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Deeplinks

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

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EFF Backs Constitutional Challenge to Ecuador’s...

Deeplinks ·

2025/10/23

In early September, EFF submitted an amicus brief to Ecuador’s Constitutional Court supporting a constitutional challenge filed by Ecuadorian NGOs, including INREDH and LaLibre. The case challenges the constitutionality of the Ley Orgánica de Inteligencia (LOI) and its implementing regulation, the General Regulation of the LOI. EFF’s amicus brief argues that the LOI enables disproportionate surveillance and secrecy that undermine constitutional and Inter-American human rights standards. EFF urges

It’s Time to Take Back CTRL

Deeplinks ·

2025/10/21

Technology is supercharging the attack on democracy by making it easier to spy on people, block free speech, and control what we do. The Electronic Frontier Foundation’s activists, lawyers, and technologists are fighting back. Join the movement to Take Back CTRL. DONATE TODAY Join EFF and Fight Back Take Back CTRL is EFF's new website to give you insight into the ways that technology has become the veins and arteries of rising global authoritarianism. It’s not just because of technology’s massive

No Tricks, Just Treats 🎃 EFF’s Halloween Signal...

Deeplinks ·

2025/10/20

EFF usually warns of new horrors threatening your rights online, but this Halloween we’ve summoned a few of our own we’d like to share. Our new Signal Sticker Pack highlights some creatures—both mythical and terrifying—conjured up by our designers for you to share this spooky season. If you’re new to Signal, it's a free and secure messaging app built by the nonprofit Signal Foundation at the forefront of defending user privacy. While chatting privately, you can add some seasonal flair with Signal

No One Should Be Forced to Conform to the Views of...

Deeplinks ·

2025/10/16

Should you have to think twice before posting a protest flyer to your Instagram story? Or feel pressure to delete that bald JD Vance meme that you shared? Now imagine that you could get kicked out of the country—potentially losing your job or education—based on the Trump administration’s dislike of your views on social media. That threat to free expression and dissent is happening now, but we won’t let it stand. "...they're not just targeting individuals—they're targeting the very idea of freedom

Labor Unions, EFF Sue Trump Administration to Stop...

Deeplinks ·

2025/10/16

Viewpoint-based Online Surveillance of Permanent Residents and Visa Holders Violates First Amendment, Lawsuit ArguesNEW YORK—The United Automobile Workers (UAW), Communications Workers of America (CWA), and American Federation of Teachers (AFT) filed a lawsuit today against the Departments of State and Homeland Security for their viewpoint-based surveillance and suppression of protected expression online. The complaint asks a federal court to stop this unconstitutional surveillance program, which

🎃 A Full Month of Privacy Tips from EFF | EFFector 37.14

Deeplinks ·

2025/10/15

Instead of catching you off-guard with a jump scare this Halloween season, EFF is here to catch you up on the latest digital rights news with our EFFector newsletter! In this issue, we’re helping you take control of your online privacy with Opt Out October; explaining the UK’s attack on encryption and why it’s bad for all users; and covering shocking new details about an abortion surveillance case in Texas. Prefer to listen in? Check out our audio companion, where EFF Security and Privacy Activist

Victory! California Requires Transparency for AI...

Deeplinks ·

2025/10/14

California Governor Newsom has signed S.B. 524, a bill that begins the long process of regulating and imposing transparency on the growing problem of AI-written police reports. EFF supported this bill and has spent the last year vocally criticizing the companies pushing AI-generated police reports as a service. S.B.524 requires police to disclose, on the report, if it was used to fully or in part author a police report. Further, it bans vendors from selling or sharing the information a police

EFF and Five Human Rights Organizations Urge Action...

Deeplinks ·

2025/10/13

In a letter sent to Microsoft at the end of last month, EFF and five other civil society organizations—Access Now, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Fight for the Future, and 7amleh—called on the company to cease any further involvement in providing AI and cloud computing technologies for use in Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. EFF also sent updated letters to Google and Amazon renewing our calls for each company to respond to the serious concerns we raised

Watch Now: Navigating Surveillance with EFF Members

Deeplinks ·

2025/10/10

Online surveillance is everywhere—and understanding how you’re being tracked, and how to fight back, is more important than ever. That’s why EFF partnered with Women In Security and Privacy (WISP) for our annual Global Members’ Speakeasy, where we tackled online behavioral tracking and the massive data broker industry that profits from your personal information. Our live panel featured Rory Mir (EFF Associate Director of Community Organizing), Lena Cohen (EFF Staff Technologist), Mitch Stoltz (EFF

EFF Austin: Organizing and Making a Difference in...

Deeplinks ·

2025/10/10

Austin, Texas is a major tech hub with a population that’s engaged in advocacy and paying attention. Since 1991, EFF-Austin an independent nonprofit civil liberties organization, has been the proverbial beacon alerting those in central Texas to the possibilities and implications of modern technology. It is also an active member of the Electronic Frontier Alliance (EFA). On a recent visit to Texas, I got the chance to speak with Kevin Welch, President of EFF-Austin, about the organization, its work,

PERA Remains a Serious Threat to Efforts Against Bad...

Deeplinks ·

2025/10/09

As all things old are new again, a bill that would make obtaining bad patents easier and harder to challenge is being considered in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA) would reverse over a decade of progress in fighting patent trolls and making the patent system more balanced. PERA would overturn long-standing court decisions that have helped keep some of the most problematic patents in check. This includes the Supreme Court’s Alice v. CLS Bank decision,

EFF and Other Organizations: Keep Key Intelligence...

Deeplinks ·

2025/10/08

In a joint letter to the ranking members of the House and Senate intelligence committees, EFF has joined with 20 other organizations, including the ACLU, Brennan Center, CDT, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, and Demand Progress, to express opposition to a rule change that would seriously weaken accountability in the intelligence community. Specifically, under the proposed Senate Intelligence Authorization Act, S. 2342, the general counsels of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Office of

How to File a Privacy Complaint in California

Deeplinks ·

2025/10/07

Privacy laws are only as strong as their enforcement. In California, the state’s privacy agency recently issued its largest-ever fine for violation of the state’s privacy law—and all because of a consumer complaint. The state’s privacy law, the California Consumer Privacy Act or CCPA, requires many companies to respect California customers' and job applicants' rights to know, delete and correct information that businesses collect about them, and to opt-out of some types of sharing and use. It also

California Targets Tractor Supply's Tricky Tracking

Deeplinks ·

2025/10/07

The California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) issued a record fine earlier this month to Tractor Supply, the country’s self-proclaimed largest “rural lifestyle” retailer, for apparently ducking its responsibilities under the California Consumer Privacy Act. Under that law, companies are required to respect California customers’ and job applicants’ rights to know, delete, and correct information that businesses collect about them, and to opt-out of some types of sharing and use. The law also

EFF to Court: The Supreme Court Must Rein in...

Deeplinks ·

2025/09/11

If the Supreme Court doesn’t reverse a lower court’s ruling, internet service providers (ISPs) could be forced to terminate people’s internet access based on nothing more than mere accusations of copyright infringement. This would threaten innocent users who rely on broadband for essential aspects of daily life. EFF—along with the American Library Association, the Association of Research Libraries, and Re:Create—filed an amicus brief urging the Court to reverse the decision.The Stakes: Turning ISPs

San Francisco Gets An Invasive Billionaire-Bought...

Deeplinks ·

2025/09/10

San Francisco billionaire Chris Larsen once again has wielded his wallet to keep city residents under the eye of all-seeing police surveillance. The San Francisco Police Commission, the Board of Supervisors, and Mayor Daniel Lurie have signed off on Larsen’s $9.4 million gift of a new Real-Time Investigations Center. The plan involves moving the city’s existing police tech hub from the public Hall of Justice not to the city’s brand-new police headquarters but instead to a sublet in the Financial

Rayhunter: What We Have Found So Far

Deeplinks ·

2025/09/10

A little over a year ago we released Rayhunter, our open source tool designed to detect cell-site simulators. We’ve been blown away by the level of community engagement on this project. It has been installed on thousands of devices (or so we estimate, we don’t actually know since Rayhunter doesn’t have any telemetry!). We have received dozens of packet captures, hundreds of improvements, both minor and major, documentation fixes, and bug reports from our open source community. This project is a

Podcast Episode: Building and Preserving the Library...

Deeplinks ·

2025/09/10

All this season, “How to Fix the Internet” has been focusing on the tools and technology of freedom – and one of the most important tools of freedom is a library. Access to knowledge not only creates an informed populace that democracy requires, but also gives people the tools they need to thrive. And the internet has radically expanded access to knowledge in ways that earlier generations could only have dreamed of – so long as that knowledge is allowed to flow freely.

Executive Director Cindy Cohn Will Step Down After 25...

Deeplinks ·

2025/09/09

EFF Launches Search for Successor to ‘Visionary Lawyer and Leader’ SAN FRANCISCO – Electronic Frontier Foundation Executive Director Cindy Cohn will step down by mid-2026 after more than 25 years with the organization and a decade as its top officer leading the fight for digital freedoms. EFF – defending digital privacy, free speech, and innovation since 1990 – is launching a search for Cohn’s successor. “It’s been the honor of my life to help EFF grow and become the strong, effective organization

EFF Awards Spotlight ✨ Software Freedom Law Center,...

Deeplinks ·

2025/09/05

In 1992 EFF presented our very first awards recognizing key leaders and organizations advancing innovation and championing civil liberties and human rights online. Now in 2025 we're continuing to celebrate the accomplishments of people working toward a better future for everyone with the EFF Awards!All are invited to attend the EFF Awards on Wednesday, September 10 at the San Francisco Design Center. Whether you're an activist, an EFF supporter, a student interested in cyberlaw, or someone who wants

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