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 protecti … | Continue reading
This blog post was co-written by Dr. Monica Horten of Open Rights Group. 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 … | Continue reading
This episode was first published on May 24, 2022. %3Ciframe%20height%3D%2252px%22%20width%3D%22100%25%22%20frameborder%3D%22no%22%20scrolling%3D%22no%22%20seamless%3D%22%22%20src%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fplayer.simplecast.com%2Fc967800f-4f19-45df-91ce-cd044555c79e%3Fdark%3Dtrue% … | Continue reading
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 upstr … | Continue reading
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 … | Continue reading
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 … | Continue reading
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 th … | Continue reading
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. … | Continue reading
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 regar … | Continue reading
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 an … | Continue reading
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 … | Continue reading
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 wil … | Continue reading
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 feature … | Continue reading
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 … | Continue reading
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 witho … | Continue reading
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 … | Continue reading
This is a segment in EFF’s ongoing series about the proposed UN Cybercrime Convention, focusing on the threats to security researchers in the proposed treaty. 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 wit … | Continue reading
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 excepti … | Continue reading
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 … | Continue reading
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 approa … | Continue reading
This is the third segment in EFF’s series on the proposed UN Cybercrime Convention focusing on Chapter V, International Cooperation. Read Part I for a quick snap of what ins and outs of the zero draft, and Part II for a deep dive on Chapter IV, domestic surveillance powers.The Un … | Continue reading
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 al … | Continue reading
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, financia … | Continue reading
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 star … | Continue reading
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 … | Continue reading
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 co … | Continue reading
Universities answering this call to defend private access to an uncensored web will help millions of people around the world while providing a vital learning experience.SAN FRANCISCO—Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) on Tuesday launched the Tor University Challenge, a campaign … | Continue reading
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 say … | Continue reading
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 pro … | Continue reading
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 collectio … | Continue reading
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 Mic … | Continue reading
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 … | Continue reading
This is Part II of EFF’s analysis of the zero draft of the UN Cybercrime Convention. Part I is here. As one of the last negotiating sessions to finalize the UN Cybercrime Convention approaches, it’s important to remember that the outcome and implications of the international tal … | Continue reading
After 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 Civ … | Continue reading
EFF Filed Its Missouri v. Biden Amicus Brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth CircuitSAN FRANCISCO—Government input into social media platforms’ decisions about user content raises serious First Amendment concerns and the government must be held accountable for violatio … | Continue reading
The FBI doesn’t believe that either our rights or the limitations that Congress has placed upon them matter when it comes to the vast amount of information about us collected under FISA Section 702. The latest exhibit in this is in yet another newly declassified opinion of the Fo … | Continue reading
This post was co-authored by EFF legal intern Virginia Kennedy Under the Fourth Amendment, police can search your home, your computer, and other private spaces without a warrant or even probable cause if you freely and voluntarily consent to the search. But even when someone cons … | Continue reading
The U.K. Parliament is pushing ahead with a sprawling internet regulation bill that will, among other things, undermine the privacy of people around the world. The Online Safety Bill, now at the final stage before passage in the House of Lords, gives the British government the ab … | Continue reading
EFF and 66 human rights and free speech advocacy groups across the globe today called on EU Internal Commissioner Thierry Breton to clarify that the Digital Services Act (DSA)—new regulations aimed at reining in Big Tech companies that control the lion’s share of online speech wo … | Continue reading
The 2023 EFF Awards will be presented in a live ceremony on Thursday, Sept. 14 in San Francisco. SAN FRANCISCO—The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is honored to announce that Alexandra Asanovna Elbakyan, Library Freedom Project, and Signal Foundation will receive the 2023 EF … | Continue reading
We’re in an exciting time for users who want to take back control from major platforms like Twitter and Facebook. However, this new environment comes with challenges and risks for user privacy, so we need to get it right and make sure networks like the Fediverse and Bluesky are m … | Continue reading
The STOP CSAM Act of 2023 would undermine services offering end-to-end encryption and push internet companies to take down lawful user speech. This dangerous bill would threaten security and free speech on the internet—but incredibly, it may pass Congress without even being serio … | Continue reading
There's been a lot happening in the digital rights movement, so if you need to catch up, you've come to the right place! Learn more about the latest news with EFF's EFFector newsletter, featuring updates, upcoming events, and more. This latest issue features our work pushing for … | Continue reading
Note: The post was co-authored by EFF legal intern Janelle Robins In a victory for online expression, a U.S. District Court judge has quashed a subpoena aimed at revealing the identity of an anonymous person who simply hosted a website. The background facts tell a too-familiar ta … | Continue reading
Next week, Congress plans to move a bill forward that is opposed by dozens of organizations, digital rights protectors, LGBTQ+ activists, and human rights defenders: the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). As we’ve written before, KOSA would lead to censorship and privacy invasions fo … | Continue reading
Every day, we visit websites or read news articles that contain photos embedded from somewhere else, usually other websites or servers where the images were first published or stored. What’s happening behind the scenes when you click on a website chock full of photos and text is … | Continue reading
This is Part I of a two-part post about the first draft of the UN Cybercrime Convention. Part I provides background on treaty negotiations and analyzes our first take on the Zero draft and its human rights implications. Part II analyzes the draft’s most problematic provisions.The … | Continue reading
Last week, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary amended and passed S.1080, which 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 d … | Continue reading