Top Features
Privacy is a process, not a single thing. We are always negotiating what levels of privacy we have. We might not always have the upper hand, but we are often able to negotiate. This is why we still see some fictional dystopias and think, “Thank God that’s not my life.” As long as we can do this, we are winning. So don’t give in to privacy nihilism. Instead, share and celebrate the ways we’re winning.
EFF Updates
EFF’s award-winning podcast is back, and you don’t want to miss this! What if we thought about democracy as a kind of open-source social technology, in which everyone can see the how and why of policy making, and everyone’s concerns and preferences are elicited in a way that respects each person’s community, dignity, and importance? This is what Audrey Tang has worked toward as Taiwan’s first Digital Minister, a position the free software programmer has held since 2016. She has taken the best of open source and open culture, and successfully used them to help reform her country’s government. Tang speaks with EFF’s Cindy Cohn and Jason Kelley about how Taiwan has shown that openness not only works but can outshine more authoritarian competition wherein governments often lock up data.
The authors of the dangerous Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) unveiled an amended version, but it’s still an unconstitutional censorship bill that continues to empower state officials to target services and online content they do not like. We are asking everyone reading this to oppose this latest version, and to demand that their representatives oppose it—even if you have already done so.
Recent months saw a campaign of bullying and censorship seeking to wipe out stories about the mercenary hacking campaigns of a company, Appin Technology, in general, and the company’s cofounder, Rajat Khare, in particular. These efforts follow a familiar pattern: obtain a court order in a friendly international jurisdiction and then misrepresent the force and substance of that order to bully publishers around the world to remove their stories. EFF is helping to push back on that effort, which seeks to transform a very limited and preliminary Indian court ruling into a global takedown order.
After the FBI raided his home last year, freelance journalist Tim Burke has been arrested and indicted in connection with an investigation into leaks of unaired footage from Fox News. The raid raised questions about whether Burke was being investigated for First Amendment-protected journalistic activities, and EFF joined a letter at that time calling on the Justice Department to explain whether and how it believed Burke had actually engaged in wrongdoing. The government has now charged Burke but questions remain, including whether the prosecution is consistent with the DOJ’s much-vaunted policy for charging criminal violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
Proposition E, which San Franciscans will be asked to vote on in the March 5 election, is so dangerous that last weekend we chartered a plane to inform our neighbors about what the ballot measure does and urge them to vote NO on it. If you were in Dolores Park, Golden Gate Park, Chinatown, or anywhere in between on Saturday, there’s a chance you saw it, with a huge banner flying through the sky: “No Surveillance State! No on Prop E.”
Here’s an audio version of EFFector. We hope you enjoy it!
Announcements
Register now for Bioneers’ 35th-anniversary conference this March 28-30 in Berkeley, CA, and get a 15% discount on registration by using the code “BioSpeaker” at checkout! With climate advocates subject to surveillance and censorship and giant companies controlling the ways information and knowledge flow around the world, the fight to save our climate is now inextricably intertwined with digital rights. EFF has helped environmental activists protect their emails from Chevron, express themselves in protest webpages and other digital actions, understand the surveillance they are under, and develop “Security Self-Defense” practices to protect themselves. EFF Executive Director Cindy Cohn will keynote Bioneers on Thursday, March 28, explaining these and other efforts, and also why EFF’s push for open access to scientific information, sensible limitations on patents, FOIA work, and more are critical tools for the fight to prevent climatic unraveling. Later that day, Cindy will moderate a panel on “How to Fight for a Fair and Free Digital Landscape” featuring EFF Senior Staff Technologist Cooper Quintin, Staff Attorney Mario Trujillo, Managing Director for Advocacy Nathan 'nash' Sheard, and Investigative Researcher Beryl Lipton.
Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act was supposed to enable overseas surveillance of specific targets, but has become a backdoor way of mass spying on the communications of people in the U.S. Now Section 702 is up for renewal, so we decided our shirts should reflect the ongoing fight. For the first time in a decade, our popular NSA Spying shirts are back, with an updated EFF logo and design. The image of the NSA's glowering, red-eyed eagle using his talons to tap into your data depicts the collaboration of telecommunication companies with the NSA - a reference to our Hepting v. AT&T and Jewel v. NSA warrantless wiretapping cases. Every purchase helps EFF’s lawyers and activists stop the spying and unplug big brother.
EFF is excited to be back in Pasadena, CA, March 15-17 for SCALE 21x! Stop by the EFF booth to chat with some of our team and learn about the latest news in defending digital freedom for all. You can even pick up a special gift as a token of our thanks when you take advantage of our membership specials or donate. (And, EFF members in the Pasadena area are invited to join us for a Speakeasy meet up March 15!)
Job Openings
Staff Attorneys advance digital rights by means of integrated legal advocacy, including developing and prosecuting substantive lawsuits, filing amicus briefs, counseling clients,enforcing public records requests, lobbying legislators, communicating with the general public, helping develop EFF policy, and supporting the work of EFF’s activists and technologists. For this position, we are looking for candidates with experience litigating copyright issues. Experience with or a strong interest in patent law, artificial intelligence, unfair competition, and administrative, or trade secret litigation is preferred but not required. The ideal candidate will have at least three years of litigation experience, though some qualified candidates may have more. That experience should include devising and carrying out case strategy and handling day-to-day projects and deadlines.
Staff Attorneys advance digital rights by means of integrated legal advocacy, including: developing and prosecuting substantive lawsuits, filing amicus briefs, counseling clients, enforcing public records requests, lobbying legislators, communicating with the general public, helping develop EFF policy, and supporting the work of EFF’s activists and technologists. Responsibilities include managing all aspects of litigation, developing and communicating EFF policy positions, counseling clients on non or pre-litigation matters, communicating EFF positions to the public, and providing organizational, administrative, and other support. Requirements include a law degree, California Bar admission (which may occur after being hired by EFF), at least three years litigation experience, and more.
MiniLinks
Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle are talking about changing a key law that ensures every American is able to speak online. Bipartisan consensus is a rare thing in politics these days. Unfortunately, they’re wrong, EFF’s Aaron Mackey wrote.
“I think we can all agree that content moderation as a process is really problematic,” EFF’s David Greene said. “I don't think the right solution to that is to give the government the ability to impose its own editorial viewpoints on private actors. I think that's a dangerous power to hand the government.”
Even the best technology makes mistakes, EFF’s Hayley Tsukayama said. If the software confuses someone’s identity, it will be important that workers have the right to appeal. The stakes are particularly high with biometric data, she says. “No one can issue me new fingerprints. No one can issue me a new face. And so if that information is hacked, for example, and in a format where other people can use it, that’s the whole game.”
Collecting and retaining too much data is a big risk for both your organization and for the people to whom that data belongs. EFF’s Mario Trujillo joined this podcast for chief information security officers to discuss embracing data minimization that doesn’t clash with business needs.
“Banning Flipper Zero devices is tantamount to banning a multi-tool because it can be used for vandalism, or banning markers because they can be used for graffiti,” EFF’s Bill Budington said. “Moreover, tools like the Flipper Zero are used by security researchers involved in researching and hardening the security of systems like car fobs—banning them will result in tangible harms."
EFF’s Dave Maass gave investigative reporter Monique O. Madan a virtual tour of surveillance technology along the U.S.–Mexico border, from San Diego, CA to Brownsville, TX in just 90 minutes.
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