Introduced in September 2022 by the European Commission as part of the “new push for European Union Democracy,” the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) seeks to promote media pluralism and independence across the EU. EMFA in a Nutshell The EMFA…
Tag: Deeplinks
Celebrating 33 Years of EFF
Patience is a virtue. And so is tenacity. We are elated to celebrate the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s 33rd anniversary today. EFF has officially been working toward internet freedom longer than many people have been online. I’m grateful to EFF’s supporters…
EFF’s Comment to the Meta Oversight Board on United States Posts Discussing Abortion
This post was co-authored with EFF legal intern Virginia Kennedy. EFF recently submitted comments to the Meta Oversight Board’s call for submissions last month about posts in the United States discussing abortion that were removed under the company’s violence and…
Settled Human Rights Standards as Building Blocks for Platform Accountability and Regulation: A Contribution to the Brazilian Debate
Download the report Since at least a decade ago, human rights institutions have acknowledged the enabling potential of the internet to realize a range of human rights. Digital technologies have been incredibly transformative tools for allowing people to speak out…
Generative AI Policy Must Be Precise, Careful, and Practical: How to Cut Through the Hype and Spot Potential Risks in New Legislation
Anxiety about generative AI is growing almost as fast as the use of the technology itself, fueled by dramatic rhetoric from prominent figures in tech, entertainment, and national security. Something, they suggest, must be done to stave off any number…
Expanding Broadband in Portland, The Time Is Now
Access to high-speed internet in our homes is an essential utility, not a luxury. Our local and regional governments have a responsibility to provide equitable, accessible, and affordable fast-internet service to every home and business- just like electricity, water, and…
Nurturing the Internet Freedom Movement 🌱
One of my favorite things to do in the summertime is get my hands dirty among sunkissed flowers, vegetables, and greenery in my garden. Just as plants thrive when cared for—turning from a small seed to something with roots, branches,…
The U.S. Patent Office Should Drop Proposed Rules That Favor Patent Trolls
More than 14,000 people and organizations, including EFF, have sent public comments responding to a wrongheaded proposal by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to change the rules about patent challenges in a way that would favor patent trolls. …
Nurturing the Internet Freedom Movement 🌱
One of my favorite things to do in the summertime is get my hands dirty among sunkissed flowers, vegetables, and greenery in my garden. Just as plants thrive when cared for—turning from a small seed to something with roots, branches,…
Nurturing the Internet Freedom Movement 🌱
One of my favorite things to do in the summertime is get my hands dirty among sunkissed flowers, vegetables, and greenery in my garden. Just as plants thrive when cared for—turning from a small seed to something with roots, branches,…
Nurturing the Internet Freedom Movement 🌱
One of my favorite things to do in the summertime is get my hands dirty among sunkissed flowers, vegetables, and greenery in my garden. Just as plants thrive when cared for—turning from a small seed to something with roots, branches,…
Nurturing the Internet Freedom Movement 🌱
One of my favorite things to do in the summertime is get my hands dirty among sunkissed flowers, vegetables, and greenery in my garden. Just as plants thrive when cared for—turning from a small seed to something with roots, branches,…
Preliminary Injunction Limiting Government Communications with Platforms Tackles Illegal “Jawboning,” But Fails to Provide Guidance on What’s Unconstitutional
A July 4 preliminary injunction issued by a federal judge in Louisiana limiting government contacts with social media platforms deals with government “jawboning”—urging private persons and entities to censor another’s speech—a serious issue deserving serious attention and judicial scrutiny. The…
DSA Must Follow a Human-Rights Centered Enforcement Process, With Regulators Engaging International Civil Society Voices
EFF and its partners in the Digital Services Act (DSA) Human Rights Alliance called on European Union (EU) regulators today to engage international civil society voices and forge a human rights centered approach in talks about the implementation and enforcement…
Raise a Glass: EFF’s 15th Annual Cyberlaw Trivia Winners!
What do you get when you gather a bunch of the sharpest legal minds in one room with delicious food and obscure tech law trivia? That’s right, you get EFF’s 15th Annual Cyberlaw Trivia night! On June 29th we had…
EFF Urges Supreme Court to Make Clear That Government Officials Have First Amendment Obligations When They Use Their Social Media Accounts for Governmental Purposes
Officials Using Nominally Personal or Pre-existing Campaign Accounts Can’t Sidestep the First Amendment and Block People Washington, D.C. — EFF urged the Supreme Court today to send a loud and clear message to government officials around the country who use…
Digital Rights Updates with EFFector 35.8
There’s a lot happening in the digital rights movement, but don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Catch up on the latest news with our EFFector newsletter, featuring updates, upcoming events, and more. Our latest issue features updates from Reddit’s moderator…
Data Sanctuary for Trans People
A growing number of states have prohibited transgender youths from obtaining gender-affirming health care. Some of these states are also restricting access by transgender adults. Fortunately, other states have responded by enacting sanctuary laws to protect trans people who visit…
Around the World, Threats to LGBTQ+ Speech Deepen
Globally, an increase in anti-LGBTQ+ intolerance is impacting individuals and communities both online and off. The digital rights community has observed an uptick in censorship of LGBTQ+ websites as well as troubling attempts by several countries to pass explicitly anti-LGBTQ+…
VICTORY! Maine Increases Transparency and Accountability for its Fusion Center
In a major step for reigning in the unaccountable power of fusion centers, the Maine state House and Senate have passed HP 947, An Act to Increase the Transparency and Accountability of the Maine Information and Analysis Center. The bill…
Civil Society Calls on Tech Firms to Oppose Protest Song Ban
EFF and more than 24 civil society organizations have written to tech companies including Apple, Google, Meta, Twitter, and Spotify urging them to oppose the Hong Kong government’s application for an injunction to ban broadcasting and distribution of the 2019…
Californians: Tell the Governor and Legislature to Keep Their Promise on Broadband Funding
We need your help telling Governor Newsom and the California Legislature to keep their promise on broadband infrastructure funding—giving it full funding without any cuts or delays. California’s broadband infrastructure fund created by S.B. 156 in 2021 creates several critical…
A Year Since Dobbs, The Fight For Reproductive Privacy and Information Access Continues
A year ago this Saturday, the Supreme Court’s Dobbs abortion ruling overturned Roe v. Wade. This decision deprived millions of people of a fundamental right. As we wrote then, it also underscored the importance of fair and meaningful protections for…
Steering Mobility Data to a Better Privacy Regime
Cars today collect a lot more data than they used to, often leaving drivers’ privacy unprotected. Car insurance is mainly regulated at the state level—there’s no federal privacy law for car data—but unsurprisingly there is an active government and private…
Student Monitoring Tools Should Not Flag LGBTQ+ Keywords
One of the more dangerous features of student monitoring tools like GoGuardian, Gaggle, and Bark is their “flagging” functionality. The tools can scan web pages, documents in students’ cloud drives, emails, video content, and more for keywords about topics like…
Remembering Daniel Ellsberg
“Popular government without popular information is but the prologue to a farce or tragedy.” – James Madison The world lost an unmistakable voice this week, as Daniel Ellsberg passed away at 92. Dan will be remembered for many things,…
There is Nothing Fair About the European Commission’s “Fair Share” Proposal
In a fight between the big tech companies and the internet provider giants, it can be very tempting to not care who wins and loses. However, in the case of the ISPs’ “fair share” proposals, ISP victory would mean undermining…
What Reddit Got Wrong
After weeks of burning through users’ goodwill, Reddit is facing a moderator strike and an exodus of its most important users. It’s the latest example of a social media site making a critical mistake: users aren’t there for the services,…
The FTC Forces Ring to Take User Privacy Seriously
Amazon’s surveillance doorbell company Ring has reached a settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission which will require the company to pay $5.8 million over its inability to keep private footage and audio collected from users’ homes. This action stems…
The California Legislature Must Stay The Course on Broadband Funding
As California, the world’s fifth-largest economy, navigates a changing landscape, including a budget deficit, it’s important that the legislature not take shortcuts that rob the state of future-proof technology. Instead of backing down, the California legislature must continue on the…
To Save the News, We Need an End-to-End Web
This is part five of an ongoing, five-part series. Part one, the introduction, is here. Part two, about breaking up ad-tech companies, is here. Part three, about banning surveillance ads, is here. Part four, about opening up app stores, is…
Supreme Court Sends Bad Spaniels Back to Obedience School, Leaves Rogers Test Mostly Intact
The question of when you can use a trademark is one we see all the time—and one that is often misunderstood. Many of the world’s largest and most powerful companies are fanatical about their trademarks. But that means the public…
China Must Release Program Think Blogger Ruan Xiaohuan, Champion of Free Expression Who Spoke Out Against Censorship and Oppression
As the Chinese government cracked down on online free expression over the last decade, blocking access to information, filtering content, surveilling users for social control, and unleashing malware disproportionately against its own people, there was one steady, anonymous voice on…
EFF and Allies Send Letters to Senate Judiciary Opposing Bill to Require Messaging Platforms to Report Users to the DEA
EFF, the ACLU, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers joined a coalition that sent two letters to the Senate Judiciary Committee to oppose S. 1080, the Cooper Davis Act. The letters point out the privacy, speech, and criminal justice…
Victory! New Jersey Court Rules Police Must Give Defendant the Facial Recognition Algorithms Used to Identify Him
In a victory for transparency in police use of facial recognition, a New Jersey appellate court today ruled that state prosecutors—who charged a man for armed robbery after the technology showed he was a “possible match” for the suspect—must turn…
To Save the News, We Must Open Up App Stores
This is part four of an ongoing, five-part series. Part one, the introduction, is here. Part two, about breaking up ad-tech companies, is here. Part three, about banning surveillance ads, is here. When Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad in 2010,…
Digital Rights Updates with EFFector 35.7
Catch up on the latest news in the digital rights movement with our EFFector newsletter! Our latest issue is out now, and it is jam packed with updates, from decisions made by the Supreme court on Section 230 and fair…
Our Right To Challenge Junk Patents Is Under Threat
The U.S. Patent Office has proposed new rules about who can challenge wrongly granted patents. If the rules become official, they will offer new protections to patent trolls. Challenging patents will become far more onerous, and impossible for some. The…
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Has Made a Mockery of the Constitutional Right to Privacy
The latest evidence that Section 702 of the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act (FISA) must be ended or drastically reformed came last month in the form of a newly unsealed order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) detailing massive violations…
The Right to Repair Is Law in Minnesota. California Should Be Next
Last week, Minnesota governor Tim Walz signed an omnibus bill that includes a comprehensive right to repair law requiring manufacturers to make spare parts, repair information, and tools available to consumers and repair shops. This law builds on smaller, but…
Federal Judge Makes History in Holding That Border Searches of Cell Phones Require a Warrant
With United States v. Smith (S.D.N.Y. May 11, 2023), a district court judge in New York made history by being the first court to rule that a warrant is required for a cell phone search at the border, “absent exigent…
EU’s Proposed Cyber Resilience Act Raises Concerns for Open Source and Cybersecurity
The EU is in the middle of the amendments process for its proposed Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), a law intended to bolster Europe’s defenses against cyber-attacks and improve product security. This law targets a broad swath of products brought to…
To Save the News, We Must Ban Surveillance Advertising
This is part three of an ongoing, five-part series. Part one, the introduction, is here. Part two, about breaking up ad-tech companies, is here. The ad-tech industry is incredibly profitable, raking in hundreds of billions of dollars every year by…
Podcast Episode: Who Inserted the Creepy?
Writers sit watching a stranger’s search engine terms being typed in real time, a voyeuristic peek into that person’s most private thoughts. A woman lands a dream job at a powerful tech company but uncovers an agenda affecting the lives…
Californians: Speak Up To Protect People Seeking Repro and Gender-Affirming Care
We need your help to advance A.B. 793, a bill authored by Assemblymember Mia Bonta to protect people seeking abortion and gender-affirming care from dragnet-style digital surveillance. It’s facing law enforcement opposition as it heads to the Assembly floor for…
EFF at RightsCon 2023
After three years of virtual gatherings, RightsCon is back! The 12th edition of the world’s leading summit on human rights in the digital age will be a hybrid convening taking place online through the RightsCon platform and in San José,…
Victory in California! Police Instructors Can’t Claim Copyright Protections to Block Release of Use-of-Force and Other Training Materials
After a two-year legal battle, the state agency that certifies police officers in California has agreed to EFF’s demand that it stop using copyright concerns as a predicate to withhold law enforcement training materials from public scrutiny. The immediate impact…
Civil Liberties Groups Demand California Police Stop Sharing Drivers’ Location Data With Police In Anti-Abortion States
This sharing by 71 CA police agencies violates state law and could be used by other states to identify and prosecute abortion seekers and providers. SAN FRANCISCO—Seventy-one California police agencies in 22 counties must immediately stop sharing automated license plate…
Congress Must Exercise Caution in AI Regulation
Artificial intelligence technologies (AI) are all the rage in Washington D.C. these days. Policymakers are hearing stories of utopian opportunities and certain doom from technologists, CEOs, and public interest groups and trying to figure out when and how Congress should…
To Save the News, We Must Shatter Ad-Tech
The news is in trouble. It’s not just the mass closures of newsrooms – it’s also the physical and ideological attacks on journalists.News websites are plastered with ads, but more than half of the money those ads generate is siphoned…
What the Supreme Court’s Decision in Warhol Means for Fair Use
The Supreme Court has issued its long-awaited decision in Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith, a fair use case that raised fundamental questions about rights and obligations of commercial artists. The Court’s opinion did not answer many of those questions, but…
SFPD Obtained Live Access to Business Camera Network in Anticipation of Tyre Nichols Protest
New documents EFF received through public records requests have revealed that the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) received live access to the hundreds of surveillance cameras that comprise the Union Square Business Improvement District’s (USBID) camera network in anticipation of…
Newly Public FISC Opinion is The Best Evidence For Why Congress Must End Section 702
A surveillance court order unsealed last week that details massive violations of Americans’ privacy by the FBI underscores why Congress must end or radically change the unconstitutional spying program enabled by Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).…
EFF to Court: California’s Public Records Law Must Remain a Check on Police Use of Drones
An increasing number of cities are adding drone flights to their law enforcement tool kit. Public access to appropriately redacted video footage from those flights can provide oversight of police surveillance and help ensure cities are living up to their…
From Past Lessons to Future Protections: EFF’s Advice to the EU Commission on Extended Reality Governance
EFF, in partnership with Access Now and the European Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ECNL), has responded to the European Commission’s consultation, “Virtual Worlds (Metaverses) – A Vision for Openness, Safety, and Respect.” This follows our joint statement on International Human…
10 Years After Snowden: Some Things Are Better, Some We’re Still Fighting For
On May 20, 2013, a young government contractor with an EFF sticker on his laptop disembarked a plane in Hong Kong carrying with him evidence confirming, among other things, that the United States government had been conducting mass surveillance on…
The Internet Dodges Censorship by the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court today refused to weaken one of the key laws supporting free expression online, and recognized that digital platforms are not usually liable for their users’ illegal acts, ensuring that everyone can continue to use those services to…
Support the “My Body, My Data” Act
EFF supports Rep. Sara Jacobs’ “My Body, My Data” Act, which will protect the privacy and safety of people seeking reproductive health care. The bill was reintroduced this week. Privacy fears should never stand in the way of healthcare. That’s…
How to Enable Advanced Data Protection on iOS, and Why You Should
Apple has long used end-to-end encryption for some of the information on your iPhone, like passwords or health data, but the company neglected to offer a way to better protect other crucial data, including iCloud backups, until recently. This came…
Saving the News From Big Tech
Media is in crisis: newsrooms all over the world are shuttering and the very profession of journalism is under sustained ideological and physical assault. Freedom of the press is a hollow doctrine if the only news media is written or…
Don’t Mess With Texas’ Anti-SLAPP Law
Over the past few decades, we’ve seen the rise of civil lawsuits that are meant to harass and silence defendants, rather than resolve legitimate disputes. These lawsuits have become known as Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, or SLAPPs. Some states’…
Digital Privacy Legislation is Civil Rights Legislation
Our personal data and the ways private companies harvest and monetize it plays an increasingly powerful role in modern life. Corporate databases are vast, interconnected, and opaque. The movement and use of our data is difficult to understand, let alone…
Podcast Episode: People With Disabilities Are The Original Hackers
People with disabilities were the original hackers. The world can feel closed to them, so they often have had to be self-reliant in how they interact with society. And that creativity and ingenuity is an unappreciated resource. %3Ciframe%20scrolling%3D%22no%22%20seamless%3D%22%22%20src%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fplayer.simplecast.com%2F3a41f44e-6468-48d9-a138-4a208b2f29b9%3Fdark%3Dtrue%26amp%3Bcolor%3D000000%22%20width%3D%22100%25%22%20height%3D%2252px%22%20frameborder%3D%22no%22%20allow%3D%22autoplay%22%3E%3C%2Fiframe%3E Privacy info.…
Digital Rights Updates with EFFector 35.6
Hey, look! The latest issue of our EFFector newsletter is out! Catch up on the latest digital civil liberties news, from our fights against dangerous anti-encryption and anti-speech bills, to some good news about fair use and security research tools.…
Eight Years Holding ISPs to Account in Latin America: A Comparative Outlook of Victories and Challenges for User Privacy
Latin American and Spanish telecommunications companies have made important advances in their privacy policies and practices, but persistent gaps and worrying trends pose potential risks for internet and mobile phone users, according to a new consolidated report published today by…
The Law Should Not Require Parental Consent for All Minors to Access Social Media
Numerous state laws passed this year, and bills proposed in Congress, would set onerous new restrictions on what young people can do online, depriving teenagers of their First Amendment rights to express themselves, access protected speech, engage in anonymous speech,…
The UK Online Safety Bill Must Not Violate Our Rights to Free Speech And Private Communication
As the UK’s Online Safety Bill moves through negotiations in the House of Lords, EFF, Open Rights Group, Wikimedia UK, and Index on Censorship have submitted a briefing urging the Lords to uphold the right to private messaging, and protect…
Neighborhood Watch Out: Cops Are Incorporating Private Cameras Into Their Real-Time Surveillance Networks
Police have their sights set on every surveillance camera in every business, on every porch, in all the cities and counties of the country. Grocery store trips, walks down the street, and otherwise minding your own business when outside your…
The STOP CSAM Act: Improved But Still Problematic
Last month, we expressed concerns about how the STOP CSAM Act threatens encrypted communications and free speech online. New amendments to the bill have some improvements, but our concerns remain. The STOP CSAM Act Should Not Use the EARN IT…
Android TV Boxes Sold on Amazon Come Pre-Loaded with Malware
Certain Android TV Box models from manufacturers AllWinner and RockChip, available for purchase on Amazon, come pre-loaded with malware from the BianLian family, a variant of which we investigated last year. The malware, discovered by security researcher Daniel Milisic, adds…
Federal Appeals Court Gets It: Fair Use Protects Security Research Tools
In a refreshingly direct opinion, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that creating and selling virtualization software for security research is a fair use. Along the way, it provides a kind of master class in applying copyright’s fair…
Dangerous EARN IT Bill Advances Out of Committee, but Several Senators Offer Objections
Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted, for a third time, to advance the dangerous EARN IT bill (S. 1207)—a law that could lead to suspicionless scans of every online message, photo, and hosted file. In the name of fighting…
Court Accepts EFF’s Amicus Brief on the Right to Publish Code in Tornado Cash Case
Protecting the First Amendment rights of coders to develop and publish code is a core EFF value. It’s also one where we’ve played a central role in developing the law. So, we were happy that the court in the Tornado…
As Platforms Decay, Let’s Put Users First
The net’s long decline into “five giant websites, each filled with screenshots of the other four” isn’t a mystery. Nor was it by any means a forgone conclusion. Instead, we got here through a series of conscious actions by big…
Suit by Renowned Saudi Human Rights Activist Details Harms Caused by Export of U.S. Cybersurveillance Technology and Training to Repressive Regimes
“Companies that employ spyware on behalf of oppressive governments must be held accountable for the resulting human rights abuses.” PORTLAND, OR – The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the Center for Justice & Accountability (CJA), and Foley Hoag LLP on Monday…
The Kids Online Safety Act is Still A Huge Danger to Our Rights Online
Congress has resurrected the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), a bill that would increase surveillance and restrict access to information in the name of protecting children online. KOSA was introduced in 2022 but failed to gain traction, and today its…
EFF to Congress: Oppose the EARN IT Act and the STOP CSAM Act
The Senate Judiciary Committee is about to debate multiple bills that will lead to peoples’ private messages being scanned and reported to the government. We oppose these bills, and we have sent a letter urging the Committee to vote No. …
Why Is the U.S. Solicitor General Trying To Change The Law To Benefit Patent Trolls?
For more than two decades now, developers and users of software have been plagued by a flood of bad patents. Software patents that describe everyday practices like watching an ad online, publishing nutrition information, meeting people nearby, or teaching a…
EFF letter to Congress: Oppose the EARN IT Act and the STOP CSAM Act
The Senate Judiciary Committee is about to debate multiple bills that will lead to peoples’ private messages being scanned and reported to the government. We oppose these bills, and we have sent a letter urging the Committee to vote No. …
Podcast Episode: Dr. Seuss Warned Us
Dr. Seuss wrote a story about a Hawtch-Hawtcher Bee-Watcher whose job it is to watch his town’s one lazy bee, because “a bee that is watched will work harder, you see.” But that doesn’t seem to work, so another Hawtch-Hawtcher…
Stupid Patent of the Month: Trying to Get U.S. Patents On An AI Program
Only people can get patents. There’s a good reason for that, which is that the patent grant—a temporary monopoly granted by the government—is supposed to be given out only to “promote the progress of science and useful arts.” Just like…
At Congressional Hearing, PCLOB Members Suggest Bare Minimum of 702 Reforms
Last week, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance held a hearing on “Fixing FISA: How a Law Designed to Protect Americans Has Been Weaponized Against Them,” ahead of the December 2023 expiration of the Section 702…
Appeals Court Should Reconsider Letting The FBI Block Twitter’s Surveillance Transparency Report
Today, EFF and ACLU filed a brief in support of Twitter’s effort to get an appeals court to reconsider its dangerous opinion enforcing a government gag order on Twitter’s 2013 transparency report. In this long-running and important case, Twitter tried…
Maine Gets Another (Necessary) Opportunity to Defund Its Local Intelligence Fusion Center
Maine State Senator Pinny Beebe-Center has introduced S.P. 527, or An Act to End the Maine Information and Analysis Center Program, a bill that would defund the Maine Information and Analysis Center (MIAC), also known as Maine’s only fusion center.…
Greenpeace Stands Up Against SLAPPs And Wins
The U.S. litigation system is meant to resolve serious disputes. Unfortunately, the high cost of litigation can be weaponized as a means of harassment and censorship. That’s become all too common, and the last few decades have seen the rise…
Texas Should Leave Its Anti-SLAPP Law Alone
The Texas Citizens Participation Act, or TCPA, has been one of the strongest laws in the nation protecting citizens against lawsuits intended to silence or punish individuals who speak up on public matters. But HB 2781, a bill making its…
Internal Documents Show How Little the FBI Did to Correct Misuse of Section 702 Databases
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has released internal documents used to guide agency personnel on how to search the massive databases of information collected under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, including communications collected without a warrant under Section 702.…
Your Messaging Service Should Not Be a DEA Informant
A new U.S. Senate bill would require private messaging services, social media companies, and even cloud providers to report their users to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) if they find out about certain illegal drug sales. This would lead to…
California Bill to Stop Dragnet Surveillance of People Seeking Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Care Passes Key Committees
A.B. 793, a bill authored by Assemblymember Mia Bonta to protect people seeking abortion and gender-affirming care from dragnet-style digital surveillance, has passed two key committees in the California Assembly. EFF is a proud co-sponsor of A.B. 793, along with…
First US Appellate Court to Decide Finds Geofence Warrant Unconstitutional
The California Court of Appeal has held that a geofence warrant seeking information on all devices located within several densely-populated areas in Los Angeles violated the Fourth Amendment. This is the first time an appellate court in the United States…
EFF and ECNL’s Comment to the Meta Oversight Board on the Term ‘Shaheed’
EFF Intern Reema Moussa authored this post. EFF recently submitted comments in partnership with the European Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ECNL) in response to the Oversight Board’s request for input on the moderation of the Arabic word “shaheed.” The Oversight…
Stop This Dangerous Bill That Would Normalize Face Surveillance in California
Californians: It’s time to speak out against government use of face surveillance. While several California cities have banned government use of face recognition technology, state lawmakers haven’t taken the same approach. A new bill this session, A.B. 642—authored by Assemblymember…
The STOP CSAM Act Would Put Security and Free Speech at Risk
A new U.S. Senate bill introduced this week threatens security and free speech on the internet. EFF urges Congress to reject the STOP CSAM Act of 2023, which would undermine the viability of services offering end-to-end encryption, and force internet…
The EARN IT Bill Is Back, Seeking To Scan Our Messages and Photos
In a free society, people should not have their private correspondence constantly examined. U.S. lawmakers, we would hope, understand that individuals have the right to a private conversation without the government looking over their shoulder. So it’s dismaying to see…
Digital Rights Updates with EFFector 35.5
Keeping up on the latest in digital freedoms can be quite a challenge, but we’re here to help catch you up to speed! The latest issue of our EFFector newsletter is out now, and you can learn more about our…
Podcast Episode: Safer Sex Work Makes a Safer Internet
An internet that is safe for sex workers is an internet that is safer for everyone. Though the effects of stigmatization and criminalization run deep, the sex worker community exemplifies how technology can help people reduce harm, share support, and…
Comunicado de prensa para Latinoamérica: La propuesta de tratado de la ONU sobre ciberdelincuencia carece de suficientes salvaguardias de derechos humanos, lo que agrava las amenazas a la privacidad y las libertades civiles en Latinoamérica
VIENA-El martes 18 de abril, a las 10:00 am hora del Pacífico (1:00 pm hora del Este), expertos de Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) y tres aliados latinoamericanos de derechos digitales informarán a los reporteros sobre las amenazas únicas a la…
EFF, International Allies Warn That Proposed UN Cybercrime Treaty, Rather Than Making Us More Secure, Could Legitimize Intrusive Surveillance and Drag Down Global Privacy and Free Expression Standards
EFF and international allies Access Now, Article 19, Epicenter, and Global Partners Digital are in Vienna this week and next for the fifth round of negotiations on the proposed UN Cybercrime Treaty, along with the over 100 representatives of Member…
Latam Media Briefing: Proposed UN Cybercrime Treaty Lacks Sufficient Human Rights Safeguards, Exacerbating Threats to Privacy and Civil Liberties in Latam
Proposals for Broad Surveillance Powers Could Authorize Government Spyware, Which is Already Being Used to Target Human Rights Defenders, Journalists in the Region VIENNA—On Tuesday, April 18, at 10:00 am Pacific Time (1:00 pm Eastern Time), experts from Electronic Frontier…
Be Skeptical of FBI Warnings About Phone Chargers
Every few years, an unsourced report circulates that “the FBI says plugging into public charging kiosks is dangerous.” Here’s why you should ignore the freakout and install software updates regularly. Your phone is designed to communicate safely with lots of…