Microsoft Reverses (Another) Anti-User Xbox One Policy
A Microsoft executive has confirmed that, contrary to earlier reports from the company, the upcoming Xbox One console will not require the Kinect sensor to be activated at all times after all. This change comes after a widespread backlash from gamers concerned about the privacy implications of an always-on...
Multiple New Polls Show Americans Reject Wholesale NSA Domestic Spying
Update: Polls further confirm that Americans are deeply concerned with the unconstitutional NSA spying programs. In a July 10 poll by Quinnipiac University, voters were asked whether the government's efforts "go too far in restricting the average person's civil liberties" or "not far enough to adequately protect the...
Google Fiber Continues Awful ISP Tradition of Banning “Servers”
Update (10/16/2013): Google Fiber has made a change to their Acceptable Use Policy that clarifies that some non-commercial uses for running servers are permitted. We applaud Google for making this change, but note that there are still provisions to take issue with in the policy, such as the explicit...
Obama Promises Reform of NSA Spying, But the Devil Will Be in the Details
Earlier today, President Obama held a press conference to address the growing public concern over the National Security Agency’s surveillance practices. We are glad to see that the Administration has been forced to address the matter publicly as a result of the sustained public pressure from concerned voters as well...
Obama Administration Releases Previously Secret Legal Opinion on NSA's Associational Tracking Program
Congress Does Not Hide Elephants in Mouse Holes
The Administration released a White Paper on Friday that summarized its claimed legal basis for the bulk collection of telephony metadata, also known as the Associational Tracking Program under section 215 of the Patriot Act, codified as 50 U.S.C....
First Step of NSA Transparency: Come Clean About Access To Fiber Optic Cables of Telecom Companies
Prior to President Obama’s press conference on potential surveillance reform today, two important stories were published showing National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance has gone farther than government officials have admitted publicly. Now that the President has promised transparency on NSA surveillance, it’s time for the NSA to come completely...
Judge Grants Preliminary Injunction to Protect Free Speech after EFF Challenge
Judge Grants Preliminary Injunction to Protect Free Speech after EFF Challenge
Newark, NJ - A New Jersey federal district court judge granted motions for a preliminary injunction today, blocking the enforcement of a dangerous state law that would put online service providers at risk by, among other things, creating liability based on "indirect" publication of content by speech platforms.
The...
Why Sen. Feinstein Is Wrong About Who’s a “Real Reporter”
During the Senate Judiciary Committee’s August 1 mark-up of the shield law bill aimed at protecting journalists’ sources, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) reportedly objected to the definition of journalist provided in the bill as introduced, seeking to restrict the definition’s scope to apply only to “real reporters.” To achieve...
What It Means to Be An NSA "Target": New Information Shows Why We Need Immediate FISA Amendments Act Reform
An important New York Times investigation from today reported that the NSA "is searching the contents of vast amounts of Americans’ e-mail and text communications into and out of the country" without warrants or any particularized court order. This new report, coupled with leaked documents published by the Guardian,...




