EFF Briefs

EFF Litigation Briefs

• Alasaad v. Nielsen, 2018 WL 2170323, in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
• September 12, 2017, EFF press release announcing lawsuit filed with ACLU against the Department of Homeland Security, “Lawsuit on Behalf of 11 Travelers Challenges Unconstitutional Searches of Electronic Devices”
• September 13, 2017, legal complaint
  

EFF Amicus Briefs

• U.S. v. Keith Gartenlaub, 2016 WL 3607154 (C.D. CA 2016), in the Central District of California, our amicus brief argues for the use of ex-ante search protocols and provides examples of limiting factors
• U.S. v. Molina-Isidoro, 884 F.3d 287 (5th Cir. 2018) in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, our amicus brief urges the court to apply a warrant requirement for digital border searches
• U.S. v. Bosyk, 2018 WL 4191197 (4th Cir. 2018) in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, our amicus brief explains why a URL link is an opaque identifier and why an IP address's access or attempt to access a specific URL is not enough to support probable cause to search an individual's home and devices.
  

EFF Blogs and Press Releases

• Digital Privacy at the U.S. Border one-pager 
• Digital Privacy at the U.S. Border white paper 
• Digital Privacy at the U.S. Border: Protecting the Data On Your Devices 
• EFF Border Search Pocket Guide
• Know Your Digital Rights Quiz
• Tips for Talking to the Police printout (2011)
• How to: Encrypt Your iPhone
• How to: Encrypt Your Windows Device
• Revised Opinion in Privacy Case Blurs Clear Limits to Digital Search and Seizure — September 4, 2010,
• Computer Search and Seizure: A Three-Panel Cartoon — July 15, 2011
• Sen. Wyden: Border Searches of Digital Devices Should Require a Warrant — February 21, 2017
• Whether Conducted Manually or Using Forensic Software, Cell Phone Searches Are Highly Intrusive — August 8, 2017, press release,
• New CBP Border Device Search Policy Still Permits Unconstitutional Searches — January 8, 2018
• EFF's Fight to End Warrantless Device Searches at the Border: A Roundup of Our Advocacy — January 26, 2018,

Academic Articles and Research

• Legal
• NACDL white paper on digital searches
• “Rethinking Privacy: Fourth Amendment ‘Papers’ and the Third-Party Doctrine,” by Michael W. Price
• “It’s Too Complicated: How the Internet Upends Katz, Smith, and Electronic Surveillance Law,” by Seven M Bellovin, Matt Blaze, Susan Landau, and Stephanie K. Pell
• “Searching the Clouds. Why Law Enforcement Officials Need to Get Their Heads Out of the Cloud and Obtain a Warrant Before Accessing a Cloud,” by Sara J. Kohls
• “Executing Search Warrants in the Cloud,” by John M. Cauthen
• “Search Engines, Social Media, and the Editorial Analogy,” by Heather Whitney
• Technical Videos
  • “Cellebrite: What is cellular forensics?” published by North Star Post
  • “Cellebrite UFED Physical Analyzer - Getting Started,” published by Cellebrite
  • “Physical Analyzer Use Advanced Decoding Techniques,” published by Cellebrite
  • “Encryption: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO),” published by LastWeekTonight

Legislation

• Federal
• Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2510, et. seq.
  
• Federal Wiretap Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2701, et. seq.
  
• Pen Registers and Trap and Trace Devices Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3121, et. seq.
• Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, 50 U.S.C. § 1801, et. seq.

• State
  • SCA & CalECPA Prezi presentation by EFF staff attorneys Stephanie Lacambra and Lee Tien
  • California Peace Officers’ Association CalECPA factsheet
  • Santa Clara CCOPS, EFF blog “A California County Breaks New Ground for Surveillance Transparency”
  • Proposed City of Oakland ordinance
  • Proposed New York City legislation, EFF blog, “Proposed ‘Right to Know Act’ Would Empower Users of Digital Devices to Decline NYPD Searches”
• California Electronic Communications Privacy Act, California Penal Code § 1546, et. seq.
• New Mexico Electronic Communications Privacy Act
• Illinois Citizen Privacy Protection Act
• Florida statute, Title 33, Chapter 501, Consumer Protection, 501.171 Security of Confidential personal information

Known Manufacturers

• Cellebrite, of Israel
• MSAB, of Stockholm, Sweden
• Maker of a line of products called XRY
• E-fense Inc., of Washington, D.C.
• Maker of a forensic software tool called Helix3
  
• Secureview
• Oxygen Forensics
• AccessData
• Passware (formerly Encase)

Law enforcement Training Guides and Materials

• “Forensic Examination of Digital Evidence: A Guide for Law Enforcement"
• “Searching and Seizing Computers and Obtaining Electronic Evidence in Criminal Investigations," published of Office of Legal Education Executive Office for United States Attorneys
• “Obtaining and Admitting Electronic Evidence,” issue of United States Attorneys’ bulletin, published by Executive Office for United States Attorneys, Office of legal Education
• Cellebrite Extraction slideshow presentation