French President Sarkozy Sees Opportunity for Censorship, Seizes It
In the wake of a horrific rampage, in which Mohamed Merah (now dead after a 32-hour standoff with police) reportedly murdered three French soldiers, three young Jewish schoolchildren, and a rabbi, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France has begun calling for criminal penalties for citizens who visit web sites...
NSA Chief Appears to Deny Ability to Warrantlessly Wiretap Despite Evidence
The former NSA official held his thumb and forefinger close together. “We are, like, that far from a turnkey totalitarian state,” he says. —Wired Magazine, April 2012
Last week, in Wired Magazine, noted author James Bamford reported on an expansive $2 billion “data center” being built by...
"Net Freedom" for Iranians, Not Syrians
On March 20, to coincide with the Iranian holiday of Nowruz, President Obama recorded a video message in which he offered assistance to the Iranian people in communicating beyond Iran's borders. Consistent with the Department of State's "Net Freedom" initiative, Obama issued new guidelines to make it easier...
Sunshine Week Wrap-up: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Last Friday marked the end of Sunshine week, a national initiative to promote dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information. It’s the third year for the Obama administration, which has been taken to task for reversing early promises on transparency. Have they improved? Here’s our review:
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Sunshine Week: EFF's Current Freedom of Information Act Lawsuits
In honor of Sunshine Week, yesterday we reviewed what EFF’s Freedom of Information Act requests revealed in the past year. Today, we’ll take a look at the FOIA lawsuits we filed last year and the information we hope the suits will provide.
Secret Interpretation and Use of the...
Sunshine Week: EFF's FOIA Work Shines Light on Government Activities in 2011
As Sunshine Week rolls on, we wanted to highlight EFF’s transparency work over the past year. In an era of excessive government secrecy, the FOIA process is becoming increasingly vital to both keeping the public informed and holding the government accountable.
During the past year, EFF’s FOIA...
EFF Wants to Make Every Week Sunshine Week with ‘This Week in Transparency’
Today kicks off Sunshine Week—a week dedicated to focusing on the importance of open government and ensuring accountability for government officials at the federal, state and local levels. To celebrate, EFF is kicking off a new weekly feature to highlight important news regarding government transparency. We will report on important...
"A Time Bomb For Civil Liberties": France Adopts a New Biometric ID Card
No Checks or Balances in Warrantless Wiretapping Despite Holder's Assurances
Attorney General Eric Holder gave a much publicized speech at Northwestern law school on Monday, in which he attempted to explain the Obama administration’s constitutional authority for killing U.S. citizens abroad without judicial oversight. Holder in part claimed that there is a difference between “due process” and “judicial process”,...
Billionaire’s Bogus Legal Tactics Against Bloggers Threaten Free Speech
Recently, Salon’s Glenn Greenwald reported that Idaho billionaire and CEO of Melaleuca, Inc., Frank VanderSloot, has been engaged in a systematic campaign to silence journalists and bloggers from publishing stories about his political views and business practices. VanderSloot and Melaleuca have targeted national news organizations and small...
