Eight Epic Failures of Regulating Cryptography
They can promise strong encryption. They just need to figure out how they can provide us plain text. - FBI General Counsel Valerie Caproni, September 27, 2010
[W]e're in favor of strong encryption, robust encryption. The country needs it, industry needs it. We just want to make sure we...
Facebook Moves Closer to EFF Bill of Privacy Rights
Today Facebook announced three new features that help move the social networking giant closer to satisfying EFF's Bill of Privacy Rights for Social Networking. While EFF continues to have outstanding issues with Facebook, we greatly appreciate these important steps toward giving Facebook users more transparency and control when...
A Field Guide to Copyright Trolls
With all of this talk about copyright trolls and spamigation, it is easy to get confused. Who is suing over copies of Far Cry and The Hurt Locker? Who is suing bloggers? Who is trying to protect their anonymity? Who is defending fair use? What do newspapers have to do...
Government Seeks Back Door Into All Our Communications
The New York Times reported this morning on a Federal government plan to put government-mandated back doors in all communications systems, including all encryption software. The Times said the Obama administration is drafting a law that would impose a new "mandate" that all communications services be "able to intercept...
On Writing, Funding, and Distributing Software to Activists Against Authoritarian Regimes
Writing software to protect political activists against censorship and surveillance is a tricky business. If those activists are living under the kind of authoritarian regimes where a loss of privacy may lead to the loss of life or liberty, we need to tread especially cautiously.
A great...
Sarah Palin Revisited: Why Terms of Use Shouldn't Be Enforced Through Computer Crime Law
Last week, we questioned whether Sarah Palin may have violated Facebook's terms of use by using a ghostwriter to update her profile. We also criticized Facebook's attempts to enforce those terms with state and federal computer crime laws — which carry both civil and criminal penalties — in ...
John Doe Strikes Back: New Developments in the US Copyright Group ("Hurt Locker") Cases
After months of dragnet litigation and intimidation, some of the thousands of “John Doe” Defendants targeted in mass copyright lawsuits filed in the District of Columbia are fighting back in earnest.
The lawsuits are the brainchild of a Washington, D.C., law firm calling itself the "U.S. Copyright Group"...
Jack-Booted Thugs and Copyright Enforcement
When it comes to copyright enforcement and the government, EFF frequently warns that giving government agents a reason to censor, search, seize, and indict must be taken very seriously. Without safeguards and a thorough accounting of the consequences, laws and policies targeting so-called "pirates" can be used to pry away...
UPDATE: Is Sarah Palin a Computer Criminal?
Beyond "Censored": What Craigslist's "Adult Services" Decision Means for Free Speech
On Saturday, after years of pressure from law enforcement officials, Internet classified ad web site Craigslist bowed to demands to remove its "Adult Services" section which critics charged encouraged prostitution and other sex-related crimes. Or at least it appears that it did. Without explanation, following the latest in a series...