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EFF"s Deeplinks Blog: Noteworthy news from around the internet

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A New Tool to Detect Cellular Spying | EFFector 37.3

Deeplinks ·

2025/03/26

Take some time during your Spring Break to catch up on the latest digital rights news by subscribing to EFF's EFFector newsletter!This edition of the newsletter covers our new open source tool to detect cellular spying, Rayhunter; The Foilies 2025, our tongue-in-cheek awards to the worst responses to public records requests; and our recommendations to the NSF for the new AI Action Plan to put people first. You can read the full newsletter here, and even get future editions directly to your

How to Delete Your 23andMe Data

Deeplinks ·

2025/03/26

This week, the genetic testing company 23andMe filed for bankruptcy, which means the genetic data the company collected on millions of users is now up for sale. If you do not want your data included in any potential sale, it’s a good time to ask the company to delete it. When the company first announced it was considering a sale, we highlighted many of the potential issues, including selling that data to companies with poor security practices or direct links to law enforcement. With this

Saving the Internet in Europe: Fostering Choice,...

Deeplinks ·

2025/03/25

This post is part four and the final part in a series of posts about EFF’s work in Europe. Read about how and why we work in Europe here. EFF’s mission is to ensure that technology supports freedom, justice, and innovation for all people of the world. While our work has taken us to far corners of the globe, in recent years we have worked to expand our efforts in Europe, building up a policy team with key expertise in the region, and bringing our experience in advocacy and technology to the

230 Protects Users, Not Big Tech

Deeplinks ·

2025/03/24

Once again, several Senators appear poised to gut one of the most important laws protecting internet users - Section 230 (47 U.S.C. § 230). Don’t be fooled - many of Section 230’s detractors claim that this critical law only protects big tech. The reality is that Section 230 provides limited protection for all platforms, though the biggest beneficiaries are small platforms and users. Why else would some of the biggest platforms be willing to endorse a bill that guts the law? In fact, repealing

Podcast Episode Rerelease: Dr. Seuss Warned Us

Deeplinks ·

2025/03/23

This episode was first released on May 2, 2023.We’re excited to announce that we’re working on a new season of How to Fix the Internet, coming in the next few months! But today we want to lift up an earlier episode that has particular significance right now. In 2023, we spoke with our friend Alvaro Bedoya, who was appointed as a Commissioner for the Federal Trade Commission in 2022. In our conversation, we talked about his work there, about why we need to be wary of workplace surveillance, and why

A Win for Encryption: France Rejects Backdoor Mandate

Deeplinks ·

2025/03/21

In a moment of clarity after initially moving forward a deeply flawed piece of legislation, the French National Assembly has done the right thing: it rejected a dangerous proposal that would have gutted end-to-end encryption in the name of fighting drug trafficking. Despite heavy pressure from the Interior Ministry, lawmakers voted Thursday night (article in French) to strike down a provision that would have forced messaging platforms like Signal and WhatsApp to allow hidden access to private

New USPTO Memo Makes Fighting Patent Trolls Even Harder

Deeplinks ·

2025/03/21

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) just made a move that will protect bad patents at the expense of everyone else. In a memo released February 28, the USPTO further restricted access to inter partes review, or IPR—the process Congress created to let the public challenge invalid patents without having to wage million-dollar court battles. If left unchecked, this decision will shield bad patents from scrutiny, embolden patent trolls, and make it even easier for hedge funds and large

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Google Search? Courts...

Deeplinks ·

2025/03/20

Can we get from a world where Google is synonymous with search to a world where other search engines have a real chance to compete? The U.S. and state governments’ bipartisan antitrust suit, challenging the many ways that Google has maintained its search monopoly, offers an opportunity. Antitrust enforcers have proposed a set of complementary remedies, from giving users a choice of search engine, to forcing Google to spin off Chrome and possibly Android into separate companies. Overall, this is the

State AGs Must Act: EFF Expands Call to Investigate...

Deeplinks ·

2025/03/20

Back in January, EFF called on attorneys general in Florida, Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri to investigate potential privacy violations and hold accountable crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) that engage in deceptive practices. Since then, some of these centers have begun to change their websites, quietly removing misleading language and privacy claims; the Hawaii legislature is considering a bill calling on the attorney general to investigate CPCs in the state, and legislators in Georgia have

EFF’s Reflections from RightsCon 2025

Deeplinks ·

2025/03/19

EFF was delighted to once again attend RightsCon—this year hosted in Taipei, Taiwan between 24-27 February. As with previous years, RightsCon provided an invaluable opportunity for human rights experts, technologists, activists, and government representatives to discuss pressing human rights challenges and their potential solutions. For some attending from EFF, this was the first RightsCon. For others, their 10th or 11th. But for all, one message was spoken loud and clear: the need to collectivize

California’s A.B. 412: A Bill That Could Crush...

Deeplinks ·

2025/03/17

California legislators have begun debating a bill (A.B. 412) that would require AI developers to track and disclose every registered copyrighted work used in AI training. At first glance, this might sound like a reasonable step toward transparency. But it’s an impossible standard that could crush small AI startups and developers while giving big tech firms even more power.A Burden That Small Developers Can’t Bear The AI landscape is in danger of being dominated by large companies with deep

EFF Joins 7amleh Campaign to #ReconnectGaza

Deeplinks ·

2025/03/17

In times of conflict, the internet becomes more than just a tool—it is a lifeline, connecting those caught in chaos with the outside world. It carries voices that might otherwise be silenced, bearing witness to suffering and survival. Without internet access, communities become isolated, and the flow of critical information is disrupted, making an already dire situation even worse. At this years RightsCon conference hosted in Taiwan, Palestinian non-profit organization 7amleh, in collaboration with

The Foilies 2025

Deeplinks ·

2025/03/16

Recognize the Worst in Government Transparency Co-written by MuckRock's Michael Morisy, Dillon Bergin, and Kelly Kauffman The public's right to access government information is constantly under siege across the United States, from both sides of the political aisle. In Maryland, where Democrats hold majorities, the attorney general and state legislature are pushing a bill to allow agencies to reject public records requests that they consider "harassing." At the same time, President Donald Trump's

“Guardrails” Won’t Protect Nashville Residents From...

Deeplinks ·

2025/03/15

Nashville’s Metropolitan Council is one vote away from passing an ordinance that’s being branded as “guardrails” against the privacy problems that come with giving the police a connected camera system like Axon’s Fusus. But Nashville locals are right to be skeptical of just how much protection from mass surveillance products they can expect. "I am against these guardrails," council member Ginny Welsch told the Tennessean recently. "I think they're kind of a farce. I don't think there can be any

EFF to NSF: AI Action Plan Must Put People First

Deeplinks ·

2025/03/13

This past January the new administration issued an executive order on Artificial Intelligence (AI), taking the place of the now rescinded Biden-era order, calling for a new AI Action Plan tasked with “unburdening” the current AI industry to stoke innovation and remove “engineered social agendas” from the industry. This new action plan for the president is currently being developed and open to public comments to the National Science Foundation (NSF).EFF answered with a few clear points: First,

EFF Thanks Fastly for Donated Tools to Help Keep Our...

Deeplinks ·

2025/03/13

EFF’s most important platform for welcoming everyone to join us in our fight for a better digital future is our website, eff.org. We thank Fastly for their generous in-kind contribution of services helping keep EFF’s website online. Eff.org was first registered in 1990, just three months after the organization was founded, and long before the web was an essential part of daily life. Our website and the fight for digital rights grew rapidly alongside each other. However, along with rising threats to

EFFecting Change: Is There Hope for Social Media?

Deeplinks ·

2025/03/13

Please join EFF for the next segment of EFFecting Change, our livestream series covering digital privacy and free speech. EFFecting Change Livestream Series:Is There Hope for Social Media?Thursday, March 20th12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Pacific - Check Local TimeThis event is LIVE and FREE! Users are frustrated with legacy social media companies. Is it possible to effectively build the kinds of communities we want online while avoiding the pitfalls that have driven people away? Join our panel featuring EFF

EFF Joins AllOut’s Campaign Calling for Meta to Stop...

Deeplinks ·

2025/03/13

In January, Meta made targeted changes to its hateful conduct policy that would allow dehumanizing statements to be made about certain vulnerable groups. More specifically, Meta’s hateful conduct policy now contains the following text: People sometimes use sex- or gender-exclusive language when discussing access to spaces often limited by sex or gender, such as access to bathrooms, specific schools, specific military, law enforcement, or teaching roles, and health or support groups. Other times,

In Memoriam: Mark Klein, AT&T Whistleblower Who...

Deeplinks ·

2025/03/12

EFF is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Mark Klein, a bona fide hero who risked civil liability and criminal prosecution to help expose a massive spying program that violated the rights of millions of Americans.Mark didn’t set out to change the world. For 22 years, he was a telecommunications technician for AT&T, most of that in San Francisco. But he always had a strong sense of right and wrong and a commitment to privacy. Mark not only saw how it works, he had the documents to prove

EFF Stands with Perkins Coie and the Rule of Law

Deeplinks ·

2025/03/12

As a legal organization that has fought in court to defend the rights of technology users for almost 35 years, including numerous legal challenges to federal government overreach, Electronic Frontier Foundation unequivocally supports Perkins Coie’s challenge to the Trump administration’s shocking, vindictive, and unconstitutional Executive Order. In punishing the law firm for its zealous advocacy on behalf of its clients, the order offends the First Amendment, the rule of law, and the legal

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