EFF to Testify at Congressional Hearing on Unintended Consequences of DMCA

Washington, D.C. - Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Intellectual Property Director Corynne McSherry will testify Wednesday at a congressional hearing on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and the dangerous "anti-circumvention" provisions that harm users, researchers, innovators, and more.
The anti-circumvention language of Section 1201 of the DMCA has been...

ISPs Mislead Public, FCC About Protecting the Open Internet

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today to see through misinformation from Internet service providers (ISPs) and protect the open Internet.
EFF's formal response to the ISPs' claims are part of the FCC's public comment period for its proposed new rules...

U.N. Free Expression Champion, Congressional Internet Defender, and Groundbreaking Counter-surveillance Artist Win EFF Pioneer Awards

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is pleased to announce the distinguished winners of the 2014 Pioneer Awards: United Nations Special Rapporteur Frank LaRue, U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, and groundbreaking counter-surveillance artist Trevor Paglen.
The award ceremony will be held the evening of October 2 at the...

EFF, ACLU Demolish “It’s Just Metadata” Claim in NSA Spying Appeal

Washington, DC - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) today filed an amicus brief in Klayman v. Obama, a high-profile lawsuit that challenges mass surveillance, arguing that Americans' telephone metadata deserves the highest protection of the Fourth Amendment.
Larry Klayman, conservative activist and...

New Behind-the-Scenes Video: Airship Flight Over the NSA Data Center


San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today released a video by acclaimed documentarian Brian Knappenberger (The Internet's Own Boy) that explores how and why an unlikely coalition of advocacy organizations launched an airship over the National Security Agency's Utah data center. The short documentary explains...

EFF Asks Judge to Rule NSA Internet "Backbone" Spying Techniques Unconstitutional

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today presented a federal court with a detailed explanation of how the NSA taps into the Internet backbone and requested the judge rule that the agency is violating the Fourth Amendment by copying and searching the collected data.

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EFF, ACLU Join Idaho Mom’s Legal Challenge to NSA Surveillance

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho have announced they will join Anna Smith's legal team in her challenge of the government's bulk collection of the telephone records of millions of innocent Americans.
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EFF Sues NSA, Director of National Intelligence for Zero Day Disclosure Process

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the NSA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) to gain access to documents showing how intelligence agencies choose whether to disclose software security flaws known as "zero days."
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Diverse Groups Fly Airship Over NSA’s Utah Data Center to Protest Illegal Spying


Bluffdale, UT - The environmental campaigning group Greenpeace, digital rights watchdog Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Tenth Amendment Center (TAC) joined forces today to fly an airship over the NSA's data center in Utah to protest the government's illegal mass surveillance program.
Greenpeace flew its 135-foot-long...

Congressional Scorecard on Mass Surveillance: StandAgainstSpying.org Launches to Encourage NSA Reform

San Francisco, CA - A coalition of 22 organizations from across the political spectrum today launched StandAgainstSpying.org, an interactive website that grades members of Congress on what they have done, or often not done, to rein in the NSA.Led by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the Sunlight Foundation and...

Supreme Court Sets Powerful Limits for Cell Searches, Fails to Protect Internet Streaming

San Francisco - The U.S. Supreme Court issued two big rulings in important technology cases today.
In a groundbreaking decision on cell phone privacy, the court set powerful limits for police searches of cell phones, ruling in two consolidated cases that law enforcement must get a warrant before accessing...

Judge Asks for More Information About NSA Spying Evidence Destruction After Emergency Hearing

San Francisco - A federal judge asked for more briefing today after an emergency court hearing over destruction in a case challenging NSA spying from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).

Andrew Crocker, Rick Wiebe, and Cindy Cohn

"We are pleased the court is receptive to...

Court Again Orders Government Not to Destroy Evidence in NSA Spying Case

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) asked a judge today to schedule an emergency hearing, after learning that the government is apparently still destroying evidence of NSA spying despite a temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the court in March. In an order issued in response this afternoon,...

Court Hearing in EFF Lawsuit to Uncover Secret Court Opinions Authorizing NSA Spying

Oakland - At a hearing on Tuesday, June 3, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Staff Attorney Mark Rumold will argue before a judge that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) must release key legal opinions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) regarding Section 215 of the Patriot Act—the law the...

Free Speech Groups Issue New Guide to the International “Necessary & Proportionate Principles”

San Francisco and London – As the global debate over the intelligence programs revealed by Edward Snowden approaches its first anniversary, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and ARTICLE 19 today published a new legal analysis of the Necessary & Proportionate Principles, a guiding framework for countries to apply international...

Crushing Blow for Copyright Trolls: Appeals Court Halts AF Holdings' Extortion Scheme

Washington, D.C. - Striking a crushing blow against a legal linchpin of the copyright troll business model, a federal appeals court held today that copyright holders may not abuse the legal process to obtain the identities of thousands of Internet users.
"This decision is a crucial victory," said Electronic...

Which Tech Companies Help Protect You From Government Data Demands?

San Francisco - Technology companies are privy to our most sensitive information: our conversations, photos, location data, and more. But which companies fight the hardest to protect your privacy from government data requests? Today, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) releases its fourth annual "Who Has Your Back" report, with comprehensive...

EFF Demands Release of More Secret Surveillance Court Rulings

San Francisco - In a continuing campaign to uncover the government's secret interpretations of the surveillance laws underlying the National Security Agency (NSA)'s spying programs, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today filed another lawsuit against the Department of Justice, demanding that the government hand over key Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court...

EFF Urges Appeals Court to Reconsider Dangerous Copyright Ruling

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is urging a federal appeals court to reconsider its decision to order Google to take down the controversial "Innocence of Muslims" video while a copyright lawsuit—based on a claim that the Copyright Office itself has rejected—is pending. As EFF explains, the decision...

Appeals Court Overturns Andrew “weev” Auernheimer Conviction

San Francisco - A federal appeals court overturned the conviction of Andrew "weev" Auernheimer, the computer researcher who was charged with violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) after he exposed a massive security flaw in AT&T's website.
Auernheimer was represented on appeal by the Electronic Frontier Foundation...

Medical Privacy: Digital Technology Can Leave Your Health History Exposed

San Francisco - The digitization of medical records is being pitched to the public as a way to revolutionize healthcare. But rapid technological innovation and lagging privacy laws are leaving patients – and their most sensitive information – vulnerable to exposure and abuse, especially in this age of "big data."...

EFF Files Supreme Court Brief Defending Internet Streaming Service

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today filed an amicus brief in American Broadcasting Companies v. Aereo, a case before the United States Supreme Court that could have a lasting impact on broadcast technology and viewers' ability to choose how and when they watch their favorite television programs....

Top Technologists File Brief Supporting ACLU Lawsuit Against NSA Spying

San Francisco - Representing a large group of top computer science experts and professors, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today submitted a brief to a federal appeals court supporting the American Civil Liberties Union's lawsuit over the NSA's mass call records collection program. At the core of the brief is...

Staff Attorney Daniel Nazer Becomes New 'Mark Cuban Chair to Eliminate Stupid Patents'

San Francisco - Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Staff Attorney Daniel Nazer has become the new "Mark Cuban Chair to Eliminate Stupid Patents." Nazer succeeds former Senior Staff Attorney Julie Samuels and will lead EFF's campaign to reform the patent system and smash patent trolls. Samuels has left EFF...

EFF Fights National Security Letter Demands on Behalf of Telecom, Internet Company

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed two briefs on Friday challenging secret government demands for information known as National Security Letters (NSLs) with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The briefs—one filed on behalf of a telecom company and another for an Internet company—remain under seal because...

American Sues Ethiopian Government for Spyware Infection

Washington, D.C. - An American citizen living in Maryland sued the Ethiopian government today for infecting his computer with secret spyware, wiretapping his private Skype calls, and monitoring his entire family's every use of the computer for a period of months. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is representing the plaintiff...

EFF Calls Out DOJ for Failing to Provide Crucial Public Information in NSA Case

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) asked a federal court on Friday to order the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release more thorough information about the dragnet electronic surveillance being conducted by the National Security Agency (NSA). The filing in EFF's long-standing case, Jewel v. NSA, also...

Startup Settles Creative Commons Licensing Dispute with Tech Database

San Francisco - Mobile app startup People+ and free technology-industry database CrunchBase have settled their dispute over data collected under the Creative Commons Attribution License, allowing both companies to continue their work.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) represents People+, a company making apps for iOS and Google Glass. In...

Human Rights and Privacy Groups Launch Global Action to Oppose Mass Surveillance

San Francisco - An international coalition of human rights and privacy organizations today launched an action center to oppose mass surveillance on the global stage: necessaryandproportionate.org/take-action. The new petition site went live just as the United Nations voted on a resolution to recognize the need for the international...

EFF Argues for Release of Secret Legal Opinion on Surveillance Authority on Tuesday

Washington, DC - Lawyers from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) will appear before the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Tuesday morning to argue for the release of a secret legal opinion on the federal government’s surveillance authority. For nearly three years, EFF has sought,...

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