2021 Year in Review: EFF Graphics
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/10/2021-year-review-eff-graphics
December 31, 2021, 1:33 PM
EFF's small design team sometimes struggles to keep up with the frenetic pace of our activist, legal and development colleagues. Whenever EFF launches a new legal case, activism campaign, tech project, or development campaign, we try to create unique and inspiring graphics to promote it. At EFF, we find that the ability to visualize the issues at hand encourages supporters to engage more fully with our work, to learn more and share more about what we do, and to donate to our cause.
All the...
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In 2021, the Police Took a Page Out of the NSA’s Playbook: 2021 in Review
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/2021-police-took-page-out-nsas-playbook
December 31, 2021, 11:57 AM
With increasing frequency, law enforcement has been using unconstitutional, suspicionless digital dragnet searches in an attempt to identify unknown suspects in criminal cases. Whether these searches are for everyone who was near a building where a crime occurred or who searched for a keyword like “bomb” or who shares genetic data with a crime scene DNA sample, 2021 saw more and more of these searches—and more attempts to push back and rein in unconstitutional law enforcement behavior. 
W...
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Every State Has a Chance to Deliver a “Fiber for All” Broadband Future: 2021 in Review
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/every-state-has-chance-deliver-fiber-all-broadband-future-2021-review
December 30, 2021, 6:23 PM
This year’s passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)—also known as the bipartisan infrastructure package—delivered on a goal EFF has sought for years. It finally creates a way for people to remedy a serious problem: a severe lack of fiber-to-the-home connectivity. Fiber optics lie at the core of all future broadband access options because it is the superior medium for moving data, with no close comparisons. As a result, global demand for fiber infrastructure is extremel...
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Shining a Light on Black Box Technology Used to Send People to Jail: 2021 Year in Review
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/shining-light-black-box-technology-used-send-people-jail-2021-year-review
December 30, 2021, 12:32 PM
If you're accused of a crime based on an algorithm's analysis of the evidence, you should have a right to refute the assumptions, methods, and programming of that algorithm. Building on previous wins, EFF and its allies turned the tide this year on the use of these secret programs in criminal prosecutions.
One of the most common forms of forensic programs is probabilistic genotyping software. It is used by the prosecution to examine DNA mixtures, where an analyst doesn't know how many people con...
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2021 Year In Review: Sex Online
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/year-review-sex-online
December 29, 2021, 4:26 PM
We don’t entrust Internet companies to be arbiters of morality. We shouldn't hand them the responsibility of making broad cultural decisions about the  forms sexuality is allowed to take online. And yet, this last year has been a steady and consistent drum of Internet companies doing just that. Rather than seeking consensus among users, Apple, Mastercard, Amazon, Ebay and others chose to impose their own values on the world, negatively affecting a broad range of people.
The ability to express...
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Students Are Learning To Resist Surveillance: Year in Review 2021
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/students-are-learning-resist-surveillance-year-review-2021
December 29, 2021, 9:17 AM
It’s been a tough year for students - but a good one for resistance. 
As schools have shuffled students from in-person education to at-home learning and testing, then back again, the lines between “school” and “home” have been blurred. This has made it increasingly difficult for students to protect their privacy and to freely express themselves, as online proctoring and other sinister forms of surveillance and disciplinary technology have spread. But students have fought back, and oft...
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Where Net Neutrality Is Today and What Comes Next: 2021 in Review
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/where-net-neutrality-today-and-what-comes-next-2021-review
December 28, 2021, 11:12 AM
When all is said and done—and there are some major steps to take in 2022—the United States will mark 2021 as the last year without federal net neutrality protections. Next year is when we will undo the 2017 repeal and once again put the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) back to work doing its job: protecting consumers from bad actors, working towards universal and net-neutral internet access, and accurately assessing the playing field in telecommunications.
With President Biden’s app...
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In 2021, We Told Apple: Don't Scan Our Phones
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/2021-we-told-apple-dont-scan-our-phones
December 28, 2021, 10:53 AM
Strong encryption provides privacy and security for everyone online. We can’t have private conversations, or safe transactions, without it. Encryption is critical to democratic politics and reliable economic transactions around the world. When a company rolls back its existing commitments to encryption, that’s a bad sign. 
In August, Apple made a startling announcement: the company would be installing scanning software on all of its devices, which would inspect users’ private photos in iC...
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We Encrypted the Web: 2021 Year in Review
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/we-encrypted-web-2021-year-review
December 27, 2021, 12:40 PM
In 2010, EFF launched its campaign to encrypt the entire web—that is, move all websites from non-secure HTTP to the more secure HTTPS protocol. Over 10 years later, 2021 has brought us even closer to achieving that goal. With various measurement sources reporting over 90% of web traffic encrypted, 2021 saw major browsers deploy key features to put HTTPS first. Thanks to Let’s Encrypt and EFF’s own Certbot, HTTPS deployment has become ubiquitous on the web.
Default HTTPS in All Browsers
For...
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The Battle for Communications Privacy in Latin America: 2021 in Review
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/battle-communications-privacy-latin-america-2021-review
December 27, 2021, 11:49 AM
Uncovering government surveillance and fighting for robust and effective legal safeguards and oversight is a continuous battle in Latin American countries. Surveillance capabilities and technologies are becoming more intrusive and prevalent, surrounded by a culture of secrecy and entrenched views that pit security against privacy. There are several challenges to face. Alongside growing resistance against government biometric surveillance, the long-standing problem of unfettered communications su...
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Vaccine Passports: 2021 in Review
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/vaccine-passports-2021-review
December 26, 2021, 10:04 AM
2021 has been the year of vaccines, in light of the continuing worldwide pandemic. It has also been the year of vaccine passports. To fully tell this story, let’s go back to 2020, because the term vaccine passport as many people use it has changed since then.
Early in the pandemic, there were discussions of “immunity passports” that would declare that someone had recovered from COVID-19, and which we thought were a bad idea. We, along with other civil liberties organizations, are against ...
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2021 Was the Year Lawmakers Tried to Regulate Online Speech
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/2021-was-year-lawmakers-tried-regulate-online-speech
December 26, 2021, 9:23 AM
On the biggest internet platforms, content moderation is bad and getting worse. It’s difficult to get it right, and at the scale of millions or billions of users, it may be impossible. It’s hard enough for humans to sift between spam, illegal content, and offensive but legal speech. Bots and AI have also failed to  rise to the job.
So, it’s inevitable that services make mistakes—removing users’ speech that does not violate their policies, or terminating users’ accounts with no expla...
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Stalkerware: 2021 in Review
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/stalkerware-2021-review
December 25, 2021, 9:45 AM
Stalkerware—that is, commercially-available apps that can be covertly installed on another person’s device for the purpose of monitoring their activity without their knowledge or consent—is nothing new, but 2021 has underscored just how prevalent and dangerous these apps continue to be and how important it is for companies and government to take action to rein them in. 
2021 saw the 2-year anniversary of the Coalition Against Stalkerware, of which EFF is a founding member. In 2021, the C...
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The Atlas of Surveillance Turns the Dragnet on Police Tech: 2021 Year in Review
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/atlas-surveillance-turns-dragnet-police-tech-2021-year-review
December 25, 2021, 9:09 AM
This past year, EFF's Atlas of Surveillance project mobilized hundreds of student journalists and volunteer researchers to turn the tables on police spying by building the largest ever public-facing database of police surveillance technology.
As EFF has long documented, local law enforcement agencies around the United States are amassing arsenals of surveillance technology to gather as much data as possible on the public. From automated license plate readers (ALPRs) that track our vehicles to r...
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The Future is in Interoperability Not Big Tech: 2021 in Review
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/future-interoperability-not-big-tech-2021-review
December 24, 2021, 4:26 PM
2021 was not a good year for Big Tech: a flaming cocktail of moderation failings, privacy breaches, leaked nefarious plans, illegal collusion and tone-deaf, arrogant pronouncements stoked public anger and fired up the political will to do something about the unaccountable power and reckless self-interest of the tech giants.
We’ve been here before. EFF’s been fighting tech abuses for 30 years, and we’re used to real tech problems giving rise to nonsensical legal “solutions,” that don’...
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Pushing Back on Police Surveillance: 2021 Year in Review
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/pushing-back-police-surveillance-2021-year-review
December 24, 2021, 4:04 PM
A year after the police murder of George Floyd, Black-led protests against police violence continue, as does resistance to police departments across the country growing their surveillance toolbelts and unnecessarily amassing troves of personal data. EFF stands with protesters against police abuse, and stands up for the core rights to privacy, speech, and protest threatened by police surveillance. This year we have gone to court to hold police accountable, endorsed regulatory and defunding propos...
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2021 Year in Review
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/2021-year-review
December 23, 2021, 3:28 PM
2021 ended up being a time where we dug into our new realities of distributed work and the ever-changing COVID news. At the same time, news continued to come fast and furious, with the events of one week often obliterating memories of the week before. So it’s helpful for all of us to look back at the last year and remember just what we accomplished. Looking at what we did—at what you, our supporters, helped us do—we can be confident that whatever changes continue to roll in, we will contin...
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Electronic Frontier Alliance Defending Local Communities: 2021 in Review
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/electronic-frontier-alliance-defending-local-communities-2021-review
December 23, 2021, 1:56 PM
In another year of masking up, local communities have found enough footing to push back on surveillance tech and fight for our digital rights. Members of the Electronic Frontier Alliance have continued to innovate by organizing workshops and trainings for neighbors, overwhelmingly online, and made important headway on issues like more equitable broadband access, surveillance oversight, and even banning government use of face recognition.
The Electronic Frontier Alliance (EFA) is an information-s...
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Support a Better Web for Everyone & Unlock Grants for EFF
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/support-better-web-everyone-unlock-grants-eff
December 22, 2021, 5:25 PM
During the holiday season you’ll see lots of appeals from worthy causes. Wherever your heart is, there's little doubt that technology amplifies voices and helps build community around the issues that matter most to you. That’s why the Electronic Frontier Foundation fights for your right to express yourself, connect to friends, and explore ideas online. And it's also why EFF needs your help during our Year-End Challenge.
Digital privacy, security, and free speech lift up all the efforts to ma...
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Podcast Episode: The Life of the (Crypto) Party
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/podcast-episode-life-crypto-party
December 21, 2021, 8:10 AM
Episode 106 of EFF’s How to Fix the Internet
Surveillance is always problematic, but it isn’t neutral—it is more often deployed in communities of color than elsewhere. And surveillance technology isn’t objective, either—it often magnifies the biases of its users and creators, affecting already-marginalized individuals far more heavily than others. Matt Mitchell, founder of CryptoHarlem, has an exciting solution for helping undo the damage that pervasive surveillance has done to those w...
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مؤسسة الجبهة الإلكترونية نيابة عن ناشطة حقوقية سعودية، تقاضي صانع برامج التجسس دارك ماتر لانتهاك قوانين مكافحة القرصنة الأمريكية والقوانين الدولية لحقوق الإنسان
https://www.eff.org/press/releases/mwss-ljbh-llktrwny-nyb-n-nsht-hqwqy-swdy-tqdy-sn-brmj-ltjss-drk-mtr-lnthk-qwnyn-mkfh
December 20, 2021, 9:02 PM
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ج ضارة لاختراق هاتفها.English version
 بورتلاند، أوريغون - رفعت �
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EFF Continues Legal Fight to Release Records Showing How Law Enforcement Uses Cell-site Simulators
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/eff-continues-legal-fight-release-records-showing-how-law-enforcement-uses-cell
December 17, 2021, 5:35 PM
Four years ago, EFF set out on a mission to chase down the paper trail left behind when cops in California use cell-site simulators. This trail has led us to a California appellate court, where next spring we will face-off with San Bernardino County law enforcement over whether they can keep search warrants authorizing electronic surveillance secret from the public indefinitely.
Cell-site simulators (CSSs) mimic cell-phone towers to trick any nearby phones into connecting with them. Police use t...
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EFF to Court: Deny Foreign Sovereign Immunity to DarkMatter for Hacking Journalist
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/eff-court-deny-foreign-sovereign-immunity-darkmatter-hacking-journalist
December 16, 2021, 10:27 PM
When governments or private companies target someone with malware and facilitate the abuse of their human rights, the victim must be able to hold the bad actors accountable. That’s why, in October, EFF requested that a federal court consider its amicus brief in support of journalist Ghada Oueiss in her lawsuit against DarkMatter, a notorious cyber-mercenary company based in the United Arab Emirates. Oueiss is suing the company and high-level Saudi government officials for allegedly hacking her...
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EU's Digital Identity Framework Endangers Browser Security
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/eus-digital-identity-framework-endangers-browser-security
December 15, 2021, 10:46 PM
If a proposal currently before the European Parliament and Council passes, the security of HTTPS in your browser may get a lot worse. A proposed amendment to Article 45 in the EU’s Digital Identity Framework (eIDAS) would have major, adverse security effects on millions of users browsing the web.
The amendment would require browsers to trust third parties designated by the government, without necessary security assurances. But trusting a third party that turns out to be insecure or careless co...
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Apple’s Android App to Scan for AirTags is a Necessary Step Forward, But More Anti-Stalking Mitigations Are Needed
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/apples-android-app-scan-airtags-necessary-step-forward-more-anti-stalking
December 15, 2021, 6:49 PM
This post has been updated to say that Tracker Detect is available internationally.We’re pleased to see Apple has come out with an Android app called Tracker Detect that addresses some of the serious threats to privacy and safety we identified with Apple AirTags when they debuted. Quarter-sized Bluetooth-enabled homing beacons marketed as a way to track lost luggage or keys, AirTags can easily be exploited by stalkers to track and locate their victims.As we explained in May, AirTags can be sli...
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YouTube’s New Copyright Transparency Report Leaves a Lot Out
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/youtubes-new-copyright-transparency-report-leaves-lot-out
December 15, 2021, 5:42 PM
YouTube recently released a transparency report on the status of copyright claims for the first half of 2021. It says it will release these numbers biannually from now on. We applaud this move towards transparency, since it gives researchers a better look at what’s happening on the world’s largest streaming video platform. What is less welcome is the spin.
The major thrust of this report is to calm the major studios and music labels. Those huge conglomerates have consistently pushed for more...
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Have an Open Records Horror Story? Shine a Light by Nominating an Agency for The Foilies 2022
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/have-open-tecords-horror-story-shine-light-nominating-agency-foilies-2022
December 14, 2021, 10:13 PM
This post is crossposted at MuckRock and was co-written by Michael Morisy.We are now accepting submissions for The Foilies 2022, the annual project to give tongue-in-cheek awards to the officials and institutions that behave badly—or ridiculously—when served with a request for public records.
Compiled by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and MuckRock, The Foilies run as a cover feature in alternative newsweeklies across the U.S. during Sunshine Week (March 13-19, 2022), through a part...
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Victory! Federal Court Blocks Texas’ Unconstitutional Social Media Law
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/victory-federal-court-blocks-texas-unconstitutional-social-media-law
December 14, 2021, 9:30 PM
On December 1, hours before Texas’ social media law, HB 20, was slated to go into effect, a federal court in Texas blocked it for violating the First Amendment. Like a similar law in Florida, which was blocked and is now pending before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the Texas law will go to the Fifth Circuit. These laws are retaliatory, obviously unconstitutional, and EFF will continue advocating that courts stop them.
In October, EFF filed an amicus brief against HB 20 in Netchoice v....
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Google’s Manifest V3 Still Hurts Privacy, Security, and Innovation
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/googles-manifest-v3-still-hurts-privacy-security-innovation
December 14, 2021, 6:09 PM
It's been over two years since our initial response to Google's Manifest V3 proposal. Manifest V3 is the latest set of changes to the Chrome browser’s rules for browser extensions. Each extensions manifest version update introduces backwards-incompatible changes to ostensibly move the platform forward. In 2018, Manifest V3 was framed as a proposal, with Google repeatedly claiming to be listening to feedback. Let's check in to see where we stand as 2021 wraps up.
Since announcing Manifest V3 i...
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Podcast Episode: A Better Future Starts with Secret Codes
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/podcast-episode-better-future-starts-secret-codes
December 14, 2021, 9:00 AM
Podcast Episode 105
Law enforcement wants to force companies to build a backdoor to the software that runs on your phones, tablets, and other devices. This would allow easier access to the information on your device and the information that flows through it, including your private communications with others, the websites you visit, and all the information from your applications. Join EFF’s Cindy Cohn and Danny O’Brien as they talk to Riana Pfefferkorn, a lawyer and research scholar at the St...
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Digital Services Act: EU Parliament's Key Committee Rejects a Filternet But Concerns Remain
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/digital-services-act-eu-parliaments-key-committee-avoids-filternet-made-europe
December 14, 2021, 8:00 AM
Fix What is Broken vs Break What Works: Oscillating Between Policy Choices
The European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA) is a big deal. It's the most significant reform of Europe’s internet platform legislation in twenty years and the EU Commission has proposed multiple new rules to address the challenges brought by the increased use of services online. While the draft proposal got many things right -- for example by setting standards on transparency, proposing limits on content removal, and...
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Dream Job Alert: Senior Fellow for Decentralization at EFF
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/dream-job-alert-senior-fellow-decentralization-eff
December 13, 2021, 10:20 PM
We have an amazing opportunity to join the EFF team.
We are hiring a Senior Fellow of Decentralization, a position that is a public advocate helping to establish EFF as a leader in the civil liberties implications of decentralizing the Internet. You’ll help chart a course for EFF to have real impact in the public conversations about decentralization of the Internet as it fits into our mission of ensuring that technology supports freedom, justice, and innovation for all people of the world. Thr...
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EFF to Federal Appeals Courts: Hold Police Accountable for Violating Civilians’ Right to Record
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/eff-federal-appeals-courts-hold-police-accountable-violating-civilians-right-0
December 13, 2021, 6:36 PM
You have the right under the First Amendment to livestream and record on-duty police officers and officers who interfere with that right should be held accountable. That’s what EFF told the Fourth and Tenth Circuit Courts of Appeals in amicus briefs filed in November. EFF is supporting the plaintiffs in those cases, Sharpe v. Winterville and Irizarry v. Yehia, who are suing police officers for violating their right to record.
After police officers beat Dijon Sharpe during a traffic stop, he de...
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This Is Not the Privacy Bill You’re Looking For
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/not-privacy-bill-youre-looking
December 13, 2021, 5:58 PM
Lawmakers looking for a starting place on privacy legislation should pass on The Uniform Law Commission’s Uniform Personal Data Protection Act (UPDPA). The Uniform Law Commission (ULC) seeks to write model legislation that can be adopted in state legislatures across the country to set national standards. Sadly, the ULC has fumbled its consumer privacy bill and created, in the UPDPA, a model bill that is weak, confusing, and toothless.
A strong privacy bill must place consumers first. EFF has l...
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Virtual Worlds, Real People: Human Rights in the Metaverse
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/virtual-worlds-real-people-human-rights-metaverse
December 10, 2021, 1:33 AM
Download the report
Today, December 10, is International Human Rights Day. On this day in 1948, the U.N. General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the document that lays out the principles and building blocks of current and future human rights instruments. In honor of this anniversary, Access Now and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) are calling upon governments and companies to address human rights in the context of virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR) and ...
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Chrome Users Beware: Manifest V3 is Deceitful and Threatening
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/chrome-users-beware-manifest-v3-deceitful-and-threatening
December 9, 2021, 7:27 PM
Manifest V3, Google Chrome’s soon-to-be definitive basket of changes to the world of web browser extensions, has been framed by its authors as “a step in the direction of privacy, security, and performance.” But we think these changes are a raw deal for users.  We’ve said that since Manifest V3 was announced, and continue to say so as its implementation is now imminent. Like FLoC and Privacy Sandbox before it, Manifest V3 is another example of the inherent conflict of interest that come...
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Newspapers vs Big Tech: Antitrust Tackles the Problems That Copyright Just Can’t Fix
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/newspapers-vs-big-tech-antitrust-tackles-problems-copyright-just-cant-fix
December 9, 2021, 7:15 PM
More than 200 newspapers have filed suit against Google and Facebook (AKA “Meta”), alleging that the tech giants colluded to rig ad markets so that they could misappropriate ad revenues that were properly owed to the publishers.
Strip away all the ornamental complexity and it’s obvious that the surveillance advertising industry is designed to shift value from advertisers and publishers to Big Tech
The evidence that Google and Facebook rigged this market is strong. Strip away all the orna...
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Saudi Human Rights Activist, Represented by EFF, Sues Spyware Maker DarkMatter For Violating U.S. Anti-Hacking and International Human Rights Laws
https://www.eff.org/press/releases/saudi-human-rights-activist-represented-eff-sues-spyware-maker-darkmatter-violating
December 9, 2021, 2:25 PM
Prominent Women’s Rights Advocate Loujain AlHathloul Files Complaint Naming DarkMatter and Former U.S. Intelligence Operatives Who Designed Malware to Hack Her Phoneالترج�
ة العربية
Portland, Oregon—The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a lawsuit today on behalf of prominent Saudi human rights activist Loujain AlHathloul against spying software maker DarkMatter Group and three of its former executives for illegally hacking her iPhone to secretly track her communications...
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EFF, Partners Launch New Edition of Santa Clara Principles, Adding Standards Aimed at Governments and Expanding Appeal Guidelines
https://www.eff.org/press/releases/eff-partners-launch-new-edition-santa-clara-principles-adding-standards-aimed
December 8, 2021, 5:37 PM
Revisions Based on Feedback About Inequitable Application, Algorithmic ToolsSan Francisco—The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and a coalition of civil society organizations and academics today released the second edition of the Santa Clara Principles on Transparency and Accountability In Content Moderation, adding standards directed at government and state actors to beef up due process and expanding guidelines for reporting on and notifying users about takedowns.The Santa Clara Principles...
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Restore the 4th Minnesota: Racking Up Victories in 2021
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/restore-4th-minnesota-racking-victories-2021
December 8, 2021, 4:46 PM
With the Snowden revelations in 2013 on NSA spying, many who were outraged sought to channel their frustrations first into mobilizing protests against state surveillance, and then into organizing local groups in defense of Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure. From this initial mobilization, Restore the Fourth was born as a network of decentralized, local groups. Restore the Fourth Minnesota (RT4MN) is very active, helping organize a local coalition known as Safety Not...
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First Circuit Affirms School's Punishment of Students for Online Social Media Posts
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/first-circuit-affirms-schools-punishment-students-online-social-media-posts
December 7, 2021, 9:11 PM
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed a public school’s punishment of students for speech posted on social media. It was unclear from the lower court proceedings whether the students had posted to social media while on campus or off campus. EFF had urged the court to draw a distinction between on- and off-campus social media speech, and to make clear that schools cannot reach into students’ private lives to punish them for speech that they utter outside of school, even if ...
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Pay a Hacker, Save a Life
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/pay-hacker-save-life
December 7, 2021, 2:28 PM
Episode 104 of EFF’s How to Fix the Internet
How do we make the Internet more secure? Part of the solution is incentives, according to Tarah Wheeler, this week’s guest on EFF’s How to Fix the Internet. As a security researcher with deep experience in the hacker community, Tarah talks about how many companies are shooting themselves in the foot when it comes to responding to security disclosures. Along with EFF co-hosts Cindy Cohn and Danny O’Brien, Tarah also talks about how existing com...
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Livestreamed Hearing Monday: EFF Urges Appeals Court to Allow Public Access to Documents in Patent Troll Litigation
https://www.eff.org/press/releases/livestreamed-hearing-monday-eff-urges-appeals-court-allow-public-access-documents
December 2, 2021, 10:57 PM
Uniloc Improperly Hiding DocumentsWASHINGTON, D.C.— On Monday, December 6, at 10 am ET, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), standing up for public access to courts and transparency in patent litigation, will urge a panel of judges to unseal documents that a notorious patent troll is trying to hide. At a federal appeals court hearing that will be livestreamed, attorney Alexandra H. Moss, Executive Director at Public Interest Patent Law Institute, who is assisting EFF in the case, will ar...
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InternetLab’s 2021 “Who Defends Your Data Brazil” Report Shows Improvement in Brazilian ISPs Privacy Practices, But Gaps Remain
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/internetlabs-2021-who-defends-your-data-brazil-report-shows-improvement-brazilian
December 2, 2021, 2:27 PM
Brazil’s biggest internet connection providers continue to make strides towards better protection of customer data and greater transparency about their privacy practices, according to InternetLab’s 2021 “Quem Defende Seus Dados?" (“Who defends your data?)" report. Released today, the report is the sixth annual assessment of Brazilian providers’ adherence to best-practices criteria that look at whether they are doing their level best under the law to protect users when law enforcement r...
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Facebook’s Secret “Dangerous Organizations and Individuals” List Creates Problems for the Company—and Its Users
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/facebooks-secret-dangerous-organizations-and-individuals-list-creates-problems
December 1, 2021, 7:11 PM
Along with the trove of "Facebook Papers" recently leaked to press outlets was a document that Facebook has, until now, kept intentionally secret: its list of "Dangerous Organizations and Individuals." This list comprises supposed terrorist groups, hate groups, criminal groups, and individuals associated with each, and is used to filter and remove speech on the platform. We're glad to have transparency into the document now, but as The Intercept recently reported, and as Facebook likely expected...
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The Internet Needs Fair Rules of the Road – and Competitive Drivers
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/internet-needs-fair-rules-road-and-competitive-drivers
December 1, 2021, 4:59 PM
In the past few weeks, the Biden Administration has finally moved forward with nominations to the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission. One of those nominees, Gigi Sohn (who, fair disclosure, has been an EFF board member), is testifying right now, and we expect a vote on all of the nominees soon.
As the agencies moves forward, fully staffed at last, we hope they will both recognize the role they can play in promoting net neutrality – meaning, in preventing ISPs fr...
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A One-Two Punch for Internet Freedom 👊
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/11/one-two-punch-internet-freedom
November 30, 2021, 3:12 PM
Power Up Your Donation Week is here! Starting on #GivingTuesday, your contribution to EFF will have double the impact on digital privacy, security, and free speech rights for everyone.
Power Up
Donate today and get an automatic 2x match!
A group of passionate EFF supporters has created a special fund and issued a challenge: donate to EFF by December 7th and they’ll automatically match contributions up to a total of $308,500! This means every dollar you give becomes two dollars for EFF.
The Pow...
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Podcast Episode: Who Should Control Online Speech?
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/11/podcast-episode-putting-people-control-online-speech
November 30, 2021, 9:00 AM
Episode 103 of EFF’s How to Fix the Internet
The bots that try to moderate speech online are doing a terrible job, and the humans in charge of the biggest tech companies aren’t doing any better. The internet’s promise was as a space where everyone could have their say. But today, just a few platforms decide what billions of people see and say online. 
Join EFF’s Cindy Cohn and Danny O’Brien as they talk to Stanford’s Daphne Keller about why the current approach to content moderatio...
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Dream Job Alert: Media Relations Director for EFF
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/11/dream-job-alert-media-relations-director-eff
November 29, 2021, 8:55 PM
We’ve got an amazing opportunity for a senior media relations person to join the EFF team.
Right now, we are hiring for a Media Relations Director role, a leadership role that oversees and directs EFF’s press strategy and engagement. Join EFF and help explain to journalists and the world why civil liberties matter so much for the future of technology and society. Apply today.
We are open to many different types of candidates for this role. We are especially interested in meeting people who h...
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Our Patent Review System is Ten Years Old. It’s Time to Make It Stronger.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/11/our-patent-review-system-ten-years-old-its-time-make-it-stronger
November 29, 2021, 7:25 PM
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) grants more than 300,000 patents each year.  Some of those patent grants represent genuine new inventions, but many of them don’t. On average, patent examiners have about 18 hours to spend on each application. That’s not enough time to get it right. 
Thousands of patents get issued each year that never should have been issued in the first place. This is a particular problem in software, which is a bad fit for the patent system. That’s why it�...
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