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In our 680th issue:
We're turning 25. That's a quarter-century of fighting for users, stopping intellectual property proposals that would censor the web, defending code as a form of speech, building tools to protect your privacy online, and standing up for user rights.
We're asking people to donate and become members. We can't do this work without you.
We're also throwing an awesome party in San Francisco to celebrate 25 years of work in the digital world and imagine what the next 25 years ought to look like. Buy tickets today!
 EFF turns 25 on July 10! We're trying to add 2,500 new and renewing donors before our anniversary to strengthen the digital rights movement. Will you join us?
EFF Updates
The Best Job Ever? What Life Is Like As An EFF Activist
One blog post can fuel a national media firestorm. An annual scorecard can force billion-dollar tech companies to overhaul their policies. With an email to our community, we can kill bad legislation. Join the team of EFF activists working to defend the future of free speech and privacy.
Big Tech Does Not Speak for the Internet
Large tech companies jealously guard their reputation for defending users rights, and in some cases, that reputation is well-earned. But this should not blind us to those inevitable instances where we do not share such a happy confluence of views, when tech companies act against users' interests and in favor of their own. When it comes to TPP and Fast Track, big tech companies don't speak for the users.
Our Top Five Takeaways From the Encryption Hearing
Despite all of the evidence to the contrary, FBI Director Comey wants you to know that he doesn't want another crypto war. As he said in congressional hearings, he just wants a discussion. Of course, it's hard to have a discussion when you're not listening to anyone else. And in this case, Comey and those who support weakening encryption simply aren't listening to the experts telling them that backdoors or golden keys just won't keep us safe.
XKeyscore Exposé Reaffirms the Need to Rid the Web of Tracking Cookies
The Intercept recently published an expose on the NSA's XKeyscore program. Along with information on the breadth and scale of the NSA's metadata collection, the Intercept revealed how the NSA relies on unencrypted cookie data to identify users. Browser makers could help address this sort of non-consensual tracking with some simple technical changes.
FIve Bloggers Freed. Four Still in Prison.
Nine journalists belonging to the Zone 9 collective in Ethiopia were arrested in April 2014 and charged with terrorism for dubious offenses including "working with foreign organizations that claim to be human rights activists" and "inciting public disorder via social media." In reality, the blogging collective worked to foster political debate and discussion, educating Ethiopian citizens on the constitution and seeking to promote human rights in the country. Thankfully, five of these bloggers have now been released from prison--but we can't forget those still behind bars.
New Zealand's Harmful Digital Communications Act: Harmful to Everyone Except Online Harassers
The New Zealand Parliament recently passed the Harmful Digital Communications (HDC) Act. The act was conceived over three years ago as an initiative to address online bullying among young New Zealanders. Since then, prompted by subsequent highly visible online scandals in the country, its scope widened dramatically. The final act takes on nothing less than all content on the Internet that might be deemed harmful.
Caving to Government Pressure, Visa and MasterCard Shut Down Payments to Backpage.com
Responding to pressure from a sheriff in Cook County, Visa and MasterCard confirmed that they have cut off payment services for Backpage.com, an online platform for people to advertise goods and services. EFF's take: payment processors and banks shouldn’t be in the position of deciding what type of online content is criminal or enforcing morality for the rest of society.
miniLinks
Mourning Caspar Bowden
Caspar Bowden was a true believer in the fight for privacy, for everyone everywhere. He will be deeply missed.
Security Experts Oppose Government Access to Encrypted Communication
A new report from prominent security experts explains why giving governments backdoors to our encrypted communications would put the world’s most confidential data and critical infrastructure in danger.
Hacking Team Breach Shows a Global Spying Firm Run Amok
A recent document leak from surveillance software vendor Hacking Team provided new details on the burgeoning growth of the private surveillance industry--which is spreading globally without any meaningful oversight.
Supported by Donors
Since 1990, our members have made it possible for EFF to bring legal and technological expertise into crucial battles about online rights. Whether defending free speech online or challenging unconstitutional surveillance, your participation makes a difference. Even just $25 a year will help support hard-hitting litigation, activism, and technology development. Please consider giving today.
Donate
Administrivia
Editor: Rainey Reitman, Activism Director
editor@eff.org
EFFector is a publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
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Membership & donation queries: membership@eff.org
General EFF, legal, policy, or online resources queries: info@eff.org
Reproduction of this publication in electronic media is encouraged. MiniLinks do not necessarily represent the views of EFF.
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Announcements
Come Work for EFF
We're hiring! Apply today to join the EFF team as an activist, a designer, or a Ruby developer
The Crypto Summit
EFF attorneys Nate Cardozo and Andrew Crocker will speak at The Crypto Summit, an all-day event coordinated by Access and dedicated to digging beneath the surface of the sometimes shallow debates about cryptography.
July 15, 2015
Washington, DC
EFF Anniversary Minicon
As part of our 25th anniversary celebration, EFF is hosting a minicon that will include a security training, a capture-the-flag event, and a series of panels discussing the future of EFF issues in security, copyright, and online activism.
July 16, 2015
San Francisco, CA
EFF 25th Anniversary Party
After our afternoon minicon, we're having a real birthday bash. Come for one—or better yet, both—to celebrate the first 25 years of EFF. The party will feature music by Midtown Social, masterful mashups by A Plus D, toasts, and the excellent company of the digital rights community, hosted by emcees Wil Wheaton and Cory Doctorow. Buy tickets today.
Netroots Nation
EFF Activist Nadia Kayyali will moderate a panel on surveillance technology. Panelists include Steven Renderos of the Center for Media Justice, Tessa d'Arcangelew of ACLU of Northern California, Brandi Collins of Color of Change, and Fatima Khan of Muslim Advocates.
July 18, 2015
Phoenix, AZ
OSCON 2015
Join EFF at OSCON, O'Reilly's blockbuster open source convention. For more than 17 years, OSCON has informed and educated software engineers, operations teams, and developers about the use of open source in real-world situations. Stop by the EFF table.
July 20-24, 2015
Portland, OR
Techno-Activism Third Monday (On a Tuesday!)
Come to the EFF offices for a lively discussion with guest speaker Julia Reda, Pirate in the European Parliament. Julia is a member and one of the Vice-Chairs of the Greens/EFA group and a co-founder of the Parliament’s current Digital Agenda intergroup. She is the founding chairperson of the Young Pirates of Europe.
July 21, 2015
San Francisco, CA
EFF at Black Hat Briefings USA
Join EFF at Black Hat Briefings! Be sure to check out the EFF presentations and stop by our information booth in the Business Hall (Wednesday and Thursday) to find out about the latest developments in protecting digital freedom.
August 1-6, 2015
Las Vegas, NV
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