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The online world offers the promise of speech with minimal barriers and without borders. New technologies and widespread internet access have radically enhanced our ability to express ourselves; criticize those in power; gather and report the news; and make, adapt, and share creative works. Vulnerable communities have also found space to safely meet,  grow, and make themselves heard without being drowned out by the powerful. The ability to freely exchange ideas also benefits innovators, who can use all of their capabilities to build even better tools for their communities and the world.

In the U.S., the First Amendment grants individuals the right to speak without government interference. And globally, Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) protects the right to speak both online and offline. Everyone should be able to take advantage of this promise. And no government should have the power to decide who gets to speak and who doesn’t.

Government threats to online speakers are significant. Laws and policies have enabled censorship regimes, controlled access to information, increased government surveillance, and minimized user security and safety.

At the same time, online speakers’ reliance on private companies that facilitate their speech has grown considerably. Online services’ content moderation decisions have far-reaching impacts on speakers around the world. This includes social media platforms and online sites selectively enforcing their Terms of Service, Community Guidelines, and similar rules to censor dissenting voices and contentious ideas. That’s why these services must ground their moderation decisions in human rights and due process principles.

As the law and technology develops alongside our ever-evolving world, it’s important that these neither create nor reinforce obstacles to people’s ability to speak, organize, and advocate for change. Both the law and technology must enhance people’s ability to speak. That’s why EFF fights to protect free speech - because everyone has the right to share ideas and experiences safely, especially when we disagree.

Free Speech Highlights

Free Speech is Only as Strong as the Weakest Link

From Mubarak knocking a country offline by pressuring local ISPs to PayPal caving to political pressure to cut off funding to WikiLeaks, this year has brought us sobering examples of how online speech can be endangered. And it’s not only political speech that is threatened – in the United...

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Section 230

47 U.S.C. § 230The Internet allows people everywhere to connect, share ideas, and advocate for change without needing immense resources or technical expertise. Our unprecedented ability to communicate online—on blogs, social media platforms, and educational and cultural platforms like Wikipedia and the Internet Archive—is not an accident. Congress recognized that...

Free Speech Updates

Latam Media Briefing: Proposed UN Cybercrime Treaty Lacks Sufficient Human Rights Safeguards, Exacerbating Threats to Privacy and Civil Liberties in Latam

VIENNA—On Tuesday, April 18, at 10:00 am Pacific Time (1:00 pm Eastern Time), experts from Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and three Latin American digital rights allies will brief reporters about the unique threats to privacy posed by the proposed UN Cybercrime Treaty, which could authorize the use of s...

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An Update on Tornado Cash

As many will remember, in August of 2022 the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) placed what it called “Tornado Cash” along with a list of Ethereum digital wallet addresses, on its “Specially Designated Nationals” (SDN) sanctions list. The goal was to prohibit anyone within the United States...

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الجدول الزمني لمعاهدة الأمم المتحدة للجرائم الإلكترونية

أكتوبر (تشرين الأول) 2017قدم الاتحاد الروسي رسالة إلى الجمعية العامة للأمم المتحدة تحتوي على مشروع اتفاقية الأمم المتحدة للتعاون في مكافحة الجرائم الإلكترونية، والمزمع تعميمه على الدول الأعضاء. نوفمبر (تشرين الثاني) 2019قرار برعاية روسيا - إلى جانب بيلاروسيا وكمبوديا والصين وإيران وميانمار ونيكاراغوا وسوريا وفنزويلا - لوضع اتفاقية دولية...

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فك شفرة معاهدة الأمم المتحدة لمكافحة الجرائم الإلكترونية

في العام 2017 لكنها بدأت تتشكل في عام 2022 - وهناك الكثير من الشد والجذب. لدى مشروع المعاهدة القدرة على إعادة صياغة القوانين الجنائية في جميع أنحاء العالم، وربما إضافة أكثر من 30 جريمة جنائية وسلطات شرطية موسعة جديدة للتحقيقات الجنائية المحلية والدولية على حد سواء.بالنظر إلى أن قوانين...

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