EFF Lawsuit Discloses Documents Detailing Government’s Social Media Surveillance of Immigrants
Despite rebranding a federal program that surveils the social media activities of immigrants and foreign visitors to a more benign name, the government agreed to spend more than $100 million to continue monitoring people’s online activities, records disclosed to EFF show.Thousands of pages of government procurement records and related correspondence...
Judge’s Investigation Into Patent Troll Results In Criminal Referrals
In 2022, three companies with strange names and no clear business purpose beyond patent litigation filed dozens of lawsuits in Delaware federal court, accusing businesses of all sizes of patent infringement. Some of these complaints claimed patent rights over basic aspects of modern life; one, for example, involved a ...
The Human Toll of ALPR Errors
This post was written by Gowri Nayar, an EFF legal intern. Imagine driving to get your nails done with your family and all of a sudden, you are pulled over by police officers for allegedly driving a stolen car. You are dragged out of the car and detained at gun...
"Is My Phone Listening To Me?"
EFF Launches Digital Rights Bytes to Answer Tech Questions that Bug Us All
SAN FRANCISCO—The Electronic Frontier Foundation today launched “Digital Rights Bytes,” a new website with short videos offering quick, easily digestible answers to the technology questions that trouble us all. “It’s increasingly clear there is no way to separate our digital lives from everything else that we...
Sorry, Gas Companies - Parody Isn't Infringement (Even If It Creeps You Out)
Activism comes in many forms. You might hold a rally, write to Congress, or fly a blimp over the NSA. Or you might use a darkly hilarious parody to make your point, like our client Modest Proposals recently did. Modest Proposals is an activist collective that...
The Frightening Stakes of this Halloween’s Net Neutrality Hearing
The future of the open internet is in danger this October 31st, not from ghosts and goblins, but from the broadband companies that control internet access in most of the United States. These companies would love to use their oligopoly power to charge users and websites additional fees for “premium”...
Triumphs, Trials, and Tangles From California's 2024 Legislative Session
California’s 2024 legislative session has officially adjourned, and it’s time to reflect on the wins and losses that have shaped Californians’ digital rights landscape this year.EFF monitored nearly 100 bills in the state this session alone, addressing a broad range of issues related to privacy, free speech, and innovation. These...
No Matter What the Bank Says, It's YOUR Money, YOUR Data, and YOUR Choice
The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) has just finalized a rule that makes it easy and safe for you to figure out which bank will give you the best deal and switch to that bank, with just a couple of clicks. We love this kind of thing: the coolest...
Court Orders Google (a Monopolist) To Knock It Off With the Monopoly Stuff
A federal court recently ordered Google to make it easier for Android users to switch to rival app stores, banned Google from using its vast cash reserves to block competitors, and hit Google with a bundle of thou-shalt-nots and assorted prohibitions.Each of these measures is well crafted, narrowly tailored, and...









