Security Win: Burr-Feinstein Proposal Declared “Dead” for This Year
Secret New Internet Rules in the Trade in Services Agreement
This week new materials from the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) were released by Wikileaks, revealing that negotiators from around the world have been continuing to craft new rules that will affect all Internet users, without public scrutiny or consultation. One of the biggest surprises that dropped is...
Will Rhode Island Double Down on the CFAA's Faults?
Legislators in Rhode Island have advanced a dangerous bill that would duplicate and exacerbate the faults of the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). Four organizations joined EFF this week in signing a letter and supporting memo to state legislators explaining the bill's faults and why...
Chilean Bid to Help Authors Will Chill Audiovisual Content Online
Authors around the world are realizing the benefits of sharing their work in new ways, finding new audiences by refusing to articipate in traditional methods of distribution and licensing. But a new proposal in Chile could undermine those choices, at least for Chilean creators.
In pursuing copyright reform around...
Zendesk and the Art of Trademark Trolling
Zen. The word has come to be associated with simplicity, intuition, and a sense of enlightenment. It originates from a branch of Buddhism that emphasizes meditation and self-reflection as the way to achieve enlightenment.
Naturally, given the cultural cachet of the word, it’s been adopted to various degrees by...
Trade Commission Report Reveals Few Benefits From the TPP and Ignores its Costs
The White House has been curiously quiet on the Trans-Pacific Partnership front, following its earlier fanfare about the agreement when it was signed in February. Yesterday with the release of the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC)'s almost 800-page report on the TPP's Likely Impact on the U.S. Economy and...
Malaysian Parliament Suppresses Debate on Anti-Blogger Amendments
This week, the Malaysian Parliament went back into session to consider a series of amendments to the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 that, if passed, will further chill online speech and worsen the Malaysian regime's persecution of journalists, bloggers, and activists. The amendments may pass as early as next week,...
Dear Sony Music: It’s Not “Fee Use,” But “Fair Use”
We're pleased to report that Sony Music backtracked on its accusation of copyright infringement against the Hudson Valley Bluegrass Association, and HVBA's educational video remains freely available to the public. But the music label’s response leads us to think that Sony's misuse of copyright and of YouTube’s automated enforcement system...
User Content Platforms Take the Heat for Artists' Struggles at WIPO
All this week, EFF has been at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, debating with delegates from around the world at the 32nd session of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR). We could write an exhaustive report of the discussions at the meeting...
What Do Customers Think They’re Getting When They Buy Media Online?
Until recently, it was uncontroversial that you could take books or music from your collection, and lend them, sell them, or give them away.
Rightsholders, however, have long tried creative ways to restrict your ability to do these things, as they believe it would let them make more...








