In our 682nd issue:
As we go about our online lives, we are constantly followed by a swarm of almost invisible marketing technologies. It's pretty gross, but only a few services offer any kind of protection and none of it very complete. So, EFF's crack team of computer scientists teamed up with the open-source community to create a super-tool to block online trackers. Hence, the Privacy Badger browser extension was born. More than a quarter-million users helped us test the early versions, and this week we officially launched Privacy Badger 1.0. Download it here for free.
It's hard to keep up with all the new spy tech that local law enforcement are deploying in our communities. That's why EFF's new Street Level Surveillance hub unites all of our past, present, and future work on domestic surveillance technology, such as automatic license plate readers and facial recognition, and offers new tools for fighting back against your hometown Big Brother. The site includes new FAQs, resources for defense attorneys, and talking points for community activists.
EFF Updates
California Virtual Currency Bill Must Not Pass
There is a threat to the global cryptocurrency economy in a California bill that aims to regulate virtual currency businesses. The measure is full of technical inaccuracies, vague language, and barriers to innovation. Read our dissection of the legislation and speak out before it passes.
Kazakhstan's New Censorship Ploy: U.S. Courts
On their home turf, the government of Kazakhstan tried every trick in the authoritarian playbook to silence the newspaper Respublika. Now the government is trying to use the U.S. court system to oppress these journalists by threatening their web host and attempting to pry data from Facebook. Fortunately Respublika has a hardcore legal team: us.
Websites, Pay Attention: There's a New "Do Not Track" Standard
A compromise over online tracking between the ad industry and privacy advocates has been bogged down in endless discussions. Now, EFF has joined up with Medium, Disconnect, DuckDuckGo, AdBlock, and Mixpanel to introduce a new "Do Not Track" policy standard for browsers.
EFF and MuckRock Launch FOIA Census of Mobile Biometric Technology
Join EFF and MuckRock in filing public records requests across the country to expose how police use mobile devices to collect biometric data. Specific technologies include devices and apps used for facial recognition, fingerprint scanning, Rapid DNA analysis, iris scanning, and tattoo recognition.
Crunching the Latest Trans-Pacific Partnership Leak
A deep analysis of the latest TPP leak from Knowledge Ecology International confirms that U.S. negotiators want to use trade laws as a weapon against hackers, journalists, and whistleblowers. Meanwhile, Big Content's agenda remains intact within the draft text.
miniLinks
Reveal: Chicago and Los Angeles Have Used ‘Dirt Box’ Surveillance for a Decade
The Center for Investigative Reporting exposes how law enforcement agencies in two major cities have purchased military-grade cell-site simulators.
Sparks Fly at GOP Debate Over Surveillance
During the Fox News Republican presidential debate, Sen. Rand Paul and Gov. Chris Christie had a fierce exchange over whether the government should get a warrant before collecting Americans' records.
Vulture: The Unusually Accurate Portrait of Hacking on USA’s Mr. Robot
An interview with the technical assistant on USA's hacker drama, "Mr. Robot," shows how attention to detail attracted a fandom in the infosec community.
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If you aren't already, please consider becoming an EFF member today.
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Administrivia
Editor:
Rainey Reitman, Activism Director
editor@eff.org
EFFector is a publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
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Announcements
Check Out EFF's Def Con 23 T-Shirt Enigma
Each year, EFF embeds a mystery within its special edition Def Con member shirt. Here's the front and back of this year's shirt.
EFF Seeking Executive Assistant
Do you love dogs and civil liberties? Do you have an unquenchable thirst to organize things? Can you work and play well with others? Then this might be the position for you.
24th USENIX Security Symposium
EFF is a supporter of the annual USENIX Security Symposium. Use our code to get $50 off registration.
August 12 - 14, 2015
Washington, D.C.
Chaos Communication Camp
Join EFF staff Jillian York, Katitza Rodriguez, Mark Burdett, Nadia Kayyali, Noah Swartz, and Peter Eckersley, as well as board member Brewster Kahle, at this year's Chaos Communication Camp.
August 13 - 17, 2015
Mildenberg, Germany
Techno Activism Third Mondays: Sarah Jeong
Sarah Jeong, author of The Internet of Garbage and co-creator of the 5 Useful Articles newsletter, visits EFF's office for our Techno Activism Third Mondays public talk.
August 17, 2014
San Francisco. CA
EFF Goes to Dragon Con
Panels, cosplayers, and digital freedom: EFF brings Project Secret Identity back to Dragon Con.
September 4 - 7, 2015
Atlanta, GA
LinuxCon North America 2015
EFF Senior Staff Technologist Seth Schoen will present "Let's Encrypt: A Certificate Authority to Encrypt the Entire Web" at LinuxCon North America.
August 18, 2015
Seattle, WA
DebCon15
EFF Chief Computer Scientist Peter Eckersley will present on Let's Encrypt, EFF's certificate authority project, at the 2015 Debian Conference.
August 18, 2015
Heidelberg, Germany
Free Culture Forum
The Free Culture Forum brings together key organizations and active voices in the free culture and knowledge space under a single roof. It is an open space for drawing up proposals to present the position of civil society on the privatization of culture and access to knowledge. Participants debate the role of government in access to knowledge, on the creation and distribution of art and culture, and other areas. EFF will be participating in both days.
October 30-31, 2015
Barcelona, Spain
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