The Bradley Manning Verdict and the Dangerous “Hacker Madness” Prosecution Strategy
Bradley Manning was convicted (PDF) on 19 counts today, including charges under the Espionage Act and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act for leaking approximately 700,000 government documents to WikiLeaks. While it was a relief that he was not convicted of the worst charge “aiding the enemy,” the verdict...
Dr. Joseph Bonneau Wins NSA Award, Criticizes NSA
"Like many in the community of cryptographers and security engineers, I’m sad that we haven’t better informed the public about the inherent dangers and questionable utility of mass surveillance. And like many American citizens I’m ashamed we’ve let our politicians sneak the country down this path." -- Bonneau
On...
Bad News For Reader Privacy: Google News Doesn't Index HTTPS Sites
In the ongoing effort to encrypt the entire web, news sites are an area of special importance. After all, the articles you choose to read can say a lot about you: how close you're following a political race, for example, can indicate where you stand on sensitive issues, or...
Pinterest Commits to Respecting Do Not Track
Earlier today, Pinterest received national attention by announcing its new board suggestion program, which suggests Pinterest boards for users to follow based on websites they’ve visited outside of Pinterest. In rolling out this program, Pinterest took several important steps to respect the privacy of users:
Pinterest has committed...
The Great Firewall of Cameron: Why The UK's Filtering By Fiat Won't Work, and Won't Help
David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, could have buried almost any bad news on the same day as a royal birth. Instead, the main grievous news he had to offer — his plan for pervasive censorship of the British Internet — was entirely his own making. His speech has...
The Freedom Online Coalition in Tunis: A Call To Governments To Limit Surveillance
The Freedom Online Coalition (FOC) is a group of governments that have declared themselves "committed to collaborating to advance Internet freedom." When the coalition first formed in the Hague two years ago, EFF noted the “disconnect … between what these state leaders practice, and what they preach.” Nonetheless,...
Pelosi Faces Questions, Criticism about NSA Surveillance at Netroots Nation
Updated June 23, 2013 with links to video and additional photos.
At the Netroots Nation conference this weekend, Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was questioned publicly about her stance on NSA spying. While she was quick to defend the program as markedly different from the warrantless wiretapping program established under...
Looking Deeper into MPAA's Copyright Agenda
It's time to rethink copyright law, say the U.S. Register of Copyrights and the chairman of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. Hearings, speeches, and lots of quiet maneuvering have begun to shape "the next...
Congress Gets Private Briefings About NSA Spying, But the Public Needs Answers Too
The world was provided confirmation last week of widespread, unconstitutional domestic surveillance of innocent Americans' call records and online activity. But, starting this week, congressional staffers will be briefed in private, newspapers will be forced to report second-hand on what occurred in those briefings, and the...
Why Metadata Matters
In response to the recent news reports about the National Security Agency's surveillance program, President Barack Obama said today, "When it comes to telephone calls, nobody is listening to your telephone calls." Instead, the government was just "sifting through this so-called metadata." The Director of National Intelligence James...





