Today The UK Parliament Undermined The Privacy, Security, And Freedom Of All Internet Users 
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/today-uk-parliament-undermined-privacy-security-and-freedom-all-internet-users
September 19, 2023, 7:50 PM
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 British users. The bill could empower the government to undermine not just the privacy and security of U.K. residents, but internet users worldwide. 
A Backdoor That Undermines Encryption
A clause of the bill allows Ofcom, the British telecom regulator, to serve a notice req...
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We Want YOU (U.S. Federal Employees) to Stand for Digital Freedoms
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/we-want-you-us-federal-employees-stand-digital-freedoms
September 19, 2023, 7:02 PM
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. federal employees and retirees. Last year, 175 members of the CFC community raised over $34,000 for EFF's lawyers, activists, and technologists fighting for digital freedoms online. But, in a year with many threats popping up to our right...
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New Privacy Badger Prevents Google From Mangling More of Your Links and Invading Your Privacy
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/new-privacy-badger-prevents-google-mangling-more-your-links-and-invading-your
September 19, 2023, 1:35 PM
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. Privacy Badger now also removes tracking from links added after scrolling through Google Search results.
Link tracking is a creepy surveillance tactic that allows a company to follow you whenever you click on a link to leave its website. As we wrote ...
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UN Cybercrime Treaty Talks End Without Consensus on Scope And Deep Divides About Surveillance Powers
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/un-cybercrime-treaty-talks-end-without-consensus-scope-and-deep-divides-about
September 13, 2023, 11:02 PM
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, such as the treaty's overall scope of application and the reach of its criminal procedure mandates and international cooperation measures.Instead, a plethora of proposed word changes was added, further complicated by additional amendments published in informal...
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EFF to Michigan Court: Governments Shouldn’t Be Allowed to Use a Drone to Spy on You Without a Warrant
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/eff-michigan-court-governments-shouldnt-be-allowed-use-drone-spy-you-without
September 13, 2023, 9:59 PM
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 Supreme Court to find that warrantless drone surveillance of a home violates the Fourth Amendment. 
In this case, Long Lake Township hired private operators to repeatedly fly drones over Todd and Heather Maxon's home to take aerial photos and videos of their property in a zoning investigatio...
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UN's Cybercrime Convention Draft: A Slippery Slope for LGBTQ+ and Gender Rights
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/uns-cybercrime-convention-draft-slippery-slope-lgbtq-and-gender-rights
September 13, 2023, 8:18 PM
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 activists in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
EFF has consistently voiced concerns over the misuse of cybercrime laws across the globe, and particularly their impact on marginalized and vulnerable communities—notably LGBTQ+ individuals. T...
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Apple and Google Are Introducing New Ways to Defeat Cell Site Simulators, But Is it Enough?
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/apple-and-google-are-introducing-new-ways-defeat-cell-site-simulators-it-enough
September 13, 2023, 5:16 PM
Cell-site simulators (CSS)—also known as IMSI Catchers and Stingrays—are a tool that law enforcement and governments use to track the location of phones, intercept or disrupt communications, spy on foreign governments, or even install malware. Cell-site simulators are also used by criminals to send spam and engage in fraud. We have written previously about the privacy implications of CSS, noting that a common tactic is to trick your phone into connecting to a fake 2G cell tower. In the U.S. ...
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Appeals Court Upholds Public.Resource.Org’s Right to Post Public Laws and Regulations Online
https://www.eff.org/press/releases/appeals-court-upholds-publicresourceorgs-right-post-public-laws-and-regulations
September 12, 2023, 9:18 PM
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 law can be freely disseminated without any liability for copyright infringement, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. 
Tuesday’s ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Cir...
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Federal Judge Upholds State Department Rule Requiring Visa Applicants to Disclose Social Media Information
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/federal-judge-upholds-state-department-rule-requiring-visa-applicants-disclose
September 12, 2023, 8:36 PM
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 and other international partners sued the State Department shortly after the policy went into effect, challenging the rule on First Amendment and other grounds. EFF filed an amicus brief in the district court in 2020 arguing that ev...
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EFF Award Winner: Signal Foundation
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/eff-award-winner-signal-foundation
September 12, 2023, 4:57 PM
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 the EFF Awards!
All are invited to attend the EFF Awards! Whether you are an activist, an EFF supporter, a student interested in cyberlaw or public interest technology, or someone who wants to eat good food and drink with other coo...
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Arkansas Lawmakers Could Wreck A 50-Year-Old FOIA Law This Week
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/arkansas-shouldnt-hastily-make-foia-less-functional
September 11, 2023, 6:45 PM
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 to discuss making major amendments to the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which has guaranteed the public's right to government information since 1967.
The proposed changes will do a number of things that will reduce t...
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EFF Award Winner: Library Freedom Project
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/eff-award-winner-library-freedom-project
September 11, 2023, 6:44 PM
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 the EFF Awards!
All are invited to attend the EFF Awards! Whether you are an activist, an EFF supporter, a student interested in cyberlaw or public interest technology, or someone who wants to eat good food and drink with other coo...
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EFF Welcomes Erica Astrella and Yoshi Kohno to Its Board of Directors
https://www.eff.org/press/releases/eff-welcomes-erica-astrella-and-yoshi-kohno-its-board-directors
September 11, 2023, 7:00 AM
Astrella and Kohno Bring Wealth of Experience in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Security Research and Data PrivacySAN FRANCISCO—The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is honored to announce today that Erica Astrella, Head of Technology at Parkwood Entertainment and a leading voice for diversity and equity in tech, and University of Washington Computer Science & Engineering Professor Tadayoshi “Yoshi” Kohno, a renowned security researcher and scholar, have joined EFF’s Board of Direc...
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The UK Government Knows How Extreme The Online Safety Bill Is
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/uk-government-knows-how-extreme-online-safety-bill
September 9, 2023, 12:15 AM
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 use government-approved software to search through all users’ photos, files, and messages, scanning for illegal content. Online services that don’t comply can be subject to extreme penalties, including criminal penalties. 
Such a ...
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EFF Urges Appeals Court to Re-hear Case over Trump’s X Account
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/eff-urges-appeals-court-re-hear-case-over-trumps-x-account
September 8, 2023, 11:05 PM
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 re-hearing. 
The amicus brief filed Friday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit supports X’s request for an en banc rehearing by all of the circuit’s judges; a three-judge panel ruled against X in July and its dec...
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California’s Middle Mile Network Must Bridge the Digital Divide, Not Reinforce It
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/californias-middle-mile-network-must-bridge-digital-divide-not-reinforce-it
September 8, 2023, 7:30 PM
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 eliminate the digital divide in California. We are on the verge of squandering this once-in-a-generation opportunity.
Last month, without public input or notice, the California Department of Technology c...
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EFF Award Winner: Alexandra Asanova Elbakyan
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/eff-award-winner-alexandra-asanova-elbakyan
September 7, 2023, 10:18 PM
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 the EFF Awards!
All are invited to attend the EFF Awards! Whether you are an activist, an EFF supporter, a student interested in cyberlaw or public interest technology, or someone who wants to eat good food and drink with other coo...
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Digital Rights Updates with EFFector 35.11
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/digital-rights-updates-effector-3511
September 5, 2023, 7:14 PM
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 goes over the terrible Protecting Kids on Social Media Act, Apple's support of California's right to repair bill, and info about the EFF Awards!
Learn more about all of the latest news by reading the full newsletter here, or you can listen to the audio version be...
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Montana’s New Genetic Privacy Law Caps Off Ten Years of Innovative State Privacy Protections
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/montanas-new-genetic-privacy-law-caps-ten-years-innovative-state-privacy
September 5, 2023, 4:53 PM
Over the last 10+ years, Montana has, with little fanfare or national attention, steadily pushed to protect its residents’ privacy interests through sensible laws that recognize the unique threats posed by new technologies. Now Montana has passed one of the nation’s most protective consumer genetic privacy laws—the Genetic Information Privacy Act. Could this law and the state’s bipartisan approach become a model for the rest of the country?  
2013 is a good starting point for this story...
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UK Online Safety Bill Will Mandate Dangerous Age Verification for Much of the Web
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/uk-online-safety-bill-will-mandate-dangerous-age-verification-much-web
September 5, 2023, 4:51 PM
This blog post was co-written by Dr. Monica Horten, and is also available on the Open Rights Group website.
Under new age verification rules in the UK’s massive Online Safety Bill, all internet platforms with UK users will have to stop minors from accessing ‘harmful’ content, as defined by the UK Parliament. This will affect adult websites, but also user-to-user services – basically any site, platform, or app that allows user-generated content that could be accessed by young people. To...
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Podcast Episode Rerelease: Securing the Vote
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/podcast-episode-rerelease-securing-vote
August 30, 2023, 4:44 PM
This episode was first published on May 24, 2022.


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Privacy info.
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U.S. democracy is at an inflection point, and how we administ...
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ISPs Should Not Police Online Speech—No Matter How Awful It Is.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/isps-should-not-police-online-speech-no-matter-how-awful-it
August 29, 2023, 7:36 PM
Entrusting our speech to multiple different corporate actors is always risky. Yet given how most of the internet is currently structured, our online expression largely depends on a set of private companies ranging from our direct Internet service providers and platforms, to upstream ISPs (sometimes called Tier 2 and 3), all the way up to Tier 1 ISPs (or the Internet backbone) that have no direct relationships with most users.
Tier 1 ISPs play a unique role in the internet “stack,” because nu...
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Apple, Long a Critic of Right to Repair, Comes Out in Support of California Bill
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/apple-long-critic-right-repair-comes-out-support-california-bill
August 28, 2023, 9:39 PM
Apple has announced a surprising stance in support of California’s Right to Repair Act (S.B. 244). This is a sign that the public’s strong support of the right to repair has forced Apple to change its position, and now is the time for you to help keep the pressure on lawmakers to get the Right to Repair Act passed in California.
Apple’s about-face came in a letter to the bill's sponsor, Senator Susan Eggman. Apple's letter marks a significant change from where Apple was on the issue in the...
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The Protecting Kids on Social Media Act is A Terrible Alternative to KOSA
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/protecting-kids-social-media-act-terrible-alternative-kosa
August 28, 2023, 4:27 PM
A new bill sponsored by Sen. Schatz (D-HI), Sen. Cotton (R-AR), Sen. Murphy (D-CT), and Sen. Britt (R-AL) would combine some of the worst elements of various social media bills aimed at “protecting the children” into a single law. It contains elements of the dangerous Kids Online Safety Act as well as several ideas pulled from state bills that have passed this year, such as Utah’s surveillance-heavy Social Media Regulations law. The authors of the Protecting Kids on Social Media Act (S....
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Tornado Cash Civil Decision Limits the Reach of the Treasury Department’s Actions while Skirting a Full First Amendment Analysis
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/tornado-cash-civil-decision-limits-reach-treasury-departments-actions-while
August 25, 2023, 4:56 PM
A District Court recently considered a civil claim that the Treasury Department overstepped when it listed Tornado Cash on the U.S. sanctions list. This claim took some steps, if not enough, to address EFF’s concerns about coders rights.  
In the case, Van Loon v Department of the Treasury, EFF argued in an amicus brief that the government needed to do more to ensure that coders’ First Amendment rights were protected when it took the unprecedented step of placing an open-source project on t...
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Fourth Circuit Decision in Marriott Data Breach Case Kicks the Can Down the Road
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/fourth-circuit-decision-marriott-data-breach-case-kicks-can-down-road
August 24, 2023, 11:05 PM
When a company that collected your personal data negligently fails to secure it, you should have accountability and relief—including standing to sue. 
EFF and our friends at Electronic Privacy Information Center filed an amicus brief in late November pointing this out to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in a case arising from the 130 million consumer records stolen from Marriott in 2018.  We detailed the science and evidence demonstrating that people impacted by such data br...
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Proposed UN Cybercrime Treaty Threatens to be an Expansive Global Surveillance Pact
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/proposed-un-cybercrime-treaty-threatens-be-expansive-global-surveillance-pact
August 22, 2023, 8:53 PM
This is Part V in EFF’s ongoing series about the proposed UN Cybercrime Convention. Read Part I for a quick snapshot of the ins and outs of the zero draft; Part II for a deep dive on Chapter IV dealing with domestic surveillance powers; Part III for a deep dive on Chapter V regarding international cooperation: the historical context, the zero draft's approach, scope of cooperation, and protection of personal data, and Part IV, which deals with the criminalization of security research.
In the h...
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EFF Benefit Poker Tournament at DEF CON 31
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/eff-benefit-poker-tournament-def-con-31
August 22, 2023, 6:37 PM
August marked the return of DEF CON, the world’s largest computer hacking conference. That means it was also the return of the EFF Benefit Poker Tournament, an official DC31 Contest hosted by security expert and EFF advisory board member Tarah Wheeler.
Fifty-one EFF supporters and friends played in the charity tournament on Friday, August 11 in the Horseshoe Poker Room at the heart of the Las Vegas Strip.
Before the tournament, Tarah and her father, professional poker player Mike Wheeler, host...
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Vulnerability in Tencent’s Sogou Chinese Keyboard Can Leak Text Input in Real-Time
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/vulnerability-tencents-sogou-chinese-keyboard-can-leak-text-input-real-time
August 21, 2023, 5:19 PM
Security researchers at Citizen Lab discovered a number of cryptographic vulnerabilities in the Sogou Input Method keyboard software made by Tencent, the most popular input method in China. These vulnerabilities allow adversaries with a privileged network position (such as an ISP or anyone with access to upstream routers) to read the text a user inputs on a device in real-time as it's being typed. Users of the Sogou Keyboard are highly encouraged to upgrade to patched versions that fix this vuln...
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Media Briefing: As UN Cybercrime Treaty Negotiations Enter Final Phase, Time is Running Short to Bolster Human Rights Protections
https://www.eff.org/press/releases/media-briefing-un-cybercrime-treaty-negotiations-enter-final-phase-time-running-short
August 18, 2023, 4:40 PM
Draft Text Enhances Government Surveillance Across Borders but Offers Weak Checks and BalancesNew York—On Wednesday, August 23, at 1:30 pm Eastern Time (10:30 am Pacific Time) experts from Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Human Rights Watch, and four international allies will brief reporters about critical flaws in the draft UN Cybercrime Treaty that threaten human rights.The treaty, under negotiation by UN Member States for more than a year, is intended to foster international cooperatio...
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Digital Rights Updates with EFFector 35.10
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/digital-rights-updates-effector-3510
August 17, 2023, 11:42 PM
Need to catch up on the latest in the digital freedoms movement? EFF has you covered with our EFFector newsletter, featuring updates, upcoming events, and more! Our newest issue covers work around various censorship bills like KOSA, the illegal spying law Section 702, and features our thoughts about surveillance and self-driving cars, and much more.
Learn more about the latest happenings by reading the full newsletter here, or you can listen to the audio version below!
Listen on YouTube
EFFector...
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Portland's TA3M: Expanding the Scope of Their Work in PDX
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/portlands-ta3m-expanding-scope-their-work-pdx
August 17, 2023, 10:11 PM
Techno-Activism 3rd Mondays (TA3M) is an informal meet-up designed to connect software creators and activists who are interested in issues like censorship, surveillance, and open technology. Portland’s TA3M continues to focus on educational events and recently expanded that focus to include privacy, security, and sometimes other tech-related topics. Here, EFF speaks with Electronic Frontier Alliance member Portland’s TA3M about their work, lessons learned and what’s to come on the horizon....
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The Industry Discussion About Standards For Bluetooth-Enabled Physical Trackers Is Finally Getting Started
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/industry-discussion-about-standards-bluetooth-enabled-physical-trackers-finally
August 15, 2023, 5:03 AM
Bluetooth-enabled location trackers such as Tiles and AirTags aren’t just a helpful way to find missing luggage or a misplaced wallet—they can also be easily slipped surreptitiously into a bag or car, allowing stalkers and abusers unprecedented access to a person’s location without their knowledge. At EFF, we have been sounding the alarm about this threat to people, especially survivors of domestic abuse, for a long time.  
Now, there’s finally an industry discussion happening about th...
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Jordan's King Should Reject the Country's Draft Cybercrime Law
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/jordans-king-should-reject-countrys-draft-cybercrime-law
August 14, 2023, 2:47 PM
Jordan’s parliament recently passed a new cybercrime law that will severely restrict individual human rights across the country. With the law now heading to Jordan’s Senate and Jordan’s King Abdullah II for final approval, EFF and 18 other civil society organizations have written to the King of Jordan urging the rejection of the country’s draft 2023 Cybercrime Law. 
The law has been issued hastily and without sufficient examination of its legal aspects, social implications, and its impa...
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Dissecting the UN Cybercrime Convention’s Threat to Coders’ Rights at DEFCON
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/dissecting-un-cybercrime-conventions-threat-coders-rights-defcon
August 12, 2023, 5:18 PM
This is Part IV in EFF’s ongoing series about the proposed UN Cybercrime Convention. Read Part I for a quick snapshot of the ins and outs of the zero draft; Part II for a deep dive on Chapter IV dealing with domestic surveillance powers; and Part III for a deep dive on Chapter V regarding international cooperation: the historical context, the zero draft's approach, scope of cooperation, and protection of personal data.
The proposed UN Cybercrime Convention could shatter security, and harm poli...
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Federal Judge Upholds Arizonans’ Right to Record the Police
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/federal-judge-upholds-arizonans-right-record-police
August 11, 2023, 5:32 PM
The Arizona legislature last year passed a law (H.B. 2319 codified at A.R.S. § 13-3732) banning the video recording of police activity within eight feet of officers, making doing so a class 3 misdemeanor (which would allow for up to 30 days in jail). The law included some exceptions, such as for “a person who is the subject of police contact.”
A coalition of news organizations and the ACLU of Arizona sued state and county government officials in federal court arguing that the law was uncons...
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The U.S. Government Wants To Control Online Speech to “Protect Kids”
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/us-government-about-control-speech-online-protect-kids
August 11, 2023, 2:38 PM
The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), a bill that allows for a wide range of government penalties for online speech, could soon be passed by Congress. If that happens, the access we have to information may be forever changed. KOSA will make state prosecutors and federal bureaucrats the final arbiters of online content moderation in the U.S. 
KOSA is fundamentally a censorship bill. Politicians are justifying it by harping on something we all know—that there’s content online that’s inappropri...
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The Proposed Cybercrime Treaty's Approach to Cross-Border Spying
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/proposed-cybercrime-treatys-international-cooperation-provisions-could-let-tyrants
August 11, 2023, 1:11 AM
This is Part III of EFF’s ongoing series about the proposed UN Cybercrime Convention. Read Part I for a quick snapshot of the ins and outs of the zero draft; Part III for a deep dive on Chapter V regarding international cooperation: the historical context, the zero draft's approach, scope of cooperation, and protection of personal data, and Part IV, which deals with the criminalization of security research.The United Nations Headquarters in New York City is poised to become the epicenter of on...
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Congress Amended KOSA, But It's Still A Censorship Bill
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/congress-amended-kosa-its-still-censorship-bill
August 10, 2023, 5:55 PM
A key Senate committee voted to move forward one of the most dangerous bills we’ve seen in years: the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). EFF has opposed the Kids Online Safety Act, S. 1409, because it’s a danger to the rights of all users, both minors and adults. The bill requires all websites, apps, and online platforms to filter and block legal speech. It empowers state attorney generals, who are mostly elected politicians, to file lawsuits based on content they believe will be harmful to youn...
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California's DELETE Act Protects Us From Data Brokers
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/californias-delete-act-protects-us-data-brokers
August 8, 2023, 6:08 PM
When it comes to the reckless trade of our personal information, data brokers are the problem. These entities collect then sell personal information they’ve amassed on individuals with very little oversight. This includes very sensitive information such as buying habits, financial records, social media activity, or precise geolocation information. Scams, identity theft, and financial exploitation result from the collection and misuse of personal information.
Potential misuse of health data cou...
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Announcing the Tor University Challenge
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/announcing-tor-university-challenge
August 8, 2023, 4:37 PM
Tor is a valuable tool for browsing the web anonymously, but since it's powered by volunteers willing to share some bandwidth and a computer, it's always in need of additional help. Which is why EFF is announcing the Tor University Challenge, a project asking universities to start running Tor relays on campus. Today, we're launching with support from 12 universities. With your help, we can add more universities to strengthen the Tor network to improve one of the best free privacy tools available...
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It's Summer Security Week at EFF
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/summer-security-week-eff
August 8, 2023, 2:13 PM
Let me be frank: it’s always security week at EFF! But this week is extra special. EFF will take flight to the Las Vegas hacker summer camp conferences—BSidesLV, Black Hat USA and DEF CON 31—to rally behind computer security researchers and tinkerers. Whether you're on the ground in Vegas or online, I hope you'll support the digital rights movement as an EFF member this week.
EFF’s activists, technologists, and lawyers fight so you can use technology on your own terms. Wrongheaded tech p...
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EFF at Las Vegas Hacker Summer Camp
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/eff-las-vegas-hacker-summer-camp
August 8, 2023, 2:09 PM
The EFF team is pleased to return to the Las Vegas hacker summer camp conferences—BSidesLV, Black Hat USA and DEF CON 31—to rally behind computer security researchers and tinkerers. This entire week of events is a meaningful opportunity to reconnect with the infosec and hacker community, who are crucial to building privacy and safety on the web for everyone. Below we've rounded up all of EFF's scheduled talks and activities at the conferences.
As in past years, EFF staff attorneys will be pr...
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Your Computer Should Say What You Tell It To Say
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/your-computer-should-say-what-you-tell-it-say-1
August 7, 2023, 9:41 PM
WEI? I’m a frayed knot
Two pieces of string walk into a bar.
The first piece of string asks for a drink.
The bartender says, “Get lost. We don’t serve pieces of string.”
The second string ties a knot in his middle and messes up his ends. Then he orders a drink. 
The bartender says, “Hey, you aren’t a piece of string, are you?”
The piece of string says, “Not me! I'm a frayed knot.”
Google is adding code to Chrome that will send tamper-proof information about your operating sys...
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EFF to 9th Circuit: App Stores Shouldn’t Be Liable for Processing Payments for User Content
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/eff-9th-circuit-apps-stores-shouldnt-be-liable-processing-payments-user-content
August 5, 2023, 1:29 AM
EFF filed a brief this week in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit arguing that app stores should not be liable for user speech just because they recommend that speech or process payments for those users. Those stores should be protected by Section 230, a law that protects Americans’ freedom of expression online by protecting the intermediaries we all rely on. Absent Section 230 immunity in these contexts, the platforms would be forced to censor user speech to mitigate their legal...
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The Impending Privacy Threat of Self-Driving Cars
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/impending-privacy-threat-self-driving-cars
August 4, 2023, 4:41 PM
Within a few years, fully self-driving cars have gone from science fiction to a very common reality for people in San Francisco with other places in the U.S. also testing the new technology. With innovations often come unintended consequences—one of which is the massive collection of data required for an autonomous vehicle to function. The sheer amount of visual and other information collected by a fleet of cars traveling down public streets conjures the threat of the possibility for peoples�...
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Celebrating Ten Years of Encrypting the Web with Let’s Encrypt
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/celebrating-ten-years-encrypting-web-lets-encrypt
August 3, 2023, 10:55 PM
Ten years ago, the web was a very different place. Most websites didn’t use HTTPS to protect your data. As a result, snoops could read emails or even take over accounts by stealing cookies. But a group of determined researchers and technologists from EFF and the University of Michigan were dreaming of a better world: one where every web page you visited was protected from spying and interference. Meanwhile, another group at Mozilla was working on the same dream. Those dreams led to the creatio...
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Facebook Apparently Will Ask for Consent Before Showing Behavioral Ads to Some Users
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/facebook-apparently-will-ask-consent-showing-behavioral-ads-some-users
August 2, 2023, 10:28 PM
For many years now, EFF has argued that pervasive online behavioral surveillance, which powers the exploitative data broker industry as well as some of the largest online tech companies, should be banned. Companies should voluntarily make these changes to benefit their users, but EFF also strongly supports legislation that would require businesses to get consumers’ opt-in consent before collecting and processing this private behavioral data. Such legislation has stalled in the U.S. However, ye...
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UN Cybercrime Convention Negotiations Enter Final Phase With Troubling Surveillance Powers Still on the Table
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/un-cybercrime-convention-negotiations-enter-final-phase-troubling-surveillance
August 2, 2023, 5:10 PM
This is Part II  in EFF’s ongoing series about the proposed UN Cybercrime Convention. Read Part I for a quick snapshot of the ins and outs of the zero draft;  Part III for a deep dive on Chapter V regarding international cooperation: the historical context, the zero draft's approach, scope of cooperation, and protection of personal data., and Part IV, which deals with the criminalization of security research.
As one of the last negotiating sessions to finalize the UN Cybercrime Convention ap...
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The White House Acknowledges the Pressure on Section 702, But Much More Reform is Needed
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/07/white-house-acknowledges-pressure-section-702-much-more-reform-needed
July 31, 2023, 7:55 PM
We've seen months of continued public confirmation that Americans’ privacy is being violated by surveillance under Section 702, and widespread criticism from civil society, activists, surveillance-skeptical bipartisan congressional committees, and even the overly timid Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. Now, a separate  group of White House-appointed experts just flinched on renewing the law without reforms. It’s good to see even the White House signal that improvements are needed...
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