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Deeplinks Blog by Corynne McSherry | February 13, 2017

Publishers Still Fighting to Bury Universities, Libraries in Fees for Making Fair Use of Academic Excerpts

On behalf of three national library associations, EFF today urged a federal appeals court for the second time to protect librarians’ and students’ rights to make fair use of excerpts from academic books and research.
Nearly a decade ago, three of the largest academic...

Deeplinks Blog by Jamie Williams | February 13, 2017

Not Okay: Professor Smeared After Advocating for Election Integrity

Imagine if someone, after reading something you wrote online that they didn’t agree with, decided to forge racist and anti-Semitic emails under your name. This appears to be what happened to J. Alex Halderman, a computer security researcher and professor of computer science at the University of Michigan. Halderman is...

Deeplinks Blog by Adam Schwartz | February 13, 2017

“Smart Cities,” Surveillance, and New Streetlights in San Jose

The San Jose City Council is considering a proposal to install over 39,000 “smart streetlights.” A pilot program is already underway. These smart streetlights are not themselves a surveillance technology. But they have ports on top that, in the future, could accommodate surveillance technology, such as video cameras...

Deeplinks Blog by Aaron Mackey | February 10, 2017

FBI Throws Up Digital Roadblock to Transparency

Beginning March 1, FBI Will No Longer Accept FOIA Requests Via Email
It’s well documented that the FBI is keen on adopting new technologies that intrude on our civil liberties. The FBI’s enthusiasm for technology, however, doesn’t extend to tools that make it easier for the public...

Deeplinks Blog by Sophia Cope | February 10, 2017

Border Security Overreach Continues: DHS Wants Social Media Login Information

Now more than ever, it is apparent that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), are embarking on a broad campaign to invade the digital lives of innocent individuals.
The new DHS secretary, John Kelly, told a congressional committee this...

Deeplinks Blog by Jeremy Malcolm, Mitch Stoltz | February 9, 2017

Healthy Domains Initiative Isn't Healthy for the Internet

EFF had high hopes that the Domain Name Association's Healthy Domains Initiative (HDI) wouldn't be just another secretive industry deal between rightsholders and domain name intermediaries. Toward that end, we and other civil society organizations worked in good faith on many fronts to make sure HDI protected Internet...

Deeplinks Blog by Elliot Harmon, Gennie Gebhart | February 9, 2017

FCC Abandons Zero-Rating Investigation and Moves Backward on Net Neutrality

Bad news for Internet users. In his first few days in office, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has shelved the Commission’s investigation into Internet companies’ zero-rating practices and whether they violate the Commission's Open Internet Order.
As recently as January, the FCC was rebuking AT&T (PDF) for seemingly prioritizing...

Deeplinks Blog by Kate Tummarello | February 9, 2017

Trump’s Attorney General’s Record on Privacy

President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the country’s law enforcement has cleared the Senate.
The Senate voted 52-47 on Wednesday to confirm Sen. Jeff Sessions, whose record on civil liberties issues—including digital rights—has drawn fire from Democratic lawmakers and public interest groups.
EFF has expressed concerns...

Deeplinks Blog by Gennie Gebhart | February 8, 2017

A School Librarian Caught In The Middle of Student Privacy Extremes

As a school librarian at a small K-12 district in Illinois, Angela K. is at the center of a battle of extremes in educational technology and student privacy.
On one side, her district is careful and privacy-conscious when it comes to technology, with key administrators who take extreme...

Deeplinks Blog by Kerry Sheehan | February 7, 2017

YODA, the Bill That Would Let You Own (and Sell) Your Devices, Is Re-Introduced in Congress

Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas) and Jared Polis (D-Colo.) just re-introduced their You Own Devices Act (YODA), a bill that aims to help you reclaim some of your ownership rights in the software-enabled devices you buy.
We first wrote about YODA when it was originally introduced back in...

Deeplinks Blog by Kate Tummarello | February 7, 2017

The Fight Over Email Privacy Moves to the Senate

The House passed the Email Privacy Act (H.R. 387) yesterday, bringing us one step closer to requiring a warrant before law enforcement can access private communications and documents stored online with companies such as Google, Facebook, and Dropbox. But the fight is just beginning.
We’ve long called for...

Deeplinks Blog by Kerry Sheehan | February 6, 2017

It’s the End of the Copyright Alert System (As We Know It)

The Copyright Alert System has called it quits, but questions remain about what, if anything, will replace it. Known also as the “six strikes” program, the Copyright Alert System (CAS) was a private agreement between several large Internet service providers (ISPs) and big media and entertainment companies, with government...

Deeplinks Blog by rainey Reitman | February 6, 2017

Documents About Financial Censorship Under Operation Choke Point Show Concern from Congress, Provide Few Answers

EFF recently received dozens of pages of documents in response to a FOIA request we submitted about Operation Choke Point, a Department of Justice project to pressure banks and financial institutions into cutting off service to certain businesses. Unfortunately, the response from the Department of Justice leaves many questions unanswered.
...

Deeplinks Blog by Aileen Nguyen | February 6, 2017

Violating Terms of Use Isn’t a Crime, EFF Tells Court—Again

Have you ever violated a website’s terms of use, such as by using something other than your real name on a website that requires one, or by sharing your account password with a family member when doing so is prohibited? Probably. Have you ever clicked “I agree” without actually reading...

Deeplinks Blog by Kate Tummarello | February 6, 2017

Digital Rights Issues on the Horizon at the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court already has a list of digital civil liberties issues to consider in the near future, and that list is likely to grow.
If confirmed, President Donald Trump’s nominee to fill the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat on the Supreme Court—Judge Neil Gorsuch of the U.S. Court...

Our Work

Our Work

Publishers Still Fighting to Bury Universities, Libraries in Fees for Making Fair Use of Academic Excerpts

Not Okay: Professor Smeared After Advocating for Election Integrity

“Smart Cities,” Surveillance, and New Streetlights in San Jose

FBI Throws Up Digital Roadblock to Transparency

Border Security Overreach Continues: DHS Wants Social Media Login Information

Healthy Domains Initiative Isn't Healthy for the Internet

FCC Abandons Zero-Rating Investigation and Moves Backward on Net Neutrality

Trump’s Attorney General’s Record on Privacy

A School Librarian Caught In The Middle of Student Privacy Extremes

YODA, the Bill That Would Let You Own (and Sell) Your Devices, Is Re-Introduced in Congress

The Fight Over Email Privacy Moves to the Senate

It’s the End of the Copyright Alert System (As We Know It)

Documents About Financial Censorship Under Operation Choke Point Show Concern from Congress, Provide Few Answers

Violating Terms of Use Isn’t a Crime, EFF Tells Court—Again

Digital Rights Issues on the Horizon at the Supreme Court

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