EFF Welcomes New Member of Board of Directors: Brian Behlendorf
EFF is extraordinarily pleased to officially announce a new addition to our Board of Directors: entrepreneur and technologist Brian Behlendorf.
We have long been a fan of Brian and his tireless work in the open source community – ranging from software development in the early days of...
Obama Calls for Patent Reform to Topple Trolls
In a welcome turn of events, President Barack Obama spoke directly to the patent troll problem and the need for more comprehensive patent reform yesterday in a "Fireside Hangout" — a live question and answer session hosted in a Google+ hangout. The President was responding to a question by...
Don't Be Fooled: "Six Strikes" Will Undoubtedly Harm Open Wireless
In a recent blog post, Jill Lesser, Executive Director of the Center for Copyright Information, responded to widespread concerns that the copyright surveillance machine known as the Copyright Alert System—or "Six Strikes"—would cripple libraries and cafes that provided open wireless networks. The title of said post: "CAS Will...
Talking Software Patents with the Patent Office: A Sign of Reform to Come?
There is much wrong with software patents. But one of their worst side effects has to be the advent of the patent troll: one who makes nothing, sells nothing, and capitalizes on legal loopholes to extort money in the guise of “licenses,” oftentimes from parties who don’t even arguably infringe...
CISPA, the Privacy-Invading Cybersecurity Spying Bill, is Back in Congress
It's official: The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act was reintroduced in the House of Representatives yesterday. CISPA is the contentious bill civil liberties advocates fought last year, which would provide a poorly-defined "cybersecurity" exception to existing privacy law. CISPA offers broad immunities to companies who choose to share data...
EFF to Argue Against Surveillance Drone Use at Alameda County, California Public Hearing
A few months ago, in EFF's backyard, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office tried to sneak approval for surveillance drone funding at the county's board of supervisors without a public hearing. Worse, they told the board of supervisors it only wanted to use the drone for emergency purposes. Yet in internal...
Egyptian Court Orders 30-Day Ban On YouTube Over Hosting "The Innocence of Muslims" Video and There’s Plenty of Blame to Go Around
This weekend, the Cairo Administrative Court issued a 30-day ban order on YouTube and all other websites that host or link to content from the anti-Islam film “The Innocence of Muslims,” which was protested worldwide after footage from the trailer was shown on Egyptian television. The court’s ruling may force...
Surveillance Camp IV: Disproportionate State Surveillance - A Violation of Privacy
This is the fourth in a series of posts mapping global surveillance challenges discussed at EFF's State Surveillance and Human Rights Camp in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This article has been co-written with Elonnai Hickok — Centre for Internet and Society India, and a speaker at EFF's Camp.
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As Secretive "Stingray" Surveillance Tool Becomes More Pervasive, Questions Over Its Illegality Increase
A few months ago, EFF warned of a secretive new surveillance tool, commonly referred to as a "Stingray," being used by the FBI in cases around the country. Recently, more information on the device has come to light and it makes us even more concerned than before.
The...
Mandatory Black Boxes in Cars Raise Privacy Questions
San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) urged the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today to include strict privacy protections for data collected by vehicle "black boxes" to protect drivers from long-term tracking as well as the misuse of their information.
Black boxes, more formally called event...



