A large coalition of community and civil rights organizations have sent a letter urging the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to oppose or significantly amend a San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) proposal that would drastically increase their surveillance powers— threatening … | Continue reading
EFF joined SAFEnet and a dozen digital rights organizations in urging the Indonesian Minister of Communication and Information to repeal its invasive content moderation rules, known as the Ministerial Regulation Number 5 (MR5) and its amendment, Ministerial Regulation Number 10 ( … | Continue reading
Internet Archive’s Controlled Digital Lending Program Is Lawful Fair Use That Preserves Traditional Library Lending in the Digital WorldSAN FRANCISCO—The Internet Archive has asked a federal judge to rule in its favor and end a radical lawsuit, filed by four major publishing comp … | Continue reading
There is a traditional Japanese concept called wabi-sabi that recognizes the world as impermanent, evolving, and unfinished. You could call it the beauty of embracing imperfection. Despite the sleek, otherworldly look of today’s tech devices, the internet itself is still chaotic, … | Continue reading
The laws have Important tools to make the internet a fairer place, but there are implementation challenges ahead.SAN FRANCISCO–The European Union reached another milestone by approving the “Digital Services Act package” this week. The Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets … | Continue reading
The best legal minds in the Bay Area returned after two years to once again gather in-person for EFF's 14th Annual Cyberlaw Trivia Night on June 16th. Participants from technology law firms and internet companies throughout the Bay Area attended for a night filled with obscure te … | Continue reading
The best legal minds in the Bay Area returned after two years to once again gather in-person for EFF's 14th Annual Cyberlaw Trivia Night on June 16th. Participants from technology law firms and internet companies throughout the Bay Area attended for a night filled with obscure te … | Continue reading
Panamá’s mobile internet service providers have improved their commitments to transparency and user privacy, according to the new edition of IPANDETEC’s ¿Quien Defiende Tus Datos? (“Who Defends Your Data?”) report. The third edition, published today shows general progress in comp … | Continue reading
Since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision depriving people of the right to abortion leaked last month, some have advised deleting period tracking apps to prevent that data from being used to target people seeking abortion care. But it’s useful to distinguish between the security a … | Continue reading
Should the police be able to ask Google for the name of everyone who searched for the address of an abortion provider in a state where abortions are now illegal? Or who searched for the drug mifepristone? What about people who searched for gender-affirming healthcare providers in … | Continue reading
Want the latest news on your digital rights? Well, you're in luck! Version 34, issue 4 of our EFFector newsletter is out now. Catch up on the latest EFF news by reading our newsletter or listening to the audio version below. This issue covers EFF's current work on reproductive ri … | Continue reading
Here at EFF, we fight hard to ensure your security and privacy rights are maintained in the digital world. Back when we were founded in 1990, a dream of a world united by the internet was accompanied by forward-thinking visions of connected devices of all kinds making our lives m … | Continue reading
In response to the very real pressures that online news outlets are facing, Congress continues to believe the very flawed Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) is a magic solution. It is not. In fact, it is actively dangerous. And there’s a better solution available. … | Continue reading
While encryption has been under attack in recent days, it’s still essential for private and secure electronic communications, especially for human rights defenders and journalists. EFF and our partners recently argued for the essentiality of encryption in a case before the Europe … | Continue reading
Today's decision deprives millions of people of a fundamental right, and also underscores the importance of fair and meaningful protections for data privacy. Everyone deserves to have strong controls over the collection and use of information they necessarily leave behind as they … | Continue reading
In May, Senators Mike Lee, Amy Klobuchar, Ted Cruz, and Richard Blumenthal introduced the “Competition and Transparency in Digital Advertising Act.” The bill, also called the “Digital Advertising Act” or just “DAA” for short, is an ambitious attempt to regulate, and even break up … | Continue reading
Given the shifting state of the law, people seeking an abortion, or any kind of reproductive healthcare that might end with the termination of a pregnancy, may need to pay close attention to their digital privacy and security. We've previously covered how those involved in the a … | Continue reading
Westlaw, the world’s largest legal research service, is very likely to face antitrust liability. A federal court has ruled that ROSS Intelligence, a tiny rival offering new research tools (which Westlaw forced out of business with a copyright infringement suit) could proceed with … | Continue reading
Copyright law cannot be used as a shortcut around the First Amendment’s strong protections for anonymous internet users, a federal trial court ruled on Tuesday. The decision by a judge in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California confirms that copyr … | Continue reading
A (Very) Narrow Path to Holding Social Media Companies Legally Liable for Collaborating with Government in Content Moderation For the last several years we have seen numerous arguments that social media platforms are "state actors" that “must carry” all user speech. According to … | Continue reading
EFF supports Rep. Sara Jacobs’ “My Body, My Data" Act, which will protect the privacy and safety of people seeking reproductive health care. Privacy fears should never stand in the way of healthcare. That's why this common-sense bill will require businesses and non-governmental o … | Continue reading
A copyright holder can’t use a court order against the owner of an infringing website to conscript every intermediary service on the internet into helping make that website disappear, EFF and the Computer & Communications Industry Association argued in an amicus brief. The brief, … | Continue reading
A new quasi-court for copyright, with nationwide reach, began accepting cases this week. The “Copyright Claims Board” or “CCB,” housed within the Copyright Office in Washington DC, will rule on private copyright infringement lawsuits from around the country and award damages of u … | Continue reading
Much of what we do online involves reproducing copyrightable material, changing it, and/or making new works. Technically, pretty much every original tweet is copyrightable. And the vast majority of memes are based on copyrighted works. Your funny edits, mashups, and photoshopped … | Continue reading
EFF Legal Intern Talya Nevins contributed to the drafting of this blog post. A federal appellate court in Massachusetts has issued a ruling that effectively allows federal agents in Puerto Rico and most of New England to secretly watch and videorecord all activity in front of any … | Continue reading
Last year, several parents at EFF enrolled kids into daycare and were instantly told to download an application for managing their children’s care. Daycare and preschool applications frequently include notifications of feedings, diaper changes, pictures, activities, and which gua … | Continue reading
In December, 2020, Apple did something insanely great. They changed how iOS, their mobile operating system, handled users’ privacy preferences, so that owners of iPhones and other iOS devices could indicate that they don’t want to be tracked by any of the apps on their devices. I … | Continue reading
The California Senate Energy, Utilities, and Communications Committee will soon be the first to consider new and terrible amendments to Assemblymember Quirk-Silva’s A.B. 2749—which is backed by AT&T and other telecommunications interests. The legislation would prohibit the state … | Continue reading
In a win for medical privacy in the Empire State, the New York Legislature has passed a pivotal bill that protects people’s private immunity information like COVID-19 vaccine status from being used to track their movements and be used against them in unauthorized ways. The Electr … | Continue reading
Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey, a long-time critic of Amazon’s surveillance doorbell camera, Ring, has released a letter of concern and inquiry concerning the device’s audio capabilities. This is partially in response to a recent study conducted by Consumer Reports that found th … | Continue reading
EFF has long been in the business of searching for ways to guarantee digital privacy. That made essential that, ahead of a hearing titled “Protecting America's Consumers: Bipartisan Legislation to Strengthen Data Privacy and Security,” we send a letter to the House Energy and Com … | Continue reading
Over the past few years, data brokers and federal military, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies have formed a vast, secretive partnership to surveil the movements of millions of people. Many of the mobile apps on our cell phones track our movements with great precision and … | Continue reading
We all deserve the right to have a private conversation online. That's why EFF has taken on government surveillance for the past 30-plus years. One of our longest-running efforts has been to stop the National Security Agency’s (NSA) surveillance that sweeps up tens—if not hundred … | Continue reading
This is the final installment in a four-part blog series surveying global intermediary liability laws. You can read additional posts here: Platform Liability Trends Around the Globe: From Safe Harbors to Increased Responsibility Platform Liability Trends Around the Globe: Taxon … | Continue reading
Spyware apps were foisted on students at the height of the Covid-19 lockdowns. Today, long after most students have returned to in-person learning, those apps are still proliferating, and enabling an ever-expanding range of human rights abuses. In a recent Center for Democracy an … | Continue reading
The executive body of the European Union is pushing forward with a proposal that will endanger privacy and security for us all. When this proposal was made public by the EU Commission last month, we said it was a terrible idea. Today, we’re joining together with more than 70 org … | Continue reading
After recent horrific mass shootings, police vendor Axon announced plans to develop a supposed solution: a remotely controlled drone armed with a taser. In response to this announcement, and in light of objections from Axon’s Ethics Board, EFF called on those concerned to voice t … | Continue reading
Why EFF Supports Colorado’s Right to Repair Wheelchairs Law Wheelchairs Break Three million Americans rely on wheelchairs, which makes wheelchairs a key driver of the $50 billion Durable Medical Equipment industry. Many people depend on wheelchairs to help with the basic necessit … | Continue reading
Governments should protect people against cybercrime, and they should equally respect and protect people's human rights. However, across the world, governments routinely abuse cybercrime laws to crack down on human rights by criminalizing speech. Governments claim they must do so … | Continue reading
EFF, Article 19, Fundación Karisma, and Privacy International, represented by Berkeley Law’s International Human Rights Law Clinic, urged the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to rule that Colombia’s existing legal framework regulating intelligence activities, and the unlawful … | Continue reading
Taser and surveillance vendor Axon has proposed what it claims to be the solution to the epidemic of school shootings in the United States: a remote-controlled flying drone armed with a taser. For many many reasons, this is a dangerous idea. Armed drones would mission-creep their … | Continue reading
New York’s legislature has the chance to make history and stand up for users’ rights by passing the Digital Fair Repair Act. Assemblymember Patricia Fahy’s bill, A7006-B, would require companies to give people access to what they need to fix their stuff by selling spare parts and … | Continue reading
Police Department Withheld Documents About Use of Face RecognitionSAN FRANCISCO – On Wednesday, June 1, at 5 p.m. PT, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) will testify against the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) at the city’s Sunshine Ordinance Task Force meeting. EFF … | Continue reading
Activists and Civil Rights Advocates Say Sheriff’s Sharing Practices Threatened Safety of Marginalized Groups SAN FRANCISCO—Community activists in Northern California today announced a settlement in their lawsuit against the County of Marin and Marin County Sheriff Robert Doyle, … | Continue reading
Senate to Vote on USA FREEDOM Act Later in the Week Section 215 has expired. At least for now. The law that the NSA used to authorize its collection of vast amounts of information about the telephone calls of ordinary Americans is no more. Even though it’s likely temporary, it’s … | Continue reading
Where is the internet we were promised? It feels like we’re dominated by megalithic, siloed platforms where users have little or no say over how their data is used and little recourse if they disagree, where direct interaction with users is seen as a bug to be fixed, and where ar … | Continue reading
This blog post was drafted with help from former EFF Legal Intern Emma Hagemann. Massachusetts’ highest court has upheld the collection of mass cell tower data, despite recognizing that this data not only provides investigators with “highly personal and private” information but a … | Continue reading
Finding people near you with shared interests, and talking to them, has a very long history in human culture. We’re social animals. We need to find other people close to us to work together with, play games with, and build relationships and families with. Modern online social net … | Continue reading