Top Features
EFF has decades of experience in providing digital privacy and security resources, particularly for vulnerable people. We’ve written a lot of resources over the years; here are the top ten that we think are most useful right now.
EFF has warned before about how the location data market threatens reproductive rights. But it doesn’t have to be this way. There are a number of laws that Congress and state legislators could pass right now that would help protect us from location tracking tools.
EFF Updates
The Free Speech Protection Act is a long overdue tool to protect against the use of SLAPP lawsuits as legal weapons that benefit the wealthy and powerful. This bill will help everyday Americans of all political stripes who speak out on local and national issues.
EFF, along with ACLU and the New York Civil Liberties Union, filed a second amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit urging the court to require a warrant for border searches of electronic devices, an argument EFF has been making in the courts and Congress for nearly a decade.
The Federal Trade Commission has entered a settlement with self-styled “weapon detection” company Evolv, to resolve the FTC’s claim that the company “knowingly” and repeatedly” engaged in “unlawful” acts of misleading claims about their technology. Essentially, Evolv’s technology, which is in schools, subways, and stadiums, does far less than they’ve been claiming.
The answer is actually pretty simple: monopolies, weird laws, and companies exploiting their users for profit. If this sounds mildly infuriating and makes you want to learn ways to fight back, then head over to our new site, Digital Rights Bytes! We’ve even created a short video to explain what the heck is going on here.
Last year, we investigated a Dragon Touch children’s tablet and confirmed that it was linked to a string of fully compromised Android TV Boxes that also had multiple reports of malware, adware, and a sketchy firmware update channel. Since then, Google has taken the (now former) tablet distributor off of their list of Play Protect certified phones and tablets. The burden of catching this type of threat should not be placed on the consumer.
There is a lot about the internet that needs fixing, but the one thing we should preserve and nurture is the nontraditional paths to success it creates. In this series of interviews, called “Gate Crashing,” we look to highlight those people and learn from their examples.
Here’s an audio version of EFFector. We hope you enjoy it!
Announcements
EFF is excited to be back in Washington, D.C. for the final ShmooCon! Stop by the EFF booth to chat with some of our team and learn about the latest developments in defending digital freedom for all.
What direction will your digital rights take under Trump and the 119th Congress? Find out about the topics EFF is watching and the effect they might have. Join our panel of experts as they discuss surveillance, age verification, and consumer privacy. Learn how you can advocate for your digital rights and the resources available to you.
EFF is excited to be back in Mesa, AZ for CactusCon! If you're attending CactusCon 13, be sure to stop by the EFF booth to chat. We're excited to say hi and chat about our work with new and returning faces!
Thank you to DuckDuckGo for another year of support of EFF’s fight for digital privacy.
Job Openings
Applications are now open through February 15 for the Summer 2025 Intern Class! EFF’s legal internships provide law students with a unique opportunity to develop valuable skills and real-world experience while working with a nationally-recognized public interest law firm. Legal interns learn from and assist EFF’s staff attorneys in all aspects of litigation, including legal research, factual investigation, and drafting of memoranda and briefs, while also helping with policy research, client counseling, and the development of public education materials (e.g., blog posts). EFF’s docket ranges across the technological and legal landscape, from online fair use of copyrighted materials to illegal government spying.
MiniLinks
"As security researchers and computer tinkerers in youth, it pains us to witness that many schools still harshly punish students for displaying useful skills," wrote EFF's William Budington and Alexis Hancock. "Pursuing a punitive route rather than one that redirects students’ skills to positive ends does nothing to actually fix the flaws that they’ve identified, and exposes the more concerning flaw of schools that have no place for independent, curious young minds."
Looking into using end-to-end encrypted messaging apps? EFF's Thorin Klosowski offered some guidance.
EFF's Mario Trujillo discussed an effort by campus police at UC Santa Barbara to gain access to data related to student activists groups on Instagram, saying their warrant does many things "wrong."
EFF's David Greene expressed our disappointment with an appeals court ruling that upheld the US TikTok ban, saying, "Restricting the free flow of information, even from foreign adversaries, is fundamentally undemocratic."
EFF's Dave Maass commented on Torre Centinela, a 20-story tower being built in Ciudad Juarez that will funnel enormous amounts of surveillance data to law enforcement officials on both sides of the US-Mexico border. “This type of surveillance doesn't deliver as promised [and] is pretty faulty and pretty wasteful,” said Maass. “The whole platform is leaning into spending gobs of money because it's glittery.”
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