A July 4 Message from EFF Co-founder John Perry Barlow
There’s no need to make America great again. America has been great since it became the first nation on Earth where a set of ideas became the ruling principles of governance. America was great when it was established that authority did not come from divine right, or indeed anything beyond...
Congress Needs to End Warrantless Spying, Not Make It Permanent
Lawmakers are getting serious about renewing the U.S. government’s Internet spying powers, so we need to get serious about stopping their bad proposals. First out of the gate is a bill from Sen. Tom Cotton, an ardent defender of government surveillance. His bill would not just reauthorize, but make permanent...
Stupid Patent of the Month: Using A Computer To Count Calories
This month’s stupid patent, like many stupid patents before it, simply claims the idea of using a computer for basic calculations. U.S. Patent No. 6,817,863 (the ’863 patent) is titled “Computer program, method, and system for monitoring nutrition content of consumables and for facilitating menu planning.” It claims...
Internet, Activate! Stand Up for Net Neutrality on July 12
Two months ago, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced his plan to abandon the agency’s commitment to protecting net neutrality . On July 12, let’s give the world a preview of what the Internet will look like if the FCC goes forward with its plan to dismantle open Internet protections...
Californians: Demand a Vote on Your Broadband Privacy Before the Telecom Lobby Runs Out the Clock
What do they do when they can’t win the vote? Try to Stop a Vote. Right now, politicians in Sacramento are holding up a bill that would restore your broadband privacy rights and directly reject Congress and the Trump Administration’s decision to side with Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon. It is...
Don’t Trust in Antitrust Law to Protect Net Neutrality
Back in 2014, we considered many possible ways of protecting net neutrality that would not rely on the FCC, including antitrust law. Unfortunately, U.S. antitrust law is not up to the challenge. Antitrust law is an economic doctrine that gives little if any weight to freedom of expression and other...
Five Eyes Unlimited: What A Global Anti-Encryption Regime Could Look Like
This week, the political heads of the intelligence services of Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States (the "Five Eyes" alliance) met in Ottawa. The Australian delegation entered the meeting saying publicly that they intended to "thwart the encryption of terrorist messaging." The final...
Fighting for the Pillars of Democracy: Independent Media and an Open Internet
Authoritarian regimes around the world are cracking down on journalists and trying to exert complete control over the flow of information. Now we too are facing a government hostile to any narratives it doesn't approve of sanction, as well as confronting giant media monopolies and online gatekeepers. How do we...
McMansion Hell Responds to Zillow’s Unfounded Legal Claims
Update 5:00pm: Zillow has released a statement saying the company has "decided against moving forward with legal action." EFF is pleased that Zillow has withdrawn its threat and won't be seeking to take down any of the posts on McMansion Hell. We hope that other companies...
EFF at Security B-Sides Las Vegas 2017
Join EFF at BSidesLV in the Tuscany Suites & Casino! Catch some great information security talks and don't forget to stop by the EFF table to learn about the latest news in the digital freedom movement.
Copyright Office Proposes Modest Fixes to DMCA 1201, Leaves Fundamental Flaws Untouched
The U.S. Copyright Office just released a long-awaited report about Section 1201 , the law that bans circumventing digital restrictions on copyrighted works. Despite years of evidence that the social costs of the law far outweigh any benefits, the Copyright Office is mostly happy with...
Let's Encrypt Has Issued 100 Million Certificates
This evening, the Let's Encrypt certificate authority issued its hundred millionth digital certificate. This is a remarkable milestone in just a year and a half of public operation; Let's Encrypt is likely now either the largest or second-largest public CA by volume of certificates issued. Let's Encrypt was...
Top Canadian Court Permits Worldwide Internet Censorship
A country has the right to prevent the world’s Internet users from accessing information, Canada’s highest court ruled on Wednesday. In a decision that has troubling implications for free expression online, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld a company’s effort to force Google to de-list entire domains and...
More than 40 ISPs Across the Country Tell Chairman Pai to Not Repeal Network Neutrality and Maintain Title II Enforcement
Many Small ISPs Support Real Net Neutrality One excuse FCC Chairman Ajit Pai regularly offers to explain his effort to gut net neutrality protections is the claim that open Internet rules have harmed ISPs, especially small ones. During a speech earlier this year, he stressed that 22 small ISPs...
Liveblogging Today’s Senate Judiciary Hearing on Section 702
Another group of lawmakers is starting the debate over whether and how to reauthorize an online surveillance power set to sunset at the end of the year. The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing this morning on Section 702, as enacted by the FISA Amendments Act. That is the...
