The EU Parliament Can Take Action To Stop The Attack On Encryption
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> A key European parliamentary committee has taken an important step to defend user privacy, including end-to-end encryption. The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE)…
Introducing Badger Swarm: New Project Helps Privacy Badger Block Ever More Trackers
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> < p class=”subhead”>Today we are introducing Badger Swarm, a new tool for Privacy Badger that runs distributed Badger Sett scans in the cloud. Badger Swarm helps us…
Observation Mission Stresses Key Elements of Ola Bini’s Case for Upholding 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”> Despite an Ecuadorian court’s unanimous acquittal of security expert Ola Bini in January this year due to complete lack of evidence, Ecuador’s attorney general’s office has moved…
Article 45 Will Roll Back Web Security by 12 Years
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> The EU is poised to pass a sweeping new regulation, eIDAS 2.0. Buried deep in the text is Article 45, which returns us to the dark ages…
The Government Surveillance Reform Act Would Rein in Some of the Worst Abuses of 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”> With Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) set to expire at the end of the year, Congress is considering whether to reauthorize the law…
EFF to Ninth Circuit: Activists’ Personal Information Unconstitutionally Collected by DHS Must Be Expunged
EFF filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in a case that has serious implications for people’s First Amendment rights to engage in cross-border journalism and advocacy. In 2019, the local San Diego…
Digital Rights Updates with EFFector 35.14
There’s been lots of news and updates recently in the realm of digital rights, from EFF’s recent investigation (and quiz!) into the student monitoring tool GoGuardian, to a recent victory in California regarding law enforcement’s sharing of ALPR data outside…
Congress Shouldn’t Limit The Public’s Right To Fight Bad Patents
The U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Intellectual Property will debate a bill this week that would dramatically limit the public’s right to challenge bad granted patents. The PREVAIL Act, S. 2220 would bar most people from petitioning the U.S. Patent and…
EFF to Supreme Court: Reverse Dangerous Prior Restraint Ruling Upholding FBI Gag on X’s Surveillance Transparency Report
Ninth Circuit Ruling Gives Government Unilateral Power to Suppress Speech WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) urged the Supreme Court today to review and reverse a dangerous ruling allowing the Justice Department to censor X’s ability to publish information about…
EFF to Copyright Office: Copyright Is Indeed a Hammer, But Don’t Be Too Hasty to Nail Generative AI
Generative AI has sparked a great deal of hype, fear, and speculation. Courts are just beginning to analyze how traditional copyright laws apply to the creation and use of these technologies. Into this breach has stepped the United States Copyright…
VICTORY! California Department of Justice Declares Out-of-State Sharing of License Plate Data Unlawful
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has issued a legal interpretation and guidance for law enforcement agencies around the state that confirms what privacy advocates have been saying for years: It is against the law for police to share data collected…
You Wanna Break Up With Your Bank? The CFPB Wants to Help You Do It.
The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau has proposed a new “Personal Financial Data Rights” rule that will force your bank to make it easy for you to extract your financial data so that you can use it to comparison shop for…
Young People May Be The Biggest Target for Online Censorship and Surveillance—and the Strongest Weapon Against Them
Over the last year, state and federal legislatures have tried to pass—and in some cases succeeded in passing—legislation that bars young people from digital spaces, censors what they are allowed to see and share online, and monitors and controls when…
How GoGuardian Invades Student Privacy
This post was co-authored by legal intern Kate Prince. Jump to our detailed report about GoGuardian and student monitoring tools. GoGuardian is a student monitoring tool that watches over twenty-seven million students across ten thousand schools, but what it does exactly,…
The Growing Threat of Cybercrime Law Abuse: LGBTQ+ Rights in MENA and the UN Cybercrime Draft Convention
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> This is Part II of a series examining the proposed UN Cybercrime Treaty in the context of LGBTQ+ communities. Part I looks at the draft Convention’s potential…
Watch EFF’s Talks from DEF CON 31
EFF had a blast at DEF CON 31! Thank you to everyone who came and supported EFF at the membership booth, participated in our contests, and checked out our various talks. We had a lot of things going on this…
Get Real, Congress: Censoring Search Results or Recommendations 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”> Are you a young person fighting back against bad bills like KOSA? Become an EFF member at a new, discounted Neon membership level specifically for you–stickers included! For the past…
The Federal Government’s Privacy Watchdog Concedes: 702 Must Change
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) has released its much-anticipated report on Section 702, a legal authority that allows the government to collect a massive amount of digital communications…
EFF to D.C. Circuit: Animal Rights Activists Shouldn’t Be Censored on Government Social Media Pages Because Agency Disagrees With Their Viewpoint
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Intern Muhammad Essa contributed to this post. EFF, along with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), filed a brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals…
How To Turn Off Google’s “Privacy Sandbox” Ad Tracking—and Why You Should
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Google has rolled out “Privacy Sandbox,” a Chrome feature first announced back in 2019 that, among other things, exchanges third-party cookies—the most common form of tracking technology—for…
EFF’s Comment to the Meta Oversight Board on Polish Anti-Trans Facebook Post
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> EFF recently submitted comments in response to the Meta Oversight Board’s request for input on a Facebook post in Polish from April 2023 that targeted trans people.…
EFF, ACLU and 59 Other Organizations Demand Congress Protect Digital Privacy and Free Speech
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> Earlier this week, EFF joined the ACLU and 59 partner organizations to send a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer urging the Senate to reject the…
EFF at FIFAfrica 2023
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> EFF is excited to be in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania for this year’s iteration of the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica), organized by CIPESA (Collaboration…
The U.S. Government’s Database of Immigrant DNA Has Hit Scary, Astronomical Proportions
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> The FBI recently released its proposed budget for 2024, and its request for a massive increase in funding for its DNA database should concern us all. The…
Don’t Fall for the Intelligence Community’s Monster of the Week Justifications
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> In the beloved episodic television shows of yesteryear, the antagonists were often “monsters of the week”: villains who would show up for one episode and get vanquished…
This Bill Would Revive The Worst Patents On Software—And Human Genes
< div class=”field field–name-body field–type-text-with-summary field–label-hidden”> < div class=”field__items”> < div class=”field__item even”> The majority of high-tech patent lawsuits are brought by patent trolls—companies that exist not to provide products or services, but primarily have a business using patents to…
Today The UK Parliament Undermined The Privacy, Security, And Freedom Of All Internet Users
The U.K. Parliament has passed the Online Safety Bill (OSB), which says it will make the U.K. “the safest place” in the world to be online. In reality, the OSB will lead to a much more censored, locked-down internet for…
We Want YOU (U.S. Federal Employees) to Stand for Digital Freedoms
It’s that time of the year again! U.S. federal employees and retirees can support the digital freedom movement through the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). The Combined Federal Campaign is the world’s largest and most successful annual charity campaign for U.S.…
New Privacy Badger Prevents Google From Mangling More of Your Links and Invading Your Privacy
We released a new version of Privacy Badger that updates how we fight “link tracking” across a number of Google products. With this update Privacy Badger removes tracking from links in Google Docs, Gmail, Google Maps, and Google Images results.…
UN Cybercrime Treaty Talks End Without Consensus on Scope And Deep Divides About Surveillance Powers
As the latest negotiating session on the proposed UN Cybercrime Treaty wrapped up in New York earlier this month, one thing was clear: with time running out to finalize the text, little progress and consensus was reached on crucial points,…
EFF to Michigan Court: Governments Shouldn’t Be Allowed to Use a Drone to Spy on You Without a Warrant
Should the government have to get a warrant before using a drone to spy on your home and backyard? We think so, and in an amicus brief filed last Friday in Long Lake Township v. Maxon, we urged the Michigan…
UN’s Cybercrime Convention Draft: A Slippery Slope for LGBTQ+ and Gender Rights
This post is divided into two parts. Part I looks at the draft UN’s Cybercrime Convention and its potential implications for LGBTQ+ rights. Part II provides a closer look at how cybercrime laws might specifically impact the LGBTQ+ community and…
Appeals Court Upholds Public.Resource.Org’s Right to Post Public Laws and Regulations Online
Our laws belong to all of us, and we should be able to find, read, and share them free of registration requirements, fees, and other roadblocks. SAN FRANCISCO—Technical standards—like fire and electrical codes—developed by private organizations but incorporated into public…
Federal Judge Upholds State Department Rule Requiring Visa Applicants to Disclose Social Media Information
Since 2019, people applying for a visa to the United States have had to register their social media accounts with the U.S. government as part of the application process. Two U.S.-based documentary film organizations that regularly collaborate with non-U.S. filmmakers…
EFF Award Winner: Signal Foundation
In 1992 EFF presented our very first awards recognizing key leaders and organizations advancing innovation and championing digital rights. Now in 2023 we are continuing to celebrate the accomplishments of people working toward a better future for technology users with…
Arkansas Lawmakers Could Wreck A 50-Year-Old FOIA Law This Week
Arkansas residents right now are facing a sudden and serious attempt to block their access to important government information. In a special session of the state legislature, announced Friday by Gov. Sarah Sanders and convened Monday morning, lawmakers are expected…
Arkansas Shouldn’t Use a Hastily-Called Special Session To Make FOIA Less Functional
Arkansas residents right now are facing a sudden and serious attempt to block their access to important government information. In a special session of the state legislature, announced Friday by Gov. Sarah Sanders and convened Monday morning, lawmakers are expected…
EFF Award Winner: Library Freedom Project
In 1992 EFF presented our very first awards recognizing key leaders and organizations advancing innovation and championing digital rights. Now in 2023 we are continuing to celebrate the accomplishments of people working toward a better future for technology users with…
EFF Welcomes Erica Astrella and Yoshi Kohno to Its Board of Directors
Astrella and Kohno Bring Wealth of Experience in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Security Research and Data Privacy SAN FRANCISCO—The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is honored to announce today that Erica Astrella, Head of Technology at Parkwood Entertainment and a leading voice…
The UK Government Knows How Extreme The Online Safety Bill Is
The U.K.’s Online Safety Bill (OSB) has passed a critical final stage in the House of Lords, and envisions a potentially vast scheme to surveil internet users. The bill would empower the U.K. government, in certain situations, to demand that online platforms…
EFF Urges Appeals Court to Re-hear Case over Trump’s X Account
A federal appeals court undermined more than a century of First Amendment law by upholding a gag order that kept X—formerly known as Twitter—from discussing the government’s demand for Donald Trump’s account data, EFF argued in a brief urging a…
California’s Middle Mile Network Must Bridge the Digital Divide, Not Reinforce It
When California unanimously passed S.B. 156 in 2021, we embarked on a multi-year, multi-billion dollar endeavor to bring affordable, 21st-century fiber to every Californian. Done correctly, this nearly $7 billion investment—further supplemented by $ 1.8 billion in federal funding—would help…
EFF Award Winner: Alexandra Asanova Elbakyan
In 1992 EFF presented our very first awards recognizing key leaders and organizations advancing innovation and championing digital rights. Now in 2023 we are continuing to celebrate the accomplishments of people working toward a better future for technology users with…
Digital Rights Updates with EFFector 35.11
Summer break is over, so it’s time to catch up on the latest news in digital freedoms! There’s no better way to learn about what’s happening with digital privacy and free expression than with EFF’s EFFector newsletter. This latest issue…