The Payoff From California’s “Data Dividend” Must Be Stronger Privacy Laws
California Governor Gavin Newsom, in his first State of the State Address, called for a “Data Dividend” (what some are calling a “digital dividend”) from big tech. It’s not yet clear what form this dividend will take. We agree with Governor Newsom that consumers deserve more...
EFF to State Department: Respect Freedom of Speech of Chinese Students
EFF joined a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo opposing a proposal to deploy stronger vetting procedures against Chinese students intending to study in the United States because the procedures would threaten the free speech interests of both Chinese students and their American associates.Reuters reported that the...
Oakland Renters Deserve Quality Service and The Power To Choose Their ISP
Oakland residents, we need your stories and experience to continue the fight to stop powerful Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from limiting your ability to choose the service that’s best for you.Submit Your StoryIf you live in Oakland and have had trouble acquiring service from the ISP of your...
Designing Welcome Mats to Invite User Privacy
Powerful Permissions, Wimpy Warnings: Installing a Root Certificate Should be Scary
Entrepreneurs Tell USPTO Director Iancu: Patent Trolls Aren’t Just “Monster Stories”
Patent trolls aren’t a myth. They aren’t a bedtime story. Ask a software developer—they’re likely to know someone who has been sued or otherwise threatened by one, if they haven’t been themselves.Unfortunately, the new director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is in a serious state of denial...
National Emergencies: Constitutional and Statutory Restrictions on Presidential Powers
When a president threatens to exercise the power to declare a national emergency, our system of checks and balances faces a crucial test. With President Trump threatening such a declaration in order to build his proposed physical border wall, that test could be an important one that could quickly implicate...
The Final Version of the EU's Copyright Directive Is the Worst One Yet
Despite ringing denunciations from small EU tech businesses, giant EU entertainment companies, artists' groups, technical experts, and human rights experts, and the largest body of concerned citizens in EU history, the EU has concluded its "trilogues" on the new Copyright Directive, striking a deal...
French Data Protection Authority Takes on Google
France’s data protection authority is first out the gate with a big decision regarding a high-profile tech company, and every other enforcer in Europe is taking notes. On January 21, France’s CNIL fined Google 50 million Euros for breaches of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This is...
Hearing Wednesday: EFF Asks Court to Unseal Phone Tap Order That Was Among Hundreds of Questionable Wiretaps Approved By California Court
Riverside, California—On Wednesday, February 13, at 10:00 am, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) will ask a state court to unseal a wiretap order issued against individuals with no criminal records to learn why the phones were tapped and whether the warrant authorization process was legitimate.The order was among hundreds of...
