Export regulations on communication and educational technologies loosen for some sanctioned countries and not others—what gives?
With Coursera lifting restrictions for users of its online educational courses in Syria, but upholding restrictions for users in the sanctioned countries of Cuba, Iran, and Sudan, the need for streamlined communication technology policies for countries sanctioned by the U.S. is more necessary than ever.
Cuba, Syria, Sudan,...
Maryland Court Dismisses Landmark Case That Sought to Hold Cisco Responsible for Violating Human Rights
The Federal District Court in Maryland this week dismissed Du Daobin v. Cisco Systems, a case brought by Chinese dissidents alleging that Cisco knowingly customized, marketed, sold, and provided continued support and service for technologies as part of China's Golden Shield, a digital censorship and surveillance system used by...
Legal Community Disturbed About Recent Allegations of Spying on Privileged Communications
The NSA appears to have been involved in the surveillance of privileged attorney-client communications, and the legal community is not happy about it. The New York Times reports that communications between an American law firm and its foreign client may have been among the information one of the NSA’s...
Venezuela's Internet Crackdown Escalates into Regional Blackout
For the last month, Venezuela has been caught up in widespread protests against its government. The Maduro administration has responded by cracking down on what it claims as being foreign interference online. As that social unrest has escalated, the state's censorship has widened: from the removal of television stations from...
Surveillance and Pressure Against WikiLeaks and Its Readers
The Intercept recently published an article and supporting documents indicating that the NSA and its British counterpart GCHQ surveilled and even sought to have other countries prosecute the investigative journalism website WikiLeaks. GCHQ also surveilled the millions of people who merely read the WikiLeaks website. The article clarifies the...
Update: National License Plate Recognition Database: What It Is and Why It’s a Bad Idea
UPDATE—February 19, 2014:
According to the Washington Post, just days after the story broke, DHS shelved its plans to create or tap into a national database of license plate recognition data. According to an Immigration & Customs Enforcement spokeswoman, the solicitation "was posted without the awareness of...
The Day We Fight Back: Poland Fights Back Against Unchecked Surveillance
In 2013, we learned digital surveillance by the world’s governments knows no bounds. The NSA and other investigative agencies are capturing our phone calls, tracking our location, peering into our address books, and collecting our emails. They do this in secret, without adequate public oversight, and in violation of our...
Pete Seeger and the NSA
"I am not going to answer any questions as to my association, my philosophical beliefs, or how I voted in any election, or any of these private affairs. I think these are very improper questions for any American to be asked, especially under such compulsion as this."
Pete...
Data Privacy Means Data Security (and not Data Retention)
Today is Data Privacy Day (also known as Data Protection Day), an international festival of our right to control our own personal information and to protect our communications from unchecked surveillance.
It's not been a great year for either belief. Since last year's celebration, the Snowden revelations...
Rating Obama’s NSA Reform Plan: EFF Scorecard Explained
Earlier today, President Obama announced a series of reforms to address abuses by the National Security Agency. We were heartened to see Obama recognized that the NSA has gone too far in trampling the privacy rights of people worldwide. In his speech, the President ensured that National Security Letters would...
