Alameda County residents, you have a little more than a week to tell your Board of Supervisors how you feel about Sheriff Ahern’s proposed upgrade to phone surveillance technology shared by several law enforcement agencies in the county. The Board will consider the proposal on October...

Trade negotiators from the U.S. and its 11 Pacific Rim partners announced their agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) today, concluding the final round of closed negotiations in Atlanta and marking the culmination of seven years of secrecy. Throughout all that time, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR)...

Trade officials have announced today that they have reached a final deal on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Their announcement came after a drawn out round of negotiation in Atlanta, Georgia, which was mainly held up around disagreements over medicine patent rules and tariffs over autos and dairy.
We...

Facebook claims its practice of forcing users to go by their "real names" (or "authentic identities" as Facebook spins it) makes the social network a safer place. In fact, the company has often claimed that the policy protects women who use the social media platform, even when faced with...

Today a wide range of organizations from across the political spectrum—including EFF—sent a letter to the Senate protesting Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse's proposed draconian Computer Fraud and Abuse Act amendment to the "cybersecurity" surveillance bill CISA.
Since the death of activist and Internet pioneer Aaron Swartz three...

As we've noted before, online harassment is a pressing problem—and a problem that, thankfully and finally, many are currently working on together to mitigate and resolve. Part of the long road to creating effective tools and policies to help users combat harassment is drawing attention to just how bad...

Artistic expression can take many forms, whether it’s comedic, dramatic, or even violent. According to a California Court of Appeals opinion, if you choose to artistically express yourself in a violent or threatening manner—let’s say in song lyrics—you could be criminally prosecuted by the State of California even if you...

EFF is pleased to welcome Shahid Buttar to the activism team, where he will direct EFF's work supporting grassroots and student advocacy. Shahid is a constitutional lawyer focused on the intersection of community organizing and policy reform as a lever to shift legal norms. He comes...