"Fair Use Creep," and Other Copyright Bogeymen, Appear in Congress
The Congressional subcommittee that addresses copyright heard testimony today from five witnesses about the role of "the copyright sector" in the U.S. economy. As we described yesterday, there were some glaring omissions in the witness list: no representatives of the public interest, no librarians or archivists, none of the...
State AGs Ask Congress to Gut Critical CDA 230 Online Speech Protections
Earlier today, 47 state attorneys general asked Congress to severely undermine the most important law protecting free speech on the Internet. In a letter to Congressional leaders, the AGs asked Congress to amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act -- which protects online service providers from...
Congress Shamefully Defeats Amendment That Sought to Curtail NSA Surveillance
Let’s Create an Alternative Copyright Agenda by and for the Users
Negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP) have excluded public participation from the entire process, while allowing Big Content interests to see and direct the terms of this trade agreement. That is why the Fair Deal Coalition, of which EFF is a member, is launching an open platform...
In a Close Vote, Congress Defeats Amendment That Sought to Curtail NSA Surveillance
The US House of Representatives came within a few votes of passing a novel amendment that attempted to strike out funding for the highly contentious NSA calling records surveillance program. Under this program, the NSA acquires the records of who you called, when you called, and how long...
Real Copyright Reform Starts With Listening to Users, Not Just the Usual Suspects
Victory for Fair Use and Consumer Choice: Ninth Circuit Rejects Networks’ Appeal in Fox v. Dish.
In a crucial ruling today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed that a major TV network can't use copyright to limit consumer choice.You are now free to hop.Last year, Fox Broadcasting Company, with the support of other broadcast networks, sued Dish for its "Hopper" DVR and its...
Summer of Transparency: The Public’s Right to Know Prevails in Two Courts and the California Legislature
Open-government advocates have much to celebrate this summer, particularly in California where three EFF-involved efforts have resulted in conclusive victories for the public’s right to know what their government is up to.
In two lawsuits—one before the California Supreme Court and another before a federal judge in San Francisco—the...
Today, Congress Votes on an Amendment to Defund Domestic Spying: Here’s How You Can Help
There’s a fight brewing in Washington around NSA surveillance, and pro-privacy Representatives from both parties are taking the battle to the budget. The House is gearing up for a vote on the Defense Appropriations Bill (basically, the budget for the Department of Defense) and a bipartisan coalition of...
EFF to Court: Forced Decryption Unconstitutional
You shouldn't have to surrender your constitutional rights in order to safeguard your electronic privacy. In a new amicus brief we filed today, we told a federal court in Wisconsin that ordering a man to decrypt the contents of computers seized from his apartment would violate the Fifth Amendment...
