Federal Court Rules Suspicionless Searches of Travelers’ Phones and

BOSTON—In a major victory for privacy rights at the border, a federal court in Boston ruled today that suspicionless searches of travelers’ electronic devices by federal agents at airports and other

What surveillance tools Nevada police use and why critics are worried about privacy

Northern Nevada Communities and law enforcement agencies rely on high-tech tools to prevent and investigate crimes. But when does it become intrusive or an inva

Tumblr's Porn Filter Flags Its Own Examples of 'Permitted' Nudity

According to Tumblr, its new adult content ban doesn’t effect images of “female-presenting nipples” that involve medical situations, are related to

Ring Doorbell App Packed with Third-Party Trackers

Ring isn't just a product that allows users to surveil their neighbors. The company also uses it to surveil its customers.An investigation by EFF of the Ring doorbell app for Android found it to be

dmca/2020/10/2020-10-23-RIAA.md at master · github/dmca

Repository with text of DMCA takedown notices as received. GitHub does not endorse or adopt any assertion contained in the following notices. Users identified in the notices are presumed innocent u...

John Perry Barlow, Internet Pioneer, 1947-2018

With a broken heart I have to announce that EFF's founder, visionary, and our ongoing inspiration, John Perry Barlow, passed away quietly in his sleep this morning. We will miss Barlow and his wisdom

Geek Squad's Relationship with FBI Is Cozier Than We Thought

After the prosecution of a California doctor revealed the FBI’s ties to a Best Buy Geek Squad computer repair facility in Kentucky, new documents released to EFF show that the relationship goes back

Google Is Testing Its Controversial New Ad Targeting Tech in Millions

Update, April 9, 2021 : We've launched Am I FLoCed, a new site that will tell you whether your Chrome browser has been turned into a guinea pig for Federated Learning of Cohorts or FLoC, Google’s

Cops Running DNA-Manufactured Faces Through Face Recognition Is a

In keeping with law enforcement’s grand tradition of taking antiquated, invasive, and oppressive technologies, making them digital, and then calling it innovation, police in the U.S. recently

You Gave Facebook Your Number For Security. They Used It For Ads.

Add “a phone number I never gave Facebook for targeted advertising” to the list of deceptive and invasive ways Facebook makes money off your personal information. Contrary to user expectations and

Face masks are breaking facial recognition algorithms, says new government study

If you’re worried about mass surveillance, here’s another reason to wear a face mask

EFF’s Tweet About an Overzealous DMCA Takedown Is Now Subject to an

Get ready for a tale as good as anything you’d see on television. Here’s the sequence of events: the website TorrentFreak publishes an article about a leak of TV episodes, including shows from the

July 19 AINS - ADPPA

2022-07-18_-_hr_8152_adppa_-_ains.pdf

EU’s Parliament Signs Off on Disastrous Internet Law: What Happens

In a stunning rejection of the will of five million online petitioners, and over 100,000 protestors this weekend, the European Parliament has abandoned common-sense and the advice of academics,

Your DNA Profile is Private? A Florida Judge Just Said Otherwise (Published 2019)

Privacy experts say a warrant granted in Florida could set a precedent, opening up all consumer DNA sites to law enforcement agencies across the country.

JavaScript infinite alert prank lands 13-year-old Japanese girl in hot water

Girl charged with spreading an unauthorized malicious program.

Apple's Plan to "Think Different" About Encryption Opens a Backdoor

Apple has announced impending changes to its operating systems that include new “protections for children” features in iCloud and iMessage. If you’ve spent any time following the Crypto Wars, you

No Justification for Spanish Internet Censorship During Catalonian

The ruthless efficiency with which the Spanish government censored the Internet ahead of the referendum on Catalonian independence foreshadowed the severity of its crackdown at polling places on

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You can still stop #Article13 (aka #Article17)! #Copyright #CensorshipMachine

The Internet is Facing a Catastrophe For Free Expression and

Update: Monday 14th 2019: We've added contact details and an action for Belgium.Update: Tuesday 15th 2019: We've added contact details and an action for Czechia.Sweden: Take Action Here.Germany: Take

EFF Sues DOGE and the Office of Personnel Management to Halt

EFF and a coalition of privacy defenders have filed a lawsuit asking a federal court to block Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing the private information of millions

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Has Made a Mockery of the

The latest evidence that Section 702 of the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act (FISA) must be ended or drastically reformed came last month in the form of a newly unsealed order from the Foreign

Celebrating the Life of Aaron Swartz: Aaron Swartz Day 2024

Aaron Swartz was a digital rights champion who believed deeply in keeping the internet open. His life was cut short in 2013, after federal prosecutors charged him under the Computer Fraud and Abuse

D.C. Court: Accessing Public Information is Not a Computer Crime

Good news for anyone who uses the Internet as a source of information: A district court in Washington, D.C. has ruled that using automated tools to access publicly available information on the open

Face Scans to Estimate Our Age: Harmful and Creepy AF

Government must stop restricting website access with laws requiring age verification.Some advocates of these censorship schemes argue we can nerd our way out of the many harms they cause to speech,

You Gave Facebook Your Number For Security. They Used It For Ads.

Add “a phone number I never gave Facebook for targeted advertising” to the list of deceptive and invasive ways Facebook makes money off your personal information. Contrary to user expectations and

How To Change Your Facebook Settings To Opt Out of Platform API

UPDATE (3/30/18): We have updated this post and its screenshots to reflect how Facebook reorganized and removed some settings this week.You shouldn't have to do this. You shouldn't have to wade

California Shopping Centers Are Spying for an ICE Contractor

Update July 12, 2018. On July 11, Vigilant Solutions issued a press release disputing EFF’s report. We have posted the details and our response in a new post. Update 10:45 a.m., July 11, 2018: The

Just Banning Minors From Social Media Is Not Protecting Them

By publishing its guidelines under Article 28 of the Digital Services Act, the European Commission has taken a major step towards social media bans that will undermine privacy, expression, and

“Everyone Made Themselves the Hero.” Remembering Aaron Swartz

On January 18, 2012, the Internet went dark. Hundreds of websites went black in protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA). The bills would have created a “blacklist”

New Lawsuit Challenges FOSTA – The Federal Law Sparking Website

San Francisco – Two human rights organizations, a digital library, an activist for sex workers, and a certified massage therapist have filed a lawsuit asking a federal court to block enforcement of

Wyden and Heinrich: Newly Declassified Documents Reveal Previously Secret CIA Bulk Collection,...

The Official U.S. Senate website of Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon

A Win for Encryption: France Rejects Backdoor Mandate

In a moment of clarity after initially moving forward a deeply flawed piece of legislation, the French National Assembly has done the right thing: it rejected a dangerous proposal that would have

The EARN IT Bill Is the Government’s Plan to Scan Every Message Online

Update 10/1/2020: The EARN IT bill has been amended since this blog post was published. We still oppose the bill.Imagine an Internet where the law required every message sent to be read by

Chat Control Is Back on the Menu in the EU. It Still Must Be Stopped

The European Union Council is once again debating its controversial message scanning proposal, aka “Chat Control,” that would lead to the scanning of private conversations of billions of people. Chat

You Did It: California Net Neutrality Passes State Assembly

Update 8-30-2018: The vote count was updated to reflect the final vote count. After a long and hard-fought battle, one where you made your voices heard, California’s Assembly passed S.B. 822, the net

An open letter to the W3C Director, CEO, team and membership

Dear Jeff, Tim, and colleagues, In 2013, EFF was disappointed to learn that the W3C had taken on the project of standardizing “Encrypted Media Extensions,” an API whose sole function was to provide a

Glenn Greenwald Charged With Cybercrimes in Brazil (Published 2020)

Mr. Greenwald is accused of being part of a “criminal investigation” that hacked into the cellphones of prosecutors and public officials.

Now The EU Council Should Finally Understand: No One Wants “Chat

The EU Council has now passed a 4th term without passing its controversial message-scanning proposal. The just-concluded Belgian Presidency failed to broker a deal that would push forward this

Egypt's Crackdown on Free Expression Will Cost Lives

For years, EFF has been monitoring a dangerous situation in Egypt: journalists, bloggers, and activists have been harassed, detained, arrested, and jailed, sometimes without trial, in increasing

Fix It Already

Tech companies could change these things to make your life easier and protect your digital security and privacy. Why haven’t they yet?

The Internet Is Not Facebook: Why Infrastructure Providers Should

Cloudflare’s recent headline-making decision to refuse its services to KiwiFarms—a site notorious for allowing its users to wage harassment campaigns against trans people—is likely to lead to more

How to Change Your Off-Facebook Activity Settings

Facebook's long-awaited Off-Facebook Activity tool started rolling out today. While it's not a perfect measure, and we still need stronger data privacy laws, this tool is a good step toward greater

Today’s the Day: Let's Save Net Neutrality

You might have noticed something unusual when you visited the EFF website today: our site was “blocked” unless you shelled out for “premium” Internet access. As part of the day of action to support

Police Will Pilot a Program to Live-Stream Amazon Ring Cameras

Updated as of 11/5/2020: This blog post has been updated with a statement from Amazon in regards to the pilot program described in the Jackson Free Press. You can find their response at the bottom of

Blocking Access to Harmful Content Will Not Protect Children Online,

The UK is having a moment. In late July, new rules took effect that require all online services available in the UK to assess whether they host content considered harmful to children, and if so,

Attending a Protest

For quick reference, we've created a handy guide designed to be printed, folded, and carried in your pocket (PDF download). Now, more than ever, citizens must be able to hold those in power account...

'Facebook doesn't care': Activists say accounts removed despite Zuckerberg's free-speech stance

“Facebook doesn’t care. It closes our accounts on the pretext of terrorism. We are against terrorism and violence," one journalist said.

Don’t Mix Policing with COVID-19 Contact Tracing

Over the weekend, Minnesota’s Public Safety Commissioner analogized COVID-19 contact tracing with police investigation of arrested protesters. This analogy is misleading and dangerous. It also

Not In Our Name: Why European Creators Should Oppose the EU's

The European Copyright Directive vote is in three days and it will be a doozy: what was once a largely uncontroversial grab bag of fixes to copyright is now a political firestorm, thanks to the

Vulnerability In Ring Doorbells Left the Door Open for Hackers to Open the Door

Bitdefender–the tireless actuary of the Internet of Things–were able to crack into homeowner’s personal WiFi networks via Amazon’s Ring doorbells, the

Download Amazon Prime Video for Windows, macOS, Android, APK, iOS and Web App | Gizmodo

Amazon finally admits giving cops Ring doorbell data without user consent

Amazon Ring gave police data without user consent 11 times so far in 2022.