You Can Help Stop These Bad Internet Bills
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/07/you-can-help-stop-these-bad-internet-bills
July 18, 2023, 7:56 PM
Red alert! For the last six months, EFF, our supporters, and dozens of other groups have been sounding the alarm about several #BadInternetBills that have been put forward in Congress. We’ve made it clear that these bills are terrible ideas, but Congress is now considering packaging them together—possibly into must-pass legislation. I’m asking you to join us, ACLU, Fight for the Future, and other digital rights defenders in a week of action to protect the internet. Will you take a few minu...
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EFF Supports the PRESS Act to Protect Journalists
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/07/eff-supports-press-act-protect-journalists
July 18, 2023, 7:47 PM
The Protect Reporters from Exploitive State Spying (PRESS) Act is the long overdue federal shield law that would, at last, provide strong protections to journalists against government surveillance and forced disclosure of their confidential sources.  EFF strongly supports this bill, and hopes to see it become law. 
Several Senators and Representatives, including Senator Ron Wyden, Sen. Mike Lee, Sen. Richard Durbin, Rep. Jamie Raskin and Rep. Kevin Kiley, re-introduced the bipartisan, bicamera...
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A Broad Federal Publicity Right Is a Risky Answer to Generative AI Problems
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/07/broad-federal-publicity-right-risky-answer-generative-ai-problems
July 18, 2023, 6:59 PM
As users continue to experiment with generative AI tools, artists are increasingly concerned that use of the tools to mimic their respective “styles” will put them out of business. In addition to the now-infamous AI-generated song that seemed to feature Drake and The Weeknd, digital artists, musicians, actors, writers, and others are seeing their names regularly invoked, without their permission, to generate new works.  
Despite the flurry of lawsuits, those new works and the training of th...
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EFF Poker Tournament at DEF CON 31 ♠️
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/07/eff-poker-tournament-def-con-31
July 17, 2023, 7:31 PM
The summer is upon us and that means only one thing, the DEF CON hacking conference is almost here! We're thrilled to announce that security expert Tarah Wheeler will host EFF's second annual charity poker tournament at the Horseshoe Poker Room on Friday, August 11. Get ready for an unforgettable evening with emcee Ohm-I and many more special guests! This is an official DEF CON 31 contest, but all are welcome to participate in some friendly competition to support civil liberties and human rights...
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Ecuador's Judicial System Must Reaffirm Ola Bini's Innocence In the Face of Prosecutor's Office Appeal
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/07/ecuadors-judicial-system-must-reaffirm-ola-binis-innocence-face-prosecutors-office
July 17, 2023, 4:27 PM
On January 31, the Swedish computer security expert and free software developer, Ola Bini, was found not guilty by a unanimous verdict from a three-judge tribunal in Ecuador. This marked the culmination of an unfounded criminal prosecution that has persisted for over four years. The Prosecutor’s Office appealed the acquittal, however, dragging out this problematic criminal case and suspending the court’s decision to lift the precautionary measures pending against Bini. As a result, Bini cann...
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Even the Government Thinks It Should Stop Buying Corporate Surveillance Data
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/07/even-government-thinks-it-should-stop-buying-corporate-surveillance-data
July 14, 2023, 6:52 PM
Intern Nicholas Wilson was the primary author of this post.
U.S. government intelligence agencies are buying data about us. The danger to our civil liberties is so extreme that even the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said things have gone too far in a detailed report released in June.
The report explains that federal intelligence agencies, like the NSA and FBI, do more than just conduct their own surveillance: they also buy data from private surveillance companies. This i...
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Victory! Ninth Circuit Allows Human Rights Case to Move Forward Against Cisco Systems
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/07/victory-ninth-circuit-allows-human-rights-case-move-forward-against-cisco-systems
July 13, 2023, 3:57 AM
People around the world have been searching for ways to hold accountable companies that build tools for government repression. From massive surveillance systems to state-sponsored malware, governments around the world are increasingly using technology to locate, track, and engage in human rights abuses against disfavored communities, journalists, and activists.
In a tremendous victory for the victims of those tools of repression, the Ninth Circuit cleared a path of legal accountability for Ameri...
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EU Media Freedom Act: A Media Privilege in Content Moderation Is a Really Bad Idea
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/07/eu-media-freedom-act-media-privilege-content-moderation-really-bad-idea
July 12, 2023, 2:29 PM
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 sets out rights and obligations for ‘media service providers’, including rules on transparency about media ownership and protections against political interference. The proposed bill also introduces valuable safeguards against surveillance powers ...
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Celebrating 33 Years of EFF
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/07/celebrating-33-years-eff
July 10, 2023, 2:37 PM
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 for ensuring that digital rights remain important and vital, even as the internet itself becomes a crucial yet often overlooked fact of life for most.
What would the world be without any privacy or free expression online? You can see exa...
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EFF's Comment to the Meta Oversight Board on United States Posts Discussing Abortion
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/07/effs-comment-meta-oversight-board-united-states-posts-discussing-abortion
July 10, 2023, 9:16 AM
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 incitement policy.
EFF’s comments address the over-removal of abortion-related content and the use of automated technologies to identify such content, as well as the need for contextualization in content moderation. EFF’s commen...
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Generative AI Policy Must Be Precise, Careful, and Practical: How to Cut Through the Hype and Spot Potential Risks in New Legislation
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/07/generative-ai-policy-must-be-precise-careful-and-practical-how-cut-through-hype
July 7, 2023, 4:18 PM
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 of catastrophes, from the death of the artist to the birth of new robot overlords.
Given the often hyperbolic tone, it might be tempting (and correct) to dismiss much of this as the usual moral panic new technologies provoke, or self-interested hyp...
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Settled Human Rights Standards as Building Blocks for Platform Accountability and Regulation: A Contribution to the Brazilian Debate
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/07/settled-human-rights-standards-building-blocks-platform-accountability-and
July 7, 2023, 2:00 PM
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 against arbitrary acts of public and private powers, empowering the expression of historically vulnerable, marginalized and silenced groups, catalyzing civic organization and participation, and facilitating innovative ways to collectiv...
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Expanding Broadband in Portland, The Time Is Now
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/07/expanding-broadband-portland-time-now
July 6, 2023, 8:30 PM
Access to high-speed internet in our homes is an essential service like water and electricity, 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 waste removal. Portland, Oregon, has existing infrastructure that can be used to provide affordable access to fast-internet for all Portlanders: a publicly owned dark fiber network used for essential c...
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The U.S. Patent Office Should Drop Proposed Rules That Favor Patent Trolls
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/06/us-patent-office-should-drop-proposed-rules-favor-patent-trolls
July 6, 2023, 4:17 PM
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. 
If implemented, the proposed rule changes could seriously damage the system of “inter partes reviews,” or IPRs, that Congress created 10 years ago. The IPR system is far from perfect, but it has been effective in holding patent trolls accou...
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Nurturing the Internet Freedom Movement 🌱
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/06/plant-seeds-better-internet
July 6, 2023, 2:28 PM
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, and a canopy of leaves—EFF works to protect and grow your digital freedom. It’s inspiring to create something beautiful and strong together.
We’ve been cultivating a better internet for all users for over 30 years. Together, we till hard ground, plant the id...
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Preliminary Injunction Limiting Government Communications with Platforms Tackles Illegal “Jawboning,” But Fails to Provide Guidance on What’s Unconstitutional
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/07/preliminary-injunction-limiting-government-communications-platforms-tackles
July 6, 2023, 1:28 PM
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 First Amendment forbids the government from coercing a private entity to censor, whether the coercion is direct or subtle. This has been an important principle in countering efforts to threaten a...
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DSA Must Follow a Human-Rights Centered Enforcement Process, With Regulators Engaging International Civil Society Voices
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/07/dsa-must-follow-human-rights-centered-enforcement-process-regulators-engaging
July 6, 2023, 1:20 AM
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 of the DSA, which sets out new responsibilities and rules for how platforms handle and make decisions about billions of users’ posts.In a letter addressing the EU Commission, national DSA coordinators, and internet companies, the DSA Hu...
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Raise a Glass: EFF's 15th Annual Cyberlaw Trivia Winners!
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/06/cheers-effs-15th-annual-cyberlaw-trivia-winners
July 5, 2023, 6:48 PM
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 a full house—with eight teams from technology law firms and internet companies throughout the Bay Area being put to the test with six rounds of trivia, ready to battle it out for the chance to win champion steins and of course, bragging rights.
The prizes: EFF steins!
After welcoming e...
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EFF Urges Supreme Court to Make Clear That Government Officials Have First Amendment Obligations When They Use Their Social Media Accounts for Governmental Purposes
https://www.eff.org/press/releases/eff-urges-supreme-court-make-clear-government-officials-have-first-amendment
June 30, 2023, 8:11 PM
Officials Using Nominally Personal or Pre-existing Campaign Accounts Can’t Sidestep the First Amendment and Block People Washington, D.C. — Electronic Frontier Foundation urged the Supreme Court today to send a loud and clear message to government officials around the country who use social media in furtherance of their official duties, but then block people who criticize them: Doing so violates our First Amendment right to receive and respond to government communications.EFF, Knight First A...
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Digital Rights Updates with EFFector 35.8
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/06/digital-rights-updates-effector-358
June 30, 2023, 5:42 PM
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 strike and mass exodus of users, a recap of the work EFF has been doing a year after the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision, and more.
Learn more about the latest happenings by reading the full newsletter here, or you can listen to the audio vers...
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The United States vs. Hansen Decision Is Not “Encouraging” for Speech Rights
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/06/united-states-vs-hansen-decision-not-encouraging-speech-rights
June 29, 2023, 12:05 AM
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in United States v. Hansen upholds a law that makes it a crime to “encourage” a person to remain in the country without authorization. The Court had two choices in this case: instruct Congress and all legislatures to use the words they actually mean (and normal people use) when they write laws; or force the public to accept—and try to comply with—criminal laws written in specialized language unknowable to most non-lawyers. Regrettably, the Court cho...
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Data Sanctuary for Trans People
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/06/data-sanctuary-trans-people
June 28, 2023, 5:54 PM
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 to obtain this health care.
Even before these new laws, most trans people had to travel out of state to obtain gender-affirming surgery. After these laws, we can expect much more out-of-state travel for all forms of gen...
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Around the World, Threats to LGBTQ+ Speech Deepen
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/06/around-world-threats-lgbtq-speech-deepen
June 27, 2023, 1:21 PM
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+ bills restricting freedom of expression and privacy—bills that also fuel offline intolerance against LGBTQI+ people, and force LGBTQI+ individuals to self-censor their online expression to avoid being profiled, harassed,...
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VICTORY! Maine Increases Transparency and Accountability for its Fusion Center
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/06/victory-maine-increases-transparency-and-accountability-its-fusion-center
June 26, 2023, 8:33 PM
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 creates an Auditor position within the Office of the Attorney General whose job it is to conduct regular reviews of the Main Information and Analysis Center’s (MIAC) activities, to keep records, and to share information with the public. The bill also makes any...
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Civil Society Calls on Tech Firms to Oppose Protest Song Ban
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/06/tech-firms-should-oppose-protest-song-ban
June 23, 2023, 10:48 PM
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 protest song, “Glory to Hong Kong.” 
The injunction, if ordered by the court, would ban intermediaries from broadcasting, performing, selling, or distributing the song and its lyrics. It would also require companies to remove the son...
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Californians: Tell the Governor and Legislature to Keep Their Promise on Broadband Funding
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/06/californians-tell-governor-and-legislature-keep-their-promise-broadband-funding
June 23, 2023, 9:48 PM
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 programs to finally deliver 21st century broadband access to every Californian. These programs would address the systemic inequalities inflicting our cities and counties, which were exacerbated and painfully revealed a...
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A Year Since Dobbs, The Fight For Reproductive Privacy and Information Access Continues
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/06/year-dobbs-fight-reproductive-privacy-and-information-access-continues
June 23, 2023, 3:41 PM
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 data privacy. In the past year, EFF staff have worked with reproductive justice and civil liberties organizations to protect and advocate for the digital rights of people seeking or supporting reproductive care; here are some highlights from just the...
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Steering Mobility Data to a Better Privacy Regime
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/06/steering-mobility-data-better-privacy-regime
June 22, 2023, 11:30 PM
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 market for vehicle data, including location data, which is difficult if not impossible to deidentify. Advertisers, investment companies, and insurance companies are among those who want to actively collect or use this data to deliver and ...
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Student Monitoring Tools Should Not Flag LGBTQ+ Keywords
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/06/student-monitoring-tools-should-not-flag-lgbtq-keywords
June 22, 2023, 5:34 PM
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 sex, drugs, and violence. They then either block or flag this content for review by school administrators. 
But in practice, these flags don’t work very well—many of the terms flagged by these student monitoring applications ar...
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Remembering Daniel Ellsberg
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/06/remembering-daniel-ellsberg
June 16, 2023, 9:50 PM
“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, of course most prominently providing the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times in 1971. Although he hated being called one, he was rightly a hero to anyone who believes that we must be in a position to evaluate our governments and cast our votes based upon...
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There is Nothing Fair About the European Commission’s “Fair Share” Proposal
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/06/there-nothing-fair-about-european-commissions-fair-share-proposal
June 16, 2023, 4:32 PM
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 one of the very foundations of the internet—net neutrality.
After the European Commission held a public consultation on whether they should adopt what they call a “fair share” proposal, they unfortunately voted to move forward with this dangerous plan. This proposal is...
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What Reddit Got Wrong
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/06/what-reddit-got-wrong
June 13, 2023, 8:31 PM
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, they’re there for the community. Building barriers to access is a war of attrition.
Reddit has an admirable record when it comes to defending an open and free internet. While not always perfect, the success of the site is owed to its model of empowering ...
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The FTC Forces Ring to Take User Privacy Seriously
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/06/ftc-forces-ring-take-user-privacy-seriously
June 13, 2023, 6:13 PM
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 from a collection of privacy violations that occurred between 2017 and 2020. Ring customers brought a class action lawsuit in December 2019 after dozens of people had their Ring devices accessed by malicious actors using brute force and...
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The California Legislature Must Stay The Course on Broadband Funding
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/06/california-legislature-must-stay-course-broadband-funding
June 12, 2023, 9:20 PM
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 path for broadband funding that it has already started down. Doing so would ensure a future of high-speed, low-cost internet access for all Californians.
In 2021 Governor Newsom signed into law S.B. 156, which promi...
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To Save the News, We Need an End-to-End Web
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/06/save-news-we-need-end-end-web
June 12, 2023, 3:35 PM
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 here. Download this whole series as a single PDF.
Once, news organizations enthusiastically piled into social media. New platforms like Facebook and Twitter were powerful “traffic funnels,” where algorithmic recommendation systems put excerpts from news st...
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Supreme Court Sends Bad Spaniels Back to Obedience School, Leaves Rogers Test Mostly Intact
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/06/supreme-court-sends-bad-spaniels-back-obedience-school-leaves-rogers-test-mostly
June 9, 2023, 11:33 PM
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 is often in the dark about how their First Amendment rights stack up to the censoring power of trademark rights. All of this came to a head in a case about a dog toy.
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision Thursday in Jack Daniel’s Properties v. VIP Products, a...
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China Must Release Program Think Blogger Ruan Xiaohuan, Champion of Free Expression Who Spoke Out Against Censorship and Oppression
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/06/china-must-release-program-think-blogger-ruan-xiaohuan-champion-free-expression
June 9, 2023, 5:04 PM
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 the internet speaking out against government censorship, calling for protests, and teaching netizens and activists how to protect themselves online.It was a blog called Program Think, and its author’s identity was n...
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EFF and Allies Send Letters to Senate Judiciary Opposing Bill to Require Messaging Platforms to Report Users to the DEA
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/06/eff-and-allies-send-letters-senate-judiciary-opposing-bill-require-messaging
June 8, 2023, 8:07 PM
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 problems with the bill.
The 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.
Even with ...
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Victory! New Jersey Court Rules Police Must Give Defendant the Facial Recognition Algorithms Used to Identify Him
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/06/victory-new-jersey-court-rules-police-must-give-defendant-facial-recognition
June 8, 2023, 12:16 AM
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 over to the defendant detailed information about the face scanning software used, including how it works, source code, and its error rate.Calling facial recognition “a novel and untested technology,” the court in State of New Jersey v. Franc...
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To Save the News, We Must Open Up App Stores
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/06/save-news-we-must-open-app-stores
June 6, 2023, 1:22 PM
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. Part five, about enshrining "end-to-end" delivery on social media, is here. Download this whole series as a single PDF.
When Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad in 2010, he didn’t just usher in a new kind of computing device - the first mainstream touchscreen tablet - he also promised a new model for intern...
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Digital Rights Updates with EFFector 35.7
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/06/digital-rights-updates-effector-357
June 2, 2023, 4:33 PM
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 use cases, to EFF's investigation into California police agencies sharing drivers' location data with law enforcement agencies in other states. You can read the full newsletter here, or listen to the audio version below!
Listen on YouTube
EFFector 35.7 - EFF at RightsCon 2023
Make ...
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Our Right To Challenge Junk Patents Is Under Threat 
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/06/our-right-challenge-junk-patents-under-threat
June 2, 2023, 3:13 PM
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 new rules could stop organizations like EFF, which used this process to fight the Personal Audio “podcasting patent,” from filing patent challenges altogether. 
If you have a personal experience with patent troll attacks, please mention it. ...
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The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Has Made a Mockery of the Constitutional Right to Privacy
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/06/foreign-intelligence-surveillance-court-has-made-mockery-constitutional-right
June 1, 2023, 10:09 PM
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 of Americans’ privacy by the FBI.
The FISC order is replete with problems. It describes the government’s repeated, widespread violations—over a seven-year period—of procedures for searching its databases of internet communicat...
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The Right to Repair Is Law in Minnesota. California Should Be Next
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/05/right-repair-law-minnesota-california-should-be-next
May 31, 2023, 8:43 PM
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 still significant, wins in Colorado, Massachusetts, and New York. California could be next. "The Right to Repair" Act (S.B. 244), just passed the California Senate and is on its way to the State Assembly.
The right to repair movement has a ...
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Federal Judge Makes History in Holding That Border Searches of Cell Phones Require a Warrant
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/05/federal-judge-makes-history-holding-border-searches-cell-phones-require-warrant
May 30, 2023, 7:57 PM
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 circumstances” (although other district courts have wanted to do so).
EFF is thrilled about this decision, given that we have been advocating for a warrant for border searches of electronic devices in the courts and Congress for nearly a decade. If the case is appealed to the Sec...
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EU’s Proposed Cyber Resilience Act Raises Concerns for Open Source and Cybersecurity
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/05/eus-proposed-cyber-resilience-act-raises-concerns-open-source-and-cybersecurity
May 30, 2023, 5:16 PM
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 market intended for European consumers, including Internet of Things (IoT) devices, desktop computers, and smartphones. It places requirements on device manufacturers and distributors with regards to vulnerability disclosure, and introduces new liabilit...
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To Save the News, We Must Ban Surveillance Advertising
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/05/save-news-we-must-ban-surveillance-advertising
May 30, 2023, 11:20 AM
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. Part four, about opening up app stores, is here. Part five, about enshrining "end-to-end" delivery on social media, is here. Download this whole series as a single PDF.
The ad-tech industry is incredibly profitable, raking in hundreds of billions of dollars every year by spying on us. These companies have tendrils that reach into our apps, our televisio...
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Podcast Episode: Who Inserted the Creepy?
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/05/podcast-episode-who-inserted-creepy
May 30, 2023, 7:01 AM
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 of all of humanity. An app developer keeps pitching the craziest, most harmful ideas she can imagine but the tech mega-monopoly she works for keeps adopting them, to worldwide delight.  


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Californians: Speak Up To Protect People Seeking Repro and Gender-Affirming Care
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/05/californians-speak-protect-people-seeking-repro-and-gender-affirming-care
May 26, 2023, 10:05 PM
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 a vote. California's Assemblymembers need to hear from you to stand up for what's right.
TAKE ACTION
Tell Your Assemblymember to Support aB 793
EFF is a proud co-sponsor of A.B. 793, which targets law enforcement demands that can compel t...
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EFF at RightsCon 2023
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/05/eff-rightscon-2023
May 26, 2023, 11:53 AM
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, Costa Rica between June 5-8.
RightsCon provides an opportunity for human rights experts, technologists, government representatives, and activists to discuss pressing human rights challenges and their potential solutions. 
We’re excited that many EFFers are ...
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