Electronic Frontier Foundation
Featured Article
It’s not rocket science: Why Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover could be bad for privacy
Elon Musk has put an end to weeks of speculation with the announcement that Twitter has accepted his offer to buy the platform for $54.20 per share, valuing the social media platform at about $44 billion. While Musk’s drawn-out pursuit of Twitter has come to an end, for him at least, the next chapter of…
Web3’s early promise for artists tainted by rampant stolen works and likenesses
Jillian C. York didn’t want to be a non-fungible token. A Berlin-based author and activist, York is also the director for International Freedom of Expression at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.…
A bill to ban geofence and keyword search warrants in New York gains traction
A New York bill that would ban state law enforcement from obtaining residents’ private user data from tech giants through the use of controversial search warrants will get another chance,…
EFF sues spyware maker DarkMatter for illegally hacking Saudi activist
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has filed a lawsuit against spyware maker DarkMatter, along with three former members of U.S. intelligence or military agencies, for allegedly hacking the iPhone of a…
Innovative mobility options provide cities with opportunities to solve the last-mile transportation problem, and the data from these services has a range of uses, but there are valid privacy concerns.
Hello friends, and welcome back to Week in Review. Last week, we dove into the truly bizarre machinations of the NFT market. This week, we’re talking about something that’s a…
Apple delays plans to roll out CSAM detection in iOS 15 after privacy backlash
Apple has delayed plans to roll out its child sexual abuse (CSAM) detection technology that it chaotically announced last month, citing feedback from customers and policy groups. That feedback, if…
Crypto community slams ‘disastrous’ new amendment to Biden’s big infrastructure bill
Biden’s major bipartisan infrastructure plan struck a rare chord of cooperation between Republicans and Democrats, but changes it proposes to cryptocurrency regulation are tripping up the bill. The administration intends…
US lawmakers want to restrict police use of ‘Stingray’ cell tower simulators
According to BuzzFeed News, Democratic Senator Ron Wyden and Representative Ted Lieu will introduce legislation later today that seeks to restrict police use of international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) catchers. More…
Ring refuses to say how many users had video footage obtained by police
Ring gets a lot of criticism, not just for its massive surveillance network of home video doorbells and its problematic privacy and security practices, but also for giving that doorbell…
Maryland and Montana are restricting police access to DNA databases
Maryland and Montana have become the first U.S. states to pass laws that make it tougher for law enforcement to access DNA databases. The new laws, which aim to safeguard…
Proctorio sued for using DMCA to take down a student’s critical tweets
A university student is suing exam proctoring software maker Proctorio to “quash a campaign of harassment” against critics of the company, including an accusation that the company misused copyright laws…
These 6 browser extensions will protect your privacy online
The internet is not a private place. Ads try to learn as much about you to sell your information to the highest bidder. Emails know when you open them and…
The new stimulus bill makes illegal streaming a felony
We’ve already written several stories about the new pandemic stimulus package that Congress approved yesterday, including funding to increase broadband access and for new energy initiatives. There are, however, other…
Facebook sues two companies engaged in data scraping operations
Facebook today says it has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. against two companies that had engaged in an international “data scraping” operation. The operation extended across Facebook properties, including…
In less than three months and notwithstanding intervention, TikTok will be effectively banned in the U.S. unless an American company steps in to save it, after the Trump administration declared…
A new technique can detect newer 4G ‘stingray’ cell phone snooping
Security researchers say they have developed a new technique to detect modern cell-site simulators. Cell site simulators, known as “stingrays,” impersonate cell towers and can capture information about any phone…
Featured Article
Decrypted: The tech police use against the public
In this week’s Decrypted, we look at the technologies that police use against the people.
Instagram will now warn you before your account gets deleted, offer in-app appeals
Instagram this morning announced several changes to its moderation policy, the most significant of which is that it will now warn users if their account could become disabled before that…
Your wireless carrier knows where you are as you read this on your phone — otherwise, it couldn’t connect your phone in the first place. But your wireless carrier also…
In an effort to bolster its public credibility in the wake of a very rough year, Facebook is bringing a fierce former critic into the fold. Next month, longtime Electronic…
ACLU asks court to release a secret order forcing Facebook to wiretap Messenger
Earlier this year, the U.S. government tried to force Facebook to secretly recode its Messenger app to allow the feds to listen into an encrypted, real-time voice call on suspected…
In a court filing, Edward Snowden says a report critical to an NSA lawsuit is authentic
An unexpected declaration by whistleblower Edward Snowden filed in court this week adds a new twist in a long-running lawsuit against the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs. The case, filed…
A long and winding road to new copyright legislation
Back in May, as part of a settlement, Spotify agreed to pay more than $112 million to clean up some copyright problems. Even for a service with millions of users, that had…
Minds, the blockchain-based social network, grabs a $6M Series A
Minds, a decentralized social network, has raised $6 million in Series A funding from Medici Ventures, Overstock.com’s venture arm. Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne will join the Minds Board of Directors.…
Egypt and Thailand: When the military turns against free speech
You wouldn’t normally mention Egypt and Thailand in the same breath. But both countries underwent military coups within the last five years, and even among the many oppressive regimes in the…
Three years later, Let’s Encrypt has issued over 380 million HTTPS certificates
Bon anniversaire, Let’s Encrypt! The free-to-use nonprofit was founded in 2014 in part by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and is backed by Akamai, Google, Facebook, Mozilla and more. Three years ago Friday,…
Stingray cell phone surveillance devices may interfere with 911 calls, senator says
A senator has confirmed that the use of cell site simulators for conducting real-time surveillance on cell phones may interfere with 911 calls. In a letter to the attorney general,…
Everledger’s Kemp and OmiseGO’s Hasegawa join TC Blockchain
Blockchain technology and the decentralizing effects of distributed ledgers have enormous amounts of potential and may mean the Internet will never be the same again. The fact that one could…
EFF founder and internet activist John Perry Barlow has died
John Perry Barlow has one of those resumes that seems too surreal to possibly be true. Entertainment sites are lamenting the loss of a poet turned Grateful Dead lyricist. Political…
