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Deeplinks

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

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First Porn, Now Skin Cream? ‘Age Verification’ Bills...

Deeplinks ·

2025/03/07

I’m old enough to remember when age verification bills were pitched as a way to ‘save the kids from porn’ and shield them from other vague dangers lurking in the digital world (like…“the transgender”). We have long cautioned about the dangers of these laws, and pointed out why they are likely to fail. While they may be well-intentioned, the growing proliferation of age verification schemes poses serious risks to all of our digital freedoms.Fast forward a few years, and these laws have morphed into

Simple Phish Bait: EFF Is Not Investigating Your...

Deeplinks ·

2025/03/06

We recently learned that users of the Albion Online gaming forum have received direct messages purporting to be from us. That message, which leverages the fear of an account ban, is a phishing attempt.If you’re an Albion Online forum user and receive a message that claims to be from “the EFF team,” don’t click the link, and be sure to use the in-forum reporting tool to report the message and the user who sent it to the moderators. A screenshot of the message shared by a user of the forums. The

Trump Calls On Congress To Pass The “Take It Down”...

Deeplinks ·

2025/03/05

We've opposed the Take It Down Act because it could be easily manipulated to take down lawful content that powerful people simply don't like. Last night, President Trump demonstrated he has a similar view on the bill. He wants to sign the bill into law, then use it to remove content about — him. And he won't be the only powerful person to do so. Here’s what Trump said to a joint session of Congress: The Senate just passed the Take It Down Act…. Once it passes the House, I look forward to

Meet Rayhunter: A New Open Source Tool from EFF to...

Deeplinks ·

2025/03/04

At EFF we spend a lot of time thinking about Street Level Surveillance technologies—the technologies used by police and other authorities to spy on you while you are going about your everyday life—such as automated license plate readers, facial recognition, surveillance camera networks, and cell-site simulators (CSS). Rayhunter is a new open source tool we’ve created that runs off an affordable mobile hotspot that we hope empowers everyone, regardless of technical skill, to help search out CSS

Ninth Circuit Correctly Rules That Dating App Isn’t...

Deeplinks ·

2025/02/27

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit correctly held that Grindr, a popular dating app, can’t be held responsible for matching users and enabling them to exchange messages that led to real-world harm. EFF and the Woodhull Freedom Foundation filed an amicus brief in the Ninth Circuit in support of Grindr.Grindr and other dating apps are possible thanks to strong Section 230 immunity. Without this protection, dating apps—and other platforms that host user-generated content—would have more

EFF In Conversation With Ron Deibert on Chasing Shadows

Deeplinks ·

2025/02/27

Join EFF's Cindy Cohn and Eva Galperin in conversation with Ron Deibert of the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, to discuss Ron’s latest book: Chasing Shadows: Cyber Espionage, Subversion and the Global Fight for Democracy. Chasing Shadows provides a front-row seat to a dark underworld of digital espionage, dark PR, and subversion. The book provides a gripping account of how the Citizen Lab, the world’s foremost digital watchdog, has uncovered dozens of cyber espionage cases and protects people

Fresh Threats to Privacy Around the Globe | EFFector...

Deeplinks ·

2025/02/26

EFF is here to keep you up-to-date with the latest news in the world of civil liberties and human rights online with our EFFector newsletter!This edition of the newsletter covers Apple's recent decision to turn off Advanced Data Protection for users in the U.K., our how-to guide for limiting Meta's ability to collect and monetize your personal data, and our recent victory against the government's use of Section 702 to spy on Americans. You can read the full newsletter here, and even get

EFF to California's Supreme Court: Protect the...

Deeplinks ·

2025/02/26

EFF asked the California Supreme Court not to weaken the Stored Communications Act, a 1986 federal law that restricts how providers can disclose the content of your communications to the government or private parties. The law is built on the principle that you have a reasonable expectation of privacy that providers like Snap and Meta will not disclose your communications to third parties, even though the providers have access to those communications as they are stored on their systems. In an amicus

Anti-Surveillance Mapmaker Refuses Flock Safety's...

Deeplinks ·

2025/02/26

Flock Safety loves to crow about the thousands of local law enforcement agencies around the United States that have adopted its avian-themed automated license plate readers (ALPRs). But when a privacy activist launched a website to map out the exact locations of these pole-mounted devices, the company tried to clip his wings. The company sent DeFlock.me and its creator Will Freeman a cease-and-desist letter, claiming that the project dilutes its trademark. Suffice it to say, and to lean into

EFF to UK PM Starmer: Call Sisi to Free Alaa and Save...

Deeplinks ·

2025/02/26

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer made a public commitment on February 14 to Laila Soueif, the mother of Alaa Abd El Fattah, stating “I will do all that I can to secure the release of her son Alaa Abd el-Fattah and reunite him with his family.” While that commitment was welcomed by the family, it is imperative that it now be followed up with concrete action.Laila has called on PM Starmer to speak directly to President Sisi of Egypt. Starmer has written to Sisi twice, in December and January, and his

The Senate Passed The TAKE IT DOWN Act, Threatening...

Deeplinks ·

2025/02/25

Earlier this month, the Senate passed the TAKE IT DOWN Act (S. 146), by a voice vote. The bill is meant to speed up the removal of non-consensual intimate imagery, or NCII, including videos that imitate real people, a technology sometimes called “deepfakes.” Protecting victims of these heinous privacy invasions is a legitimate goal. But good intentions alone are not enough to make good policy. As currently drafted, the TAKE IT DOWN Act mandates a notice-and-takedown system that threatens free

New Yorkers Deserve Stronger Health Data Protections...

Deeplinks ·

2025/02/25

With the rise of digital surveillance, securing our health data is no longer just a privacy issue—it's a matter of personal safety. In the wake of the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade and the growing restrictions on abortion and gender-affirming care, protecting our personal health data has never been more important. And in a world where nearly half of U.S. states have either banned or are on the brink of banning abortion, unfettered access to personal health data is an even more dangerous

The Judicial Conference Should Continue to Liberally...

Deeplinks ·

2025/02/22

EFF does a lot of things, including impact litigation, legislative lobbying, and technology development, all to fight for your civil liberties in the digital age. With litigation, we directly represent clients and also file “amicus” briefs in court cases. An amicus brief, also called a “friend-of-the-court” brief, is when we don’t represent one of the parties on either side of the “v”—instead, we provide the court with a helpful outside perspective on the case, either on behalf of ourselves or other

Cornered by the UK’s Demand for an Encryption...

Deeplinks ·

2025/02/21

Today, in response to the U.K.’s demands for a backdoor, Apple has stopped offering users in the U.K. Advanced Data Protection, an optional feature in iCloud that turns on end-to-end encryption for files, backups, and more. Had Apple complied with the U.K.’s original demands, they would have been required to create a backdoor not just for users in the U.K., but for people around the world, regardless of where they were or what citizenship they had. As we’ve said time and time again, any backdoor

EFF at RightsCon 2025

Deeplinks ·

2025/02/21

EFF is delighted to be attending RightsCon again—this year hosted in Taipei, Taiwan between 24-27 February. RightsCon provides an opportunity for human rights experts, technologists, activists, and government representatives to discuss pressing human rights challenges and their potential solutions. Many EFFers are heading to Taipei and will be actively participating in this year's event. Several members will be leading sessions, speaking on panels, and be available for networking. Our delegation

Utah Bill Aims to Make Officers Disclose AI-Written...

Deeplinks ·

2025/02/21

A bill headed to the Senate floor in Utah would require officers to disclose if a police report was written by generative AI. The bill, S.B. 180, requires a department to have a policy governing the use of AI. This policy would mandate that police reports created in whole or in part by generative AI have a disclaimer that the report contains content generated by AI and requires officers to legally certify that the report was checked for accuracy. S.B. 180 is unfortunately a necessary step in the

AI and Copyright: Expanding Copyright Hurts...

Deeplinks ·

2025/02/19

You shouldn't need a permission slip to read a webpage–whether you do it with your own eyes, or use software to help. AI is a category of general-purpose tools with myriad beneficial uses. Requiring developers to license the materials needed to create this technology threatens the development of more innovative and inclusive AI models, as well as important uses of AI as a tool for expression and scientific research. Threats to Socially Valuable Research and Innovation Requiring researchers to

Deeplinks ·

2025/02/19

The launch of ChatGPT and other deep learning quickly led to a flurry of lawsuits against model developers. Legal theories vary, but most are rooted in copyright: plaintiffs argue that use of their works to train the models was infringement; developers counter that their training is fair use. Meanwhile developers are making as many licensing deals as possible to stave off future litigation, and it’s a sound bet that the existing litigation is an elaborate scramble for leverage in settlement

EFF and Repro Uncensored Launch...

Deeplinks ·

2025/02/19

Campaign Aims to Ensure that People Can Access Reproductive Rights Information Through Social MediaSAN FRANCISCO—The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Repro Uncensored coalition on Wednesday launched the #StopCensoringAbortion campaign to ensure that people who need reproductive health and abortion information can find and share it. Censorship of this information by social media companies appears to be increasing, so the campaign will collect information to track such incidents. “This

Stop Censoring Abortion: The Fight for Reproductive...

Deeplinks ·

2025/02/19

With reproductive rights under fire across the U.S. and globally, access to accurate abortion information has never been more critical—especially online. That’s why reproductive health and rights organizations have turned to online platforms to share essential, sometimes life-saving, guidance and resources. Whether it's how to access information about abortion medication, where to find clinics, or the latest updates on abortion laws, these online spaces have become a lifeline, particularly for

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