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Digital ID Isn't for Everybody, and That's Okay | EFFector 36.13

2 octobre 2024 à 13:23

Need help staying up-to-date on the latest in the digital rights movement? You're in luck! In our latest newsletter, we outline the privacy protections needed for digital IDs, explain our call for the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down an unconstitutional age verification law, and call out the harms of AI monitoring software deployed in schools.

It can feel overwhelming to stay up to date, but we've got you covered with our EFFector newsletter! You can read the full issue here, or subscribe to get the next one in your inbox automatically! You can also listen to the audio version of the newsletter on the Internet Archive, or by clicking the button below:

LISTEN ON YouTube

EFFECTOR 36.13 - Digital ID Isn't for Everybody, and That's Okay

Since 1990 EFF has published EFFector to help keep readers on the bleeding edge of their digital rights. We know that the intersection of technology, civil liberties, human rights, and the law can be complicated, so EFFector is a great way to stay on top of things. The newsletter is chock full of links to updates, announcements, blog posts, and other stories to help keep readers—and listeners—up to date on the movement to protect online privacy and free expression. 

Thank you to the supporters around the world who make our work possible! If you're not a member yet, join EFF today to help us fight for a brighter digital future.

Stopping the Harms of Automated Decision Making | EFFector 36.12

11 septembre 2024 à 12:35

Curious about the latest digital rights news? Well, you're in luck! In our latest newsletter we cover topics including the Department of Homeland Security's use of AI in the immigration system, the arrest of Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov, and a victory in California where we helped kill a bill that would have imposed mandatory internet ID checks.

It can feel overwhelming to stay up to date, but we've got you covered with our EFFector newsletter! You can read the full issue here, or subscribe to get the next one in your inbox automatically! You can also listen to the audio version of the newsletter on the Internet Archive, or by clicking the button below:

LISTEN ON YouTube

EFFECTOR 36.12 - Stopping The Harms Of Automated Decision Making

Since 1990 EFF has published EFFector to help keep readers on the bleeding edge of their digital rights. We know that the intersection of technology, civil liberties, human rights, and the law can be complicated, so EFFector is a great way to stay on top of things. The newsletter is chock full of links to updates, announcements, blog posts, and other stories to help keep readers—and listeners—up to date on the movement to protect online privacy and free expression. 

Thank you to the supporters around the world who make our work possible! If you're not a member yet, join EFF today to help us fight for a brighter digital future.

U.S. Federal Employees: Plant Your Flag for Digital Freedoms Today!

4 septembre 2024 à 19:01

Like clockwork, September is here—and so is the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) pledge period!  

The CFC is the world’s largest and most successful annual charity campaign for U.S. federal employees and retirees. You can now make a pledge to support EFF’s lawyers, technologists, and activists in the fight for privacy and free speech online. Last year members of the CFC community raised nearly $34,000 to support digital civil liberties. 

Giving to EFF through the CFC is easy! Just head over to GiveCFC.org and use our ID 10437. Once there, click DONATE to give via payroll deduction, credit/debit, or an e-check. If you have a renewing pledge, you can increase your support as well! Scan the QR code below to easily make a pledge or go to GiveCFC.org! 

This year's campaign theme—GIVE HAPPY—shows that when U.S. federal employees and retirees give together, they make a meaningful difference to a countless number of individuals throughout the world. They ensure that organizations like EFF can continue working towards our goals even during challenging times. 

With support from those who pledged through the CFC last year, EFF has:

Federal employees and retirees have a tremendous impact on the shape of our democracy and the future of civil liberties and human rights online. Support EFF’s work by using our CFC ID 10437 when you make a pledge today!

Geofence Warrants Are 'Categorically' Unconstitutional | EFFector 36.11

School is back in session, so prepare for your first lesson from EFF! Today you'll learn about the latest court ruling on the dangers of geofence warrants, our letter urging Bumble to require opt-in consent to sell user data, and the continued fight against the UN Cybercrime Treaty.

If you'd like future lessons about the fight for digital freedoms, you're in luck! We've got you covered with our EFFector newsletter. You can read the full issue here, or subscribe to get the next one in your inbox automatically. You can also listen to the audio version of the newsletter on the Internet Archive, or by clicking the button below:

LISTEN ON YouTube

EFFECTOR 36.11 - Geofence Warrants Are 'Categorically' Unconstitutional

Since 1990 EFF has published EFFector to help keep readers on the bleeding edge of their digital rights. We know that the intersection of technology, civil liberties, human rights, and the law can be complicated, so EFFector is a great way to stay on top of things. The newsletter is chock full of links to updates, announcements, blog posts, and other stories to help keep readers—and listeners—up to date on the movement to protect online privacy and free expression. 

Thank you to the supporters around the world who make our work possible! If you're not a member yet, join EFF today to help us fight for a brighter digital future.

Our Last Chance to Stop KOSA | EFFector 36.10

31 juillet 2024 à 11:59

EFF is chugging along, continuing to push for your rights online! We're sending out a last call for supporters to tell Congress to vote NO on the Kids Online Safety Act, exposing the flaws of the UN Cybercrime Treaty, and continuing to update Privacy Badger to protect your privacy online.

It can feel overwhelming to stay up to date, but we've got you covered with our EFFector newsletter! You can read the full issue here, or subscribe to get the next one in your inbox automatically! You can also listen to the audio version of the newsletter on the Internet Archive, or by clicking the button below:

LISTEN ON YouTube

EFFECTOR 36.10 - Our Last Chance to Stop KOSA

Since 1990 EFF has published EFFector to help keep readers on the bleeding edge of their digital rights. We know that the intersection of technology, civil liberties, human rights, and the law can be complicated, so EFFector is a great way to stay on top of things. The newsletter is chock full of links to updates, announcements, blog posts, and other stories to help keep readers—and listeners—up to date on the movement to protect online privacy and free expression. 

Thank you to the supporters around the world who make our work possible! If you're not a member yet, join EFF today to help us fight for a brighter digital future.

Decoding the Courts’ Digital Decisions | EFFector 36.9

11 juillet 2024 à 10:18

Instead of relaxing for the summer, EFF is in first gear defending your rights online! Catch up on what we're doing with the latest issue of our EFFector newsletter. This time we're sharing updates regarding California law enforcement illegally sharing drivers' location data out-of-state, the heavy burden Congress has to meet to justify a TikTok ban, and the latest Supreme Court ruling regarding platforms first amendment right to dictate what speech they host on their platforms.

It can feel overwhelming to stay up to date, but we've got you covered with our EFFector newsletter! You can read the full issue here, or subscribe to get the next one in your inbox automatically! You can also listen to the audio version of the newsletter on the Internet Archive, or by clicking the button below:

LISTEN ON YouTube

EFFECTOR 36.9 - Decoding The Courts' Digital Decisions

Since 1990 EFF has published EFFector to help keep readers on the bleeding edge of their digital rights. We know that the intersection of technology, civil liberties, human rights, and the law can be complicated, so EFFector is a great way to stay on top of things. The newsletter is chock full of links to updates, announcements, blog posts, and other stories to help keep readers—and listeners—up to date on the movement to protect online privacy and free expression. 

Thank you to the supporters around the world who make our work possible! If you're not a member yet, join EFF today to help us fight for a brighter digital future.

Keep The Momentum Going for The Right to Repair

1 juillet 2024 à 17:30

Thanks to support from local advocates across the country, we’ve been able to have a few strong years for the right to repair. Both California and Minnesota’s right to repair laws go into effect today, and we've even made some headway convincing large companies, like Apple, to come out in support of the right to repair.

That’s why EFF is celebrating the right to repair movement on “Repair Independence Day.” And we’re keeping up the momentum with our newest member t-shirt, “Fix Copyright”:

Child and woman wearing grey "Fix Copyright" t-shirts in a forest.

Celebrate creativity as a whole family!

With this shirt design, we have our eyes set on pushing back against companies who threaten individuals' rights to repair the devices and equipment they own—specifically referencing the ongoing battle farmers are facing against John Deere to repair their tractors.

If you can’t fix it, you don’t own it. That’s why we’re working with local and national advocacy groups to get strong right to repair legislation passed across the country, and challenging copyright law to make ownership better for everyone.

Support our work and even grab a Fix Copyright t-shirt for yourself! This time, we even have a variety of kids sizes, so the whole family can celebrate creativity together.

For The Bragging Rights: EFF’s 16th Annual Cyberlaw Trivia Night

This post was authored by the mysterious Raul Duke.

The weather was unusually cool for a summer night. Just the right amount of bitterness in the air for attorneys from all walks of life to gather in San Francisco’s Mission District for EFF’s 16th annual Cyberlaw Trivia Night.

Inside Public Works, attorneys filled their plates with chicken and waffles, grabbed a fresh tech-inspired cocktail, and found their tables—ready to compete against their colleagues in obscure tech law trivia. The evening started promptly six minutes late, 7:06 PM PT, with Aaron Jue, EFF's Director of Member Engagement, introducing this year’s trivia tournament.

A lone Quizmaster, Kurt Opsahl, took the stage, noting that his walk-in was missing a key component, until The Blues Brothers started playing, filling the quizmaster with the valor to thank EFF’s intern fund supporters Fenwick and Morrison Forrester. The judges begrudgingly took the stage as the quizmaster reminded them that they have jobs at this event.

One of the judges, EFF’s Civil Liberties Director David Greene, gave some fiduciary advice to the several former EFF interns that were in the crowd. It was anyone’s guess as to whether they had gleaned any inside knowledge about the trivia.

I asked around as to what the attorneys had to gain by participating in this trivia night. I learned that not only were bragging rights on the table, but additionally teams had a chance to win champion steins.

The prizes: EFF steins!

With formalities out of the way, the first round of trivia - “General” - started with a possibly rousing question about the right to repair. Round one ended with the eighth question, which included a major typo calling the “Fourth Amendment is Not for Sale Act” the “First Amendment...” The proofreaders responsible for this mistake have been dealt with.

I was particularly struck by the names of each team: “Run DMCA,” “Ineffective Altruists,” “Subpoena Colada,” “JDs not LLM,” “The little VLOP that could,” and “As a language model, I can't answer that question.” Who knew attorneys could create such creative names?

I asked one of the lawyers if he could give me legal advice on a personal matter (I won’t get into the details here, but it concerns both maritime law and equine law). The lawyer gazed at me with the same look one gives a child who has just proudly thew their food all over the floor. I decided to drop the matter.

Back to the event. It was a close game until the sixth and final round, though we wouldn’t hear the final winners until after the tiebreaker questions.

After several minutes, the tiebreaker was announced. The prompt: which team could get the closest to Pi without going over. This sent your intrepid reporter into an existential crisis. Could one really get to the end of pi? I’m told you could get to Pluto with just the first four and didn’t see any reason in going further than that. During my descent into madness, it was revealed that team “JDs not LLMs” knew 22 digits of pi.

After that shocking revelation, the final results were read, with the winning trivia masterminds being:

1st Place: JDs not LLMs

2nd Place: The Little VLOP That Could

3rd Place: As A Language Model, I Can't Answer That Question

EFF Membership Advocate Christian Romero taking over for Raul Duke.

EFF hosts Cyberlaw Trivia Night to gather those in the legal community who help protect online freedom for tech users. Among the many firms that dedicate their time, talent, and resources to the cause, we would especially like to thank Fenwick and Morrison Foerster for supporting EFF’s Intern Fund!

If you are an attorney working to defend civil liberties in the digital world, consider joining EFF's Cooperating Attorneys list. This network helps EFF connect people to legal assistance when we are unable to assist.

Are you interested in attending or sponsoring an upcoming EFF Trivia Night? Please reach out to tierney@eff.org for more information.

Be sure to check EFF’s events page and mark your calendar for next year’s 17th annual Cyberlaw Trivia Night

Opposing a Global Surveillance Disaster | EFFector 36.8

Join EFF on a road trip through the information superhighway! As you choose the perfect playlist for the trip we'll share our findings about the latest generation of cell-site simulators; share security tips for protestors at college campuses; and rant about the surveillance abuses that could come from the latest UN Cybercrime Convention draft.

As we reach the end of our road trip, know that you can stay up-to-date on these issues with our EFFector newslettter! You can read the full issue here, or subscribe to get the next one in your inbox automatically! You can also listen to the audio version of the newsletter on the Internet Archive, or by clicking the button below:

LISTEN ON YouTube

EFFECTOR 36.8 - Opposing A Global Surveillance Disaster

Since 1990 EFF has published EFFector to help keep readers on the bleeding edge of their digital rights. We know that the intersection of technology, civil liberties, human rights, and the law can be complicated, so EFFector is a great way to stay on top of things. The newsletter is chock full of links to updates, announcements, blog posts, and other stories to help keep readers—and listeners—up to date on the movement to protect online privacy and free expression. 

Thank you to the supporters around the world who make our work possible! If you're not a member yet, join EFF today to help us fight for a brighter digital future.

EFF Covers Secrets in Your Data on NOVA

It’s the weekend. You decide you want to do something fun with your family—maybe go to a local festival or park. So, you start searching on your favorite social media app to see what other people are doing. Soon after, you get ads on other platforms about the activities you were just looking at. What the heck?

That’s the reality we’re in today. As EFF’s Associate Director of Legislative Activism Hayley Tsukayama puts it, “That puts people in a really difficult position, when we’re supposed to manage our own privacy, but we’re also supposed to use all these things that are products that will make our lives better.”

Watch EFF’s Cory Doctorow, Eva Galperin, Hayley Tsukayama, and others in the digital rights community explain how your data gets scooped up by data brokers—and common practices to protect your privacy online—in Secrets in Your Data on NOVΛ. You can watch the premier or read the transcript here below:

Person looking at a screen showing their personal information.

Watch Secrets in Your Data on PBS.org

EFF continues pushing for a comprehensive data privacy law that would reign in data brokers' ability to collect our information and share it to the highest bidders, including law enforcement. Additionally, you can use these resources to help keep you safe online

Surveillance Defense for Campus Protests

The recent wave of protests calling for peace in Palestine have been met with unwarranted and aggressive suppression from law enforcement, universities, and other bad actors. It’s clear that the changing role of surveillance on college campuses exacerbates the dangers faced by all of the communities colleges are meant to support, and only serves to suppress lawful speech. These harmful practices must come to an end, and until they do, activists should take precautions to protect themselves and their communities. There are no easy or universal answers, but here we outline some common considerations to help guide campus activists.

Protest Pocket Guide

How We Got Here

Over the past decade, many campuses have been building up their surveillance arsenal and inviting a greater police presence on campus. EFF and fellow privacy and speech advocates have been clear that this is a dangerous trend that chills free expression and makes students feel less safe, while fostering an adversarial and distrustful relationship with the administration.

Many tools used on campuses overlap with the street-level surveillance used by law enforcement, but universities are in a unique position of power over students being monitored. For students, universities are not just their school, but often their home, employer, healthcare provider, visa sponsor, place of worship, and much more. This reliance heightens the risks imposed by surveillance, and brings it into potentially every aspect of students’ lives.

Putting together a security plan is an essential first step to protect yourself from surveillance.

EFF has also been clear for years: as campuses build up their surveillance capabilities in the name of safety, they chill speech and foster a more adversarial relationship between students and the administration. Yet, this expansion has continued in recent years, especially after the COVID-19 lockdowns.

This came to a head in April, when groups across the U.S. pressured their universities to disclose and divest their financial interest in companies doing business in Israel and weapons manufacturers, and to distance themselves from ties to the defense industry. These protests echo similar campus divestment campaigns against the prison industry in 2015, and the campaign against apartheid South Africa in the 1980s. However, the current divestment movement has been met with disroportionate suppression and unprecedented digital surveillance from many universities.

This guide is written with those involved in protests in mind. Student journalists covering protests may also face digital threats and can refer to our previous guide to journalists covering protests.

Campus Security Planning

Putting together a security plan is an essential first step to protect yourself from surveillance. You can’t protect all information from everyone, and as a practical matter you probably wouldn’t want to. Instead, you want to identify what information is sensitive and who should and shouldn’t have access to it.

That means this plan will be very specific to your context and your own tolerance of risk from physical and psychological harm. For a more general walkthrough you can check out our Security Plan article on Surveillance Self-Defense. Here, we will walk through this process with prevalent concerns from current campus protests.

What do I want to protect?

Current university protests are a rapid and decentralized response to claims of genocide in Gaza, and to the reported humanitarian crisis in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Such movements will need to focus on secure communication, immediate safety at protests, and protection from collected data being used for retaliation—either at protests themselves or on social media.

At a protest, a mix of visible and invisible surveillance may be used to identify protesters. This can include administrators or law enforcement simply attending and keeping notes of what is said, but often digital recordings can make that same approach less plainly visible. This doesn't just include video and audio recordings—protesters may also be subject to tracking methods like face recognition technology and location tracking from their phone, school ID usage, or other sensors. So here, you want to be mindful of anything you say or anything on your person, which can reveal your identity or role in the protest, or those of fellow protestors.

This may also be paired with online surveillance. The university or police may monitor activity on social media, even joining private or closed groups to gather information. Of course, any services hosted by the university, such as email or WiFi networks, can also be monitored for activity. Again, taking care of what information is shared with whom is essential, including carefully separating public information (like the time of a rally) and private information (like your location when attending). Also keep in mind how what you say publicly, even in a moment of frustration, may be used to draw negative attention to yourself and undermine the cause.

However, many people may strategically use their position and identity publicly to lend credibility to a movement, such as a prominent author or alumnus. In doing so they should be mindful of those around them in more vulnerable positions.

Who do I want to protect it from?

Divestment challenges the financial underpinning of many institutions in higher education. The most immediate adversaries are clear: the university being pressured and the institutions being targeted for divestment.

However, many schools are escalating by inviting police on campus, sometimes as support for their existing campus police, making them yet another potential adversary. Pro-Palestine protests have drawn attention from some federal agencies, meaning law enforcement will inevitably be a potential surveillance adversary even when not invited by universities.

With any sensitive political issue, there are also people who will oppose your position. Others at the protest can escalate threats to safety, or try to intimidate and discredit those they disagree with. Private actors, whether individuals or groups, can weaponize surveillance tools available to consumers online or at a protest, even if it is as simple as video recording and doxxing attendees.

How bad are the consequences if I fail?

Failing to protect information can have a range of consequences that will depend on the institution and local law enforcement’s response. Some schools defused campus protests by agreeing to enter talks with protesters. Others opted to escalate tensions by having police dismantle encampments and having participants suspended, expelled, or arrested. Such disproportionate disciplinary actions put students at risk in myriad ways, depending how they relied on the institution. The extent to which institutions will attempt to chill speech with surveillance will vary, but unlike direct physical disruption, surveillance tools may be used with less hesitation.

The safest bet is to lock your devices with a pin or password, turn off biometric unlocks such as face or fingerprint, and say nothing but to assert your rights.

All interactions with law enforcement carry some risk, and will differ based on your identity and history of police interactions. This risk can be mitigated by knowing your rights and limiting your communication with police unless in the presence of an attorney. 

How likely is it that I will need to protect it?

Disproportionate disciplinary actions will often coincide with and be preceded by some form of surveillance. Even schools that are more accommodating of peace protests may engage in some level of monitoring, particularly schools that have already adopted surveillance tech. School devices, services, and networks are also easy targets, so try to use alternatives to these when possible. Stick to using personal devices and not university-administered ones for sensitive information, and adopt tools to limit monitoring, like Tor. Even banal systems like campus ID cards, presence monitors, class attendance monitoring, and wifi access points can create a record of student locations or tip off schools to people congregating. Online surveillance is also easy to implement by simply joining groups on social media, or even adopting commercial social media monitoring tools.

Schools that invite a police presence make their students and workers subject to the current practices of local law enforcement. Our resource, the Atlas of Surveillance, gives an idea of what technology local law enforcement is capable of using, and our Street-Level Surveillance hub breaks down the capabilities of each device. But other factors, like how well-resourced local law enforcement is, will determine the scale of the response. For example, if local law enforcement already have social media monitoring programs, they may use them on protesters at the request of the university.

Bad actors not directly affiliated with the university or law enforcement may be the most difficult factor to anticipate. These threats can arise from people who are physically present, such as onlookers or counter-protesters, and individuals who are offsite. Information about protesters can be turned against them for purposes of surveillance, harassment, or doxxing. Taking measures found in this guide will also be useful to protect yourself from this potentiality.

Finally, don’t confuse your rights with your safety. Even if you are in a context where assembly is legal and surveillance and suppression is not, be prepared for it to happen anyway. Legal protections are retrospective, so for your own safety, be prepared for adversaries willing to overstep these protections.

How much trouble am I willing to go through to try to prevent potential consequences?

There is no perfect answer to this question, and every individual protester has their own risks and considerations. In setting this boundary, it is important to communicate it with others and find workable solutions that meet people where they’re at. Being open and judgment-free in these discussions make the movement being built more consensual and less prone to abuses.  Centering consent in organizing can also help weed out bad actors in your own camp who will raise the risk for all who participate, deliberately or not.

Keep in mind that nearly any electronic device you own can be used to track you, but there are a few steps you can take to make that data collection more difficult. 

Sometimes a surveillance self-defense tactic will invite new threats. Some universities and governments have been so eager to get images of protesters’ faces they have threatened criminal penalties on people wearing masks at gatherings. These new potential charges must now need to be weighed against the potential harms of face recognition technology, doxxing, and retribution someone may face by exposing their face.

Privacy is also a team sport. Investing a lot of energy in only your own personal surveillance defense may have diminishing returns, but making an effort to educate peers and adjust the norms of the movement puts less work on any one person has a potentially greater impact. Sharing resources in this post and the surveillance self-defense guides, and hosting your own workshops with the security education companion, are good first steps.

Who are my allies?

Cast a wide net of support; many members of faculty and staff may be able to provide forms of support to students, like institutional knowledge about school policies. Many school alumni are also invested in the reputation of their alma mater, and can bring outside knowledge and resources.

A number of non-profit organizations can also support protesters who face risks on campus. For example, many campus bail funds have been set up to support arrested protesters. The National Lawyers Guild has chapters across the U.S. that can offer Know Your Rights training and provide and train people to become legal observers (people who document a protest so that there is a clear legal record of civil liberties’ infringements should protesters face prosecution).

Many local solidarity groups may also be able to help provide trainings, street medics, and jail support. Many groups in EFF’s grassroots network, the Electronic Frontier Alliance, also offer free digital rights training and consultations.

Finally, EFF can help victims of surveillance directly when they email info@eff.org or Signal 510-243-8020. Even when EFF cannot take on your case, we have a wide network of attorneys and cybersecurity researchers who can offer support.

Beyond preparing according to your security plan, preparing plans with networks of support outside of the protest is a good idea.

Tips and Resources

Keep in mind that nearly any electronic device you own can be used to track you, but there are a few steps you can take to make that data collection more difficult. To prevent tracking, your best option is to leave all your devices at home, but that’s not always possible, and makes communication and planning much more difficult. So, it’s useful to get an idea of what sorts of surveillance is feasible, and what you can do to prevent it. This is meant as a starting point, not a comprehensive summary of everything you may need to do or know:

Prepare yourself and your devices for protests

Our guide for attending a protest covers the basics for protecting your smartphone and laptop, as well as providing guidance on how to communicate and share information responsibly. We have a handy printable version available here, too, that makes it easy to share with others.

Beyond preparing according to your security plan, preparing plans with networks of support outside of the protest is a good idea. Tell friends or family when you plan to attend and leave, so that if there are arrests or harassment they can follow up to make sure you are safe. If there may be arrests, make sure to have the phone number of an attorney and possibly coordinate with a jail support group.

Protect your online accounts

Doxxing, when someone exposes information about you, is a tactic reportedly being used on some protesters. This information is often found in public places, like "people search" sites and social media. Being doxxed can be overwhelming and difficult to control in the moment, but you can take some steps to manage it or at least prepare yourself for what information is available. To get started, check out this guide that the New York Times created to train its journalists how to dox themselves, and Pen America's Online Harassment Field Manual

Compartmentalize

Being deliberate about how and where information is shared can limit the impact of any one breach of privacy. Online, this might look like using different accounts for different purposes or preferring smaller Signal chats, and offline it might mean being deliberate about with whom information is shared, and bringing “clean” devices (without sensitive information) to protests.

Be mindful of potential student surveillance tools 

It’s difficult to track what tools each campus is using to track protesters, but it’s possible that colleges are using the same tricks they’ve used for monitoring students in the past alongside surveillance tools often used by campus police. One good rule of thumb: if a device, software, or an online account was provided by the school (like an .edu email address or test-taking monitoring software), then the school may be able to access what you do on it. Likewise, remember that if you use a corporate or university-controlled tool without end-to-end encryption for communication or collaboration, like online documents or email, content may be shared by the corporation or university with law enforcement when compelled with a warrant. 

Know your rights if you’re arrested: 

Thousands of students, staff, faculty, and community members have been arrested, but it’s important to remember that the vast majority of the people who have participated in street and campus demonstrations have not been arrested nor taken into custody. Nevertheless, be careful and know what to do if you’re arrested.

The safest bet is to lock your devices with a pin or password, turn off biometric unlocks such as face or fingerprint, and say nothing but to assert your rights, for example, refusing consent to a search of your devices, bags, vehicles, or home. Law enforcement can lie and pressure arrestees into saying things that are later used against them, so waiting until you have a lawyer before speaking is always the right call.

Barring a warrant, law enforcement cannot compel you to unlock your devices or answer questions, beyond basic identification in some jurisdictions. Law enforcement may not respect your rights when they’re taking you into custody, but your lawyer and the courts can protect your rights later, especially if you assert them during the arrest and any time in custody.

Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Section 230 | EFFector 36.7

Curious about the latest digital rights news? Well, you're in luck! In our latest newsletter we cover topics ranging from: lawmakers planning to sunset the most important law to free expression online, Section 230; our brief regarding data sharing of electronic ankle monitoring devices; and the simple proposition that no one country should be restricting speech across the entire internet.

It can feel overwhelming to stay up to date, but we've got you covered with our EFFector newsletter! You can read the full issue here, or subscribe to get the next one in your inbox automatically! You can also listen to the audio version of the newsletter on the Internet Archive, or by clicking the button below:

LISTEN ON YouTube

EFFECTOR 36.7 - Don't Let The Sun Go Down on Section 230

Since 1990 EFF has published EFFector to help keep readers on the bleeding edge of their digital rights. We know that the intersection of technology, civil liberties, human rights, and the law can be complicated, so EFFector is a great way to stay on top of things. The newsletter is chock full of links to updates, announcements, blog posts, and other stories to help keep readers—and listeners—up to date on the movement to protect online privacy and free expression. 

Thank you to the supporters around the world who make our work possible! If you're not a member yet, join EFF today to help us fight for a brighter digital future.

The Cybertiger Strikes Again! EFF's 8th Annual Tech Trivia Night

Being well into spring, with the weather getting warmer, we knew it was only a matter of time till the Cybertiger awoke from his slumber. But we were prepared. Prepared to quench the Cybertiger's thirst for tech nerds to answer his obscure and fascinating minutiae of tech-related questions.

But how did we prepare for the Cybertiger's quiz? Well, with our 8th Annual Tech Trivia Night of course! We gathered fellow digital freedom supporters to test their tech-know how, and to eat delicious tacos, churros, and special tech-themed drinks, including LimeWire, Moderated Content, and Zero Cool.

Nine teams gathered before the Cybertiger, ready to battle for the *new* wearable first, second, and third place prizes:

EFF's Tech Trivia Awards! An acrylic award with an image of a blue/pink tiger.

But this year, the Cybertiger had a surprise up his sleeve! A new way to secure points had been added: bribes. Now, teams could donate to EFF to sway the judges and increase their total points to secure their lead. Still, the winner of the first-place prize was the Honesty Winner, so participants needed to be on their A-game to win!

At the end of round two of six, team Bad @ Names and 0x41434142 were tied for first place, making a tense game! It wasn’t until the bonus question after round two, where the Cybertiger asked each team, “What prompt would you use to jailbreak the Cybertiger AI?” where the team Bad @ Names came in first place with their answer.

By the end of round 4, Bad @ Names was still in first place, only in the lead by three points! Could they win the bonus question again? This time, each team was asked to create a ridiculous company elevator pitch that would be on the RSA expo floor. (Spoiler alert: these company ideas were indeed ridiculous!)

After the sixth round of questions, the Cybertiger gave one last chance for teams to scheme their way to victory! The suspense built, but after some time, we got our winners... 

In third place, AI Hallucinations with 60 total points! 

In second place, and also winning the bribery award, 0x41434142, with 145 total points!

In first place... Bad @ Names with 68 total points!

EFF’s sincere appreciation goes out to the many participants who joined us for a great quiz over tacos and drinks while never losing sight of EFF’s mission to drive the world towards a better digital future. Thank you to the digital freedom supporters around the world helping to ensure that EFF can continue working in the courts and on the streets to protect online privacy and free expression.

Thanks to EFF's Luminary Organizational Members DuckDuckGo, No Starch Press, and the Hering Foundation for their year-round support of EFF's mission. If you or your company are interested in supporting a future EFF event, or would like to learn more about Organizational Membership, please contact Tierney Hamilton.

Learn about upcoming EFF events when you sign up for our email list, or just check out our event calendar. We hope to see you soon!

Free Speech Around the World | EFFector 36.6

Let's gather around the campfire and tell tales of the latest happenings in the fight for privacy and free expression online. Take care in roasting your marshmallows while we share ways to protect your data from political campaigns seeking to target you; seek nominees for our annual EFF Awards; and call for immediate action in the case of activist Alaa Abd El Fattah.

As the fire burns out, know that you can stay up-to-date on these issues with our EFFector newslettter! You can read the full issue here, or subscribe to get the next one in your inbox automatically! You can also listen to the audio version of the newsletter on the Internet Archive, or by clicking the button below:

LISTEN ON YouTube

EFFECTOR 36.6 - Free Speech Around the World

Since 1990 EFF has published EFFector to help keep readers on the bleeding edge of their digital rights. We know that the intersection of technology, civil liberties, human rights, and the law can be complicated, so EFFector is a great way to stay on top of things. The newsletter is chock full of links to updates, announcements, blog posts, and other stories to help keep readers—and listeners—up to date on the movement to protect online privacy and free expression. 

Thank you to the supporters around the world who make our work possible! If you're not a member yet, join EFF today to help us fight for a brighter digital future.

About Face (Recognition) | EFFector 36.5

There are a lot of updates in the fight for our freedoms online, from a last-minute reauthorization bill to expand Section 702 (tell your senators to vote NO on the bill here!), a new federal consumer data privacy law (we deserve better!), and a recent draft from the FCC to reinstate net neutrality (you can help clean it up!).

It can feel overwhelming to stay up to date, but we've got you covered with our EFFector newsletter! You can read the full issue here, or subscribe to get the next one in your inbox automatically! You can also listen to the audio version of the newsletter on the Internet Archive, or by clicking the button below:

LISTEN ON YouTube

EFFECTOR 36.5.- About Face (Recognition)

Since 1990 EFF has published EFFector to help keep readers on the bleeding edge of their digital rights. We know that the intersection of technology, civil liberties, human rights, and the law can be complicated, so EFFector is a great way to stay on top of things. The newsletter is chock full of links to updates, announcements, blog posts, and other stories to help keep readers—and listeners—up to date on the movement to protect online privacy and free expression. 

Thank you to the supporters around the world who make our work possible! If you're not a member yet, join EFF today to help us fight for a brighter digital future.

No KOSA, No TikTok Ban | EFFector 36.4

Want to hear about the latest news in digital rights? Well, you're in luck! EFFector 36.4 is out now and covers the latest topics, including our stance on the unconstitutional TikTok ban (spoiler: it's bad), a victory helping Indybay resist an unlawful search warrant and gag order, and thought-provoking comments we got from thousands of young people regarding the Kids Online Safety Act.

You can read the full newsletter here, or subscribe to get the next issue in your inbox automatically! You can also listen to the audio version of the newsletter on the Internet Archive, or by clicking the button below:

LISTEN ON YouTube

EFFector 36.4 | No KOSA, No TikTok Ban

Since 1990 EFF has published EFFector to help keep readers on the bleeding edge of their digital rights. We know that the intersection of technology, civil liberties, human rights, and the law can be complicated, so EFFector is a great way to stay on top of things. The newsletter is chock full of links to updates, announcements, blog posts, and other stories to help keep readers—and listeners—up to date on the movement to protect online privacy and free expression. 

Thank you to the supporters around the world who make our work possible! If you're not a member yet, join EFF today to help us fight for a brighter digital future.

Privacy Isn't Dead. Far From It. | EFFector 36.3

As we continue the journey of fighting for digital freedoms, it can be hard to keep up on the latest happenings. Thankfully, EFF has a guide to keep you in the loop! EFFector 36.3 is out now and covers the latest news, including recent changes to the Kids Online Safety Act (spoiler alert: IT'S STILL BAD), why we flew a plane over San Francisco, and the first episode of Season 5 of our award-winning "How to Fix the Internet" podcast!

You can read the full newsletter here, or subscribe to get the next issue in your inbox automatically! You can also listen to the audio version of the newsletter on the Internet Archive, or by clicking the button below:

LISTEN ON YouTube

EFFector 36.3 | Privacy Isn't Dead. Far From It.

Since 1990 EFF has published EFFector to help keep readers on the bleeding edge of their digital rights. We know that the intersection of technology, civil liberties, human rights, and the law can be complicated, so EFFector is a great way to stay on top of things. The newsletter is chock full of links to updates, announcements, blog posts, and other stories to help keep readers—and listeners—up to date on the movement to protect online privacy and free expression. 

Thank you to the supporters around the world who make our work possible! If you're not a member yet, join EFF today to help us fight for a brighter digital future.

Voting Against the Surveillance State | EFFector 36.2

12 février 2024 à 13:48

EFF is here to keep you up-to-date with the latest news about your digital rights! EFFector 36.2 is out now and covers a ton of the latest news, including: a victory, as Amazon's Ring will no longer facilitate warrantless footage requests from police; an analysis on Apple's announcement to support RCS on iPhones; and a call for San Francisco voters to vote no on Proposition E on the March 5, 2024 ballot.

You can read the full newsletter here, or subscribe to get the next issue in your inbox automatically! You can also listen to the audio version of the newsletter on the Internet Archive, or by clicking the button below:

LISTEN ON YouTube

EFFector 36.2 | Voting Against the Surveillance State

Since 1990 EFF has published EFFector to help keep readers on the bleeding edge of their digital rights. We know that the intersection of technology, civil liberties, human rights, and the law can be complicated, so EFFector is a great way to stay on top of things. The newsletter is chock full of links to updates, announcements, blog posts, and other stories to help keep readers—and listeners—up to date on the movement to protect online privacy and free expression. 

Thank you to the supporters around the world who make our work possible! If you're not a member yet, join EFF today to help us fight for a brighter digital future.

Tools to Protect Your Privacy Online | EFFector 36.1

22 janvier 2024 à 13:02

New year, but EFF is still here to keep you up to date with the latest digital rights happenings! Be sure to check out our latest newsletter, EFFector 36.1, which covers topics ranging from: our thoughts on AI watermarking, changes in the tech landscape we'd like to see in 2024, and updates to our Street Level Surveillance hub and Privacy Badger.

EFFector 36.1 is out now—you can read the full newsletter here, or subscribe to get the next issue in your inbox automatically! You can also listen to the audio version of the newsletter below:

LISTEN ON YouTube

EFFector 36.1 | Tools to Protect Your Privacy Online

Since 1990 EFF has published EFFector to help keep readers on the bleeding edge of their digital rights. We know that the intersection of technology, civil liberties, human rights, and the law can be complicated, so EFFector is a great way to stay on top of things. The newsletter is chock full of links to updates, announcements, blog posts, and other stories to help keep readers—and listeners—up to date on the movement to protect online privacy and free expression. 

Thank you to the supporters around the world who make our work possible! If you're not a member yet, join EFF today to help us fight for a brighter digital future.

EFF Membership: 2023 Year In Review

26 décembre 2023 à 10:25

Throughout the many years that EFF has been around, our goal has remained consistent: creating a future where you have your rights when you go online, and one where they are enhanced by new technologies. But our goal isn't the only part of EFF that has remained consistent: for decades, the digital freedom supporters that lift our organization have been stalwart allies that help ensure we can continue fighting for privacy, free expression, and innovation online.

It's because of these supporters that we can fight tough battles, but also take the time to celebrate our accomplishments and come together as a community. And we did celebrate and have fun together this year!

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Unlock bonus grants in 2023!

Starting off with our 7th annual Tech Trivia Night and 15th annual Cyberlaw Trivia Night—both filled with delicious food, drinks, and of course, a myriad of trivia questions to test the contestant's tech and internet culture know-how. Both events boasted a full house, with Cyberlaw Trivia even selling out tickets. We of course had some very snazzy judges for the event—including our Cybertiger for Tech Trivia!

EFF's Cybertiger, Cooper Quintin, and our judges for Tech Trivia.

We didn't want to stop there, so next up we hosted our Spring Members' Speakeasy in Oakland. Attendees were invited to a super-secret location for drinks and a chance to meet EFF staff and other like-minded digital freedom supporters. Members even got a behind-the-scenes look into how we fight for encryption and oppose bad bills from Congress with EFF's Director of Federal Affairs India McKinney.

Of course, we got to see EFF supporters in full force when we headed to Las Vegas for the summer security conferences—BSides Las Vegas, Black Hat USA, and DEF CON. This week, consisting of these extraordinary conferences, is always one of the busiest times of the year for EFF, and this year was no exception. Throughout the week, we had more than one thousand people either start or renew their EFF membership(!), raising enough money to fund a lawyer for a full year, and then some. It was great to see such strong support and a bunch of attendees walking around in new, and vintage, EFF swag! 

You’d think we’d take a break and slow down after that hectic week in Las Vegas. But you’d be mistaken, because just a month after that we celebrated our second EFF Awards in San Francisco! This is always our most ambitious event, involving a ton of EFF staff, digital freedom supporters, past award winners, and of course, our new EFF Award winners. We were even able to record the event for folks to watch at home if they couldn’t attend—give it a watch if you couldn’t make it. The EFF Awards are a great opportunity for EFF to catch up with the community and shine light on others doing great work in this space. 

EFF staff at the second EFF Awards Ceremony

To cap the year off, we wanted to focus on how widespread and diverse our membership base can be. So, we held our fall Members' Speakeasy online, where attendees from around the world got a chance to hear about some of the work that EFF is doing in the states and in Europe regarding various "child safety" laws that would threaten privacy and encryption around the world.

With 2023 ending, it’s good to reflect on what happened over the last year. I think that it is safe to say that throughout EFF’s existence, particularly the last few years, EFF members have been one of the driving forces of the organization and are the reason we can continue working towards a better digital future. 

Many thanks to all of the EFF members who joined forces with us this year! If you’ve been meaning to join, but haven’t yet, year-end is a great time to do so. 

This blog is part of our Year in Review series. Read other articles about the fight for digital rights in 2023.

Give a Year-End Donation

Unlock bonus grants in 2023!

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