Why Adding Client-Side Scanning Breaks End-To-End Encryption
Recent attacks on encryption have diverged. On the one hand, we’ve seen Attorney General William Barr call for “lawful access” to encrypted communications, using arguments that have barely changed since the 1990’s. But we’ve also seen suggestions from a different set of actors for more purportedly “reasonable” interventions,...
Phony HTTPS Everywhere Extension Used in Fake Tor Browser
ESET researchers recently discovered a false “trojanized” version of Tor Browser that collectively stole $40,000 USD in Bitcoin.This does not mean that Tor or Tor Browser itself is compromised in any way. It only means that attackers found a new, insidious way to create and distribute a fake...
Strengthen California’s Next Consumer Data Privacy Initiative
EFF and a coalition of privacy advocates recently asked the sponsor of a new California ballot initiative to strengthen its provisions on consumer data privacy.The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) created new ways for the state’s residents to protect themselves from corporations that invade their privacy...
Facebook Faces Another Congressional Grilling
Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg was called back to Capitol Hill to speak about the company’s impact on the financial and housing sectors—particularly in light of its proposal to launch a cryptocurrency wallet, Calibra, and its involvement in the creation of the Libra cryptocurrency.We’ve criticized Facebook on many...
Nickelback's Record Label Abuses Copyright to Silence Political Speech
EFF legal intern Samantha Hamilton co-wrote this blog postNickelback never asked to become a meme. And yet, after the Internet decided it hated the Canadian alternative rock band and due to the lead singer’s unique voice, users have shared their image millions of times. But their record label decided to...
Inventergy Backs Away from Nuisance Lawsuit over GPS Patent
EasyTracGPS is a family-owned business that provides GPS tracking solutions to commercial shipping fleets. Recently, EasyTracGPS faced a litigation threat from Inventergy LBS, LLC, which accused it of infringing U.S. Patent No. 8,760,286. That patent supposedly claims a “[s]ystem and method for communication with a tracking device,” but like...
Companies Can Still Do More to Protect Privacy in Brazil: Internet Lab Releases Fourth "Who Defends Your Data" Report
Internet Lab, the Brazilian independent research center, has published their fourth annual report of “Quem Defende Seus Dados?" (“Who defends your data?"), comparing policies of their local Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and how they treat users’ data after receiving government requests. Vivo (Telefónica) still takes the lead, but...
The Ethics Board of One of the Largest Vendors of Police Tech Makes the Case Against ALPRs
Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs)—a mass surveillance technology that allows law enforcement to record the location and travel patterns of nearly every driver on the road—are poorly regulated, threaten privacy, and worsen the racial and economic inequalities already ingrained in our justice system. That’s what EFF and...
DNS over HTTPS Will Give You Back Privacy that Big ISPs Fought to Take Away
An absurd thing is happening in the halls of Congress. Major ISPs such as Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon are banging on the doors of legislators to stop the deployment of DNS over HTTPS (DoH), a technology that will give users one of the biggest upgrades to their Internet privacy...
Private Companies, Government Surveillance Software and Human Rights
It's old news that governments around the world are misusing private company-sold digital surveillance software track and target people for human rights abuses. Recently, Amnesty International reported finding that two prominent Moroccan human rights defenders had been targeted using Israeli-based NSO Group’s software. Just this week WhatsApp sued...
