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Deeplinks

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

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Meta’s New Content Policy Will Harm Vulnerable Users....

Deeplinks ·

2025/01/09

Earlier this week, when Meta announced changes to their content moderation processes, we were hopeful that some of those changes—which we will address in more detail in this post—would enable greater freedom of expression on the company’s platforms, something for which we have advocated for many years. While Meta’s initial announcement primarily addressed changes to its misinformation policies and included rolling back over-enforcement and automated tools that we have long criticized, we expressed

EFF Statement on Meta's Announcement of Revisions to...

Deeplinks ·

2025/01/07

Update: After this blog post was written, we learned Meta revised its public "Hateful Conduct" policy in ways EFF finds concerning. We are analyzing these changes, which this blog post does not address.In general, EFF supports moves that bring more freedom of expression and transparency to platforms—regardless of their political motivation. We’re encouraged by Meta's recognition that automated flagging and responses to flagged content have caused all sorts of mistakes in moderation. Just this week,

Sixth Circuit Rules Against Net Neutrality; EFF Will...

Deeplinks ·

2025/01/07

Last week, the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the FCC, rejecting its authority to classify broadband as a Title II “telecommunications service.” In doing so, the court removed net neutrality protections for all Americans and took away the FCC’s ability to meaningfully regulate internet service providers. This ruling fundamentally gets wrong the reality of internet service we all live with every day. Nearly 80% of Americans view broadband access to be as important as water and

Last Call: The Combined Federal Campaign Pledge...

Deeplinks ·

2025/01/07

The pledge period for the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) closes on Wednesday, January 15! If you're a U.S. federal employee or retiree, now is the time to make your pledge and support EFF’s work to protect your rights online. If you haven’t before, giving to EFF through the CFC is quick and easy! Just head on over to GiveCFC.org and click “DONATE.” Then you can search for EFF using our CFC ID 10437 and make a pledge via payroll deduction, credit/debit, or an e-check. If you have a renewing pledge,

EFF Goes to Court to Uncover Police Surveillance Tech...

Deeplinks ·

2025/01/06

Which surveillance technologies are California police using? Are they buying access to your location data? If so, how much are they paying? These are basic questions the Electronic Frontier Foundation is trying to answer in a new lawsuit called Pen-Link v. County of San Joaquin Sheriff’s Office. EFF filed a motion in California Superior Court to join—or intervene in—an existing lawsuit to get access to documents we requested. The private company Pen-Link sued the San Joaquin Sheriff’s Office to

Online Behavioral Ads Fuel the Surveillance...

Deeplinks ·

2025/01/06

A global spy tool exposed the locations of billions of people to anyone willing to pay. A Catholic group bought location data about gay dating app users in an effort to out gay priests. A location data broker sold lists of people who attended political protests. What do these privacy violations have in common? They share a source of data that’s shockingly pervasive and unregulated: the technology powering nearly every ad you see online. Each time you see a targeted ad, your personal information is

Decentralization Reaches a Turning Point: 2024 in review

Deeplinks ·

2025/01/01

The steady rise of decentralized networks this year is transforming social media. Platforms like Mastodon, Bluesky, and Threads are still in their infancy but have already shown that when users are given options, innovation thrives and it results in better tools and protections for our rights online. By moving towards a digital landscape that can’t be monopolized by one big player, we also see broader improvements to network resiliency and user autonomy.The Steady Rise of Decentralized

Deepening Government Use of AI and E-Government...

Deeplinks ·

2025/01/01

Policies aimed at fostering digital government processes are gaining traction in Latin America, at local and regional levels. While these initiatives can streamline access to public services, it can also make them less accessible, less clear, and put people's fundamental rights at risk. As we move forward, we must emphasize transparency and privacy guarantees during government digital transition processes. Regional Approach to Digitalization In November, the Ninth Ministerial Conference on the

Kids Online Safety Act Continues to Threaten Our...

Deeplinks ·

2025/01/01

At times this year, it seemed that Congress was going to give up its duty to protect our rights online—particularly when the Senate passed the dangerous Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) by a large majority in July. But this legislation, which would chill protected speech and almost certainly result in privacy-invasive age verification requirements for many users to access social media sites, did not pass the House this year, thanks to strong opposition from EFF supporters and others. KOSA, first

AI and Policing: 2024 in Review

Deeplinks ·

2024/12/31

There’s no part of your life now where you can avoid the onslaught of “artificial intelligence.” Whether you’re trying to search for a recipe and sifting through AI-made summaries or listening to your cousin talk about how they’ve fired their doctor and replaced them with a chatbot, it seems now, more than ever, that AI is the solution to every problem. But, in the meantime, some people are getting hideously rich by convincing people with money and influence that they must integrate AI into their

Fighting Online ID Mandates: 2024 In Review

Deeplinks ·

2024/12/31

This year, nearly half of U.S. states passed laws imposing age verification requirements on online platforms. EFF has opposed these efforts, because they censor the internet and burden access to online speech. Though age verification mandates are often touted as “online safety” measures for kids, the laws actually do more harm than good. They undermine the fundamental speech rights of adults and young people alike, create new barriers to internet access, and put at risk all internet users’ privacy,

Federal Regulators Limit Location Brokers from...

Deeplinks ·

2024/12/31

The opening and closing months of 2024 saw federal enforcement against a number of location data brokers that track and sell users’ whereabouts through apps installed on their smartphones. In January, the Federal Trade Commission brought successful enforcement actions against X-Mode Social and InMarket, banning the companies from selling precise location data—a first prohibition of this kind for the FTC. And in December, the FTC widened its net to two additional companies—Gravy Analytics (Venntel)

Exposing Surveillance at the U.S.-Mexico Border: 2024...

Deeplinks ·

2024/12/30

Some of the most picturesque landscapes in the United States can be found along the border with Mexico. Yet, from San Diego’s beaches to the Sonoran Desert, from Big Bend National Park to the Boca Chica wetlands, we see vistas marred by the sinister spread of surveillance technology, courtesy of the federal government. EFF refuses to let this blight grow without documenting it, exposing it, and finding ways to fight back alongside the communities that live in the shadow of this technological

Fighting Automated Oppression: 2024 in Review

Deeplinks ·

2024/12/30

EFF has been sounding the alarm on algorithmic decision making (ADM) technologies for years. ADMs use data and predefined rules or models to make or support decisions, often with minimal human involvement, and in 2024, the topic has been more active than ever before, with landlords, employers, regulators, and police adopting new tools that have the potential to impact both personal freedom and access to necessities like medicine and housing. This year, we wrote detailed reports and comments to US

State Legislatures Are The Frontline for Tech Policy:...

Deeplinks ·

2024/12/30

State lawmakers are increasingly shaping the conversation on technology and innovation policy in the United States. As Congress continues to deliberate key issues such as data privacy, police use of data, and artificial intelligence, lawmakers are rapidly advancing their own ideas into state law. That’s why EFF fights for internet rights not only in Congress, but also in statehouses across the country. This year, some of that work has been to defend good laws we’ve passed before. In California, EFF

EFF’s 2023 Annual Report Highlights a Year of...

Deeplinks ·

2024/12/29

Every fall, EFF releases its annual report, and 2023 was the year of Privacy First. Our annual report dives into our groundbreaking whitepaper along with victories in freeing the law, right to repair, and more. It’s a great, easy-to-read summary of the year’s work, and it contains interesting tidbits about the impact we’ve made—for instance, did you know 394,000 people downloaded an episode of EFF’s Podcast, “How to Fix the Internet as of 2023?” Or that EFF had donors in 88 countries? As you can see

Aerial and Drone Surveillance: 2024 in Review

Deeplinks ·

2024/12/29

We've been fighting against aerial surveillance for decades because we recognize the immense threat from Big Brother in the sky. Even if you’re behind within the confines of your backyard, you are exposed to eyes from above. Aerial surveillance was first conducted with manned aircrafts, which the Supreme Court held was permissible without a warrant in a couple of cases the 1980s. But, as we’ve argued to courts, drones have changed the equation. Drones were a technology developed by the military

Restrictions on Free Expression and Access to...

Deeplinks ·

2024/12/29

This was an historical year. A year in which elections took place in countries home to almost half the world’s population, a year of war, and collapse of or chaos within several governments. It was also a year of new technological developments, policy changes, and legislative developments. Amidst these sweeping changes, freedom of expression has never been more important, and around the world, 2024 saw numerous challenges to it. From new legal restrictions on speech to wholesale internet shutdowns,

Cars (and Drivers): 2024 in Review

Deeplinks ·

2024/12/28

If you’ve purchased a car made in the last decade or so, it’s likely jam-packed with enough technology to make your brand new phone jealous. Modern cars have sensors, cameras, GPS for location tracking, and more, all collecting data—and it turns out in many cases, sharing it. Cars Sure Are Sharing a Lot of Information While we’ve been keeping an eye on the evolving state of car privacy for years, everything really took off after a New York Times report this past March found that the car maker G.M

Behind the Diner—Digital Rights Bytes: 2024 in Review

Deeplinks ·

2024/12/28

Although it feels a bit weird to be writing a year in review post for a site that hasn’t even been live for three months, I thought it would be fun to give a behind-the-scenes look at the work we did this year to build EFF’s newest site, Digital Rights Bytes. Since each topic Digital Rights Bytes aims to tackle is in the form of a question, why not do this Q&A style? Q: WHAT IS DIGITAL RIGHTS BYTES? Great question! At its core, Digital Rights Bytes is a place where you can get honest answers

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