Press Releases: May 2018

Facebook, Instagram Lack Transparency on Government-Ordered Content Removal Amid Unprecedented Demands to Censor User Speech, EFF's Annual Who Has Your Back Report Shows

San Francisco, California—Facing increased demands from governments to remove user content, purportedly in the name of combating hate speech and extremism, a handful of social media and app store platforms—including the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, and YouTube—have emerged as leaders in transparency, publicly disclosing how often and why...

Press Conference Tuesday: EFF and Open Internet Advocates Will Urge California Lawmakers to Defend Net Neutrality for Californians

Sacramento, California—On Tuesday, May 29, at 11:30 am, EFF Legislative Counsel Ernesto Falcon will urge state senators to pass a bill that would protect net neutrality in California.A coalition of lawmakers, small businesses, consumer and social justice groups, and open internet advocates are holding a press conference to voice support...

Trump Twitter

Victory For The First Amendment: Court Rules That Government Officials Who Tweet to the Public Can't Block Users Who They Disagree With

New York, New York—President Donald Trump's blocking of people on Twitter because they criticize him violates the First Amendment, a federal judge in New York ruled today in a resounding victory for freedom of speech and the public’s right to communicate opposing political views directly to elected officials and...

A striped cat opines using a megaphone.

EFF Sues Texas A&M University For Violating PETA's Free Speech Rights By Blocking Group From Its Facebook Page

Houston, Texas—The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) sued Texas A&M University on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) for blocking comments on its official Facebook page that mention PETA by name or use certain words to criticize the university’s use of dogs in muscular dystrophy experiments.The school,...

EFF and ACLU Can Proceed With Legal Challenge Against Warrantless Searches of Travelers' Smartphones, Laptops

Boston, Massachusetts—The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the ACLU of Massachusetts won a court ruling today allowing their groundbreaking lawsuit challenging unconstitutional searches of electronic devices at the U.S. border to proceed—a victory for the digital rights of all international travelers.EFF and ACLU ...

Hearing Monday: EFF Asks Appeals Court To Rule Copyright Can't Be Used To Control the Public's Access to Our Laws

Washington, D.C.-On Monday, May 14, at 9:30 am, EFF Legal Director Corynne McSherry will argue in court that the public has a right to access, copy, and share the law—and industry groups that helped develop certain legal rules can't inhibit that right by claiming ownership in those rules.

EFF represents...

EFF and Coalition Partners Push Tech Companies To Be More Transparent and Accountable About Censoring User Content

Washington, D.C.—The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) called on Facebook, Google, and other social media companies today to publicly report how many user posts they take down, provide users with detailed explanations about takedowns, and implement appeals policies to boost accountability.EFF, ACLU of Northern California, Center for Democracy & Technology, New...