The Growing Threat of Cybercrime Law Abuse: LGBTQ+ Rights in MENA and the UN Cybercrime Draft Convention
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/growing-threat-cybercrime-law-abuse-lgbtq-rights-mena-and-un-cybercrime-draft
September 30, 2023, 5:36 AM
This is Part II  of a series examining the proposed UN Cybercrime Treaty in the context of LGBTQ+ communities. Part I looks at the draft Convention’s potential 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.In the digital age, the rights of the LGBTQ+ community in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are gravely threatened by expansive cyberc...
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Watch EFF's Talks from DEF CON 31
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/catch-effs-talks-def-con-31
September 28, 2023, 11:16 PM
EFF had a blast at DEF CON 31! Thank you to everyone who came and supported EFF at the membership booth, participated in our contests, and checked out our various talks. We had a lot of things going on this year, and it was great to see so many new and familiar faces.
This year was our biggest DEF CON yet, with over 900 attendees starting or renewing an EFF membership at the conference. Thank you! Your support is the reason EFF can push for initiatives like protecting encrypted messaging, fighti...
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Get Real, Congress: Censoring Search Results or Recommendations Is Still Censorship
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/get-real-congress-censoring-search-results-or-recommendations-still-censorship
September 28, 2023, 10:29 PM
Are you a young person fighting back against bad bills like KOSA? Become an EFF member at a new, discounted Neon membership level specifically for you--stickers included! 
For the past two years, Congress has been trying to revise the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) to address criticisms from EFF, human and digital rights organizations, LGBTQ groups, and others, that the core provisions of the bill will censor the internet for everyone and harm young people. All of those changes fail to solve ...
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The Federal Government’s Privacy Watchdog Concedes: 702 Must Change
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/federal-governments-privacy-watchdog-concedes-702-must-change
September 28, 2023, 9:41 PM
The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) has released its much-anticipated report on Section 702, a legal authority that allows the government to collect a massive amount of digital communications around the world and in the U.S. The PCLOB agreed with EFF and organizations across the political spectrum that the program requires significant reforms if it is to be renewed before its December 31, 2023 expiration. Of course, EFF believes that Congress should go further–including let...
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EFF to D.C. Circuit: Animal Rights Activists Shouldn’t Be Censored on Government Social Media Pages Because Agency Disagrees With Their Viewpoint
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/eff-dc-circuit-animal-rights-activists-shouldnt-be-censored-government-social
September 28, 2023, 8:16 PM
Intern Muhammad Essa contributed to this post.
EFF, along with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), filed a brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit urging the court to reverse a lower court ruling that upheld the censorship of public comments on a government agency’s social media pages. The district court’s decision is problematic because it undermines our right to freely express opinions on issues of public importance using a modern and accessible way ...
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How To Turn Off Google’s “Privacy Sandbox” Ad Tracking—and Why You Should
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/how-turn-googles-privacy-sandbox-ad-tracking-and-why-you-should
September 28, 2023, 5:42 PM
Google has rolled out "Privacy Sandbox," a Chrome feature first announced back in 2019 that, among other things, exchanges third-party cookies—the most common form of tracking technology—for what the company is now calling "Topics." Topics is a response to pushback against Google’s proposed Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC), which we called "a terrible idea" because it gave Google even more control over advertising in its browser while not truly protecting user privacy. While there have...
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EFF's Comment to the Meta Oversight Board on Polish Anti-Trans Facebook Post 
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/effs-comment-meta-oversight-board-polish-anti-trans-facebook-post
September 27, 2023, 3:33 PM
EFF recently submitted comments in response to the Meta Oversight Board’s request for input on a Facebook post in Polish from April 2023 that targeted trans people. The Oversight Board was created by Meta in 2020 as an appellate body and has 22 members from around the world who review contested content moderation decisions made by the platform.  
Our comments address how Facebook’s automated systems failed to prioritize content for human review. From our observations—and the research of ...
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EFF, ACLU and 59 Other Organizations Demand Congress Protect Digital Privacy and Free Speech
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/eff-aclu-and-59-other-organizations-demand-congress-protect-digital-privacy-and
September 26, 2023, 8:50 PM
Earlier this week, EFF joined the ACLU and 59 partner organizations to send a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer urging the Senate to reject the STOP CSAM Act. This bill threatens encrypted communications and free speech online, and would actively harm LGBTQ+ people, people seeking reproductive care, and many others. EFF has consistently opposed this legislation. This bill has unacceptable consequences for free speech, privacy, and security that will affect how we connect, communicat...
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EFF at FIFAfrica 2023
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/eff-fifafrica-2023
September 25, 2023, 7:42 PM
EFF is excited to be in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania for this year's iteration of the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica), organized by CIPESA (Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa) between 27-29 September 2023.
FIFAfrica is a landmark event in the region that convenes an array of stakeholders from across internet governance and online rights to discuss and collaborate on opportunities for advancing privacy, protecting free expression, and enhancing the f...
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Digital Rights Updates with EFFector 35.12
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/digital-rights-updates-effector-3512
September 25, 2023, 6:25 PM
With so much happening in the digital rights movement, it can be difficult to keep up. But EFF has you covered with our EFFector newsletter, containing a collection of the latest headlines! The latest issue is out now and covers a new update to our Privacy Badger browser extension, the fight to require law enforcement gather a warrant before using a drone to spy on a home, and EFF's victory helping free the law with public resource.
Learn more about all of the latest news by reading the full new...
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The U.S. Government’s Database of Immigrant DNA Has Hit Scary, Astronomical Proportions
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/us-governments-database-immigrant-dna-has-hit-scary-astronomical-proportions
September 25, 2023, 4:27 PM
The FBI recently released its proposed budget for 2024, and its request for a massive increase in funding for its DNA database should concern us all. The FBI is asking for an additional $53 million in funding to aid in the collection, organization, and maintenance of its Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) database in the wake of a 2020 Trump Administration rule that requires the Department of Homeland Security to collect DNA from anyone in immigration detention. The database approximately houses ...
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Don’t Fall for the Intelligence Community’s Monster of the Week Justifications
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/dont-fall-intelligence-communitys-monster-week-justifications
September 22, 2023, 9:37 PM
In the beloved episodic television shows of yesteryear, the antagonists were often “monsters of the week”: villains who would show up for one episode and get vanquished by the heroes just in time for them to fight the new monster in the following episode. Keeping up with the Intelligence Community and law enforcement’s justifications for invasive, secretive, and uncontrollable surveillance powers and authorities is a bit like watching  one of these shows. This week, they could say they ne...
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This Bill Would Revive The Worst Patents On Software—And Human Genes  
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/bill-would-boost-worst-patents-software-and-human-genes
September 21, 2023, 5:34 PM
The majority of high-tech patent lawsuits are brought by patent trolls—companies that exist not to provide products or services, but primarily have a business using patents to threaten others’ work. 
Some politicians are proposing to make that bad situation worse. Rather than taking the problem of patent trolling seriously, they want to encourage more bad patents, and make life easier—and more profitable—for the worst patent abusers. 
Take Action
Congress Must Not Bring Back The Worst ...
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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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