American Foreign Policy - Zero Sum Game

A Rand Corporation Cookbook For Neoconservatives and Liberal Interventionists

The UK Government Knows How Extreme The Online Safety Bill Is

The U.K.’s Online Safety Bill (OSB) has passed a critical final stage in the House of Lords, and envisions a potentially vast scheme to surveil internet users. The bill would empower the U.K. government, in certain situations, to demand that...

UK Online Safety Bill Will Mandate Dangerous Age Verification for Much of the Web

This blog post was co-written by Dr. Monica Horten of Open Rights Group.Under new age verification rules in the UK’s massive Online Safety Bill, all internet platforms with UK users will have to stop minors from accessing ‘harmful’ content, as...

ISPs Should Not Police Online Speech—No Matter How Awful It Is.

Entrusting our speech to multiple different corporate actors is always risky. Yet given how most of the internet is currently structured, our online expression largely depends on a set of private companies ranging from our direct Internet service...

The Protecting Kids on Social Media Act is A Terrible Alternative to KOSA

A new bill sponsored by Sen. Schatz (D-HI), Sen. Cotton (R-AR), Sen. Murphy (D-CT), and Sen. Britt (R-AL) would combine some of the worst elements of various social media bills aimed at “protecting the children” into a single law. It contains...

The Industry Discussion About Standards For Bluetooth-Enabled Physical Trackers is Finally Getting Started

Bluetooth-enabled location trackers such as Tiles and AirTags aren’t just a helpful way to find missing luggage or a misplaced wallet—they can also be easily slipped surreptitiously into a bag or car, allowing stalkers and abusers unprecedented...

Your Computer Should Say What You Tell It To Say

WEI? I’m a frayed knotTwo pieces of string walk into a bar.The first piece of string asks for a drink.The bartender says, “Get lost. We don’t serve pieces of string.”The second string ties a knot in his middle and messes up his ends. Then he...

Facebook Apparently Will Ask for Consent Before Showing Behavioral Ads to Some Users

For many years now, EFF has argued that pervasive online behavioral surveillance, which powers the exploitative data broker industry as well as some of the largest online tech companies, should be banned. Companies should voluntarily make these...

FBI Seizure of Mastodon Server is a Wakeup Call to Fediverse Users and Hosts to Protect their Users

We’re in an exciting time for users who want to take back control from major platforms like Twitter and Facebook. However, this new environment comes with challenges and risks for user privacy, so we need to get it right and make sure networks...

A Broad Federal Publicity Right Is a Risky Answer to Generative AI Problems

As users continue to experiment with generative AI tools, artists are increasingly concerned that use of the tools to mimic their respective “styles” will put them out of business. In addition to the now-infamous AI-generated song that seemed to...

EFF's Comment to the Meta Oversight Board on United States Posts Discussing Abortion

This post was co-authored with EFF legal intern Virginia Kennedy.EFF recently submitted comments to the Meta Oversight Board’s call for submissions last month about posts in the United States discussing abortion that were removed under the...

Around the World, Threats to LGBTQ+ Speech Deepen

Globally, an increase in anti-LGBTQ+ intolerance is impacting individuals and communities both online and off. The digital rights community has observed an uptick in censorship of LGBTQ+ websites as well as troubling attempts by several countries...

To Save the News, We Need an End-to-End Web

This is part five of an ongoing, five-part series. Part one, the introduction, is here. Part two, about breaking up ad-tech companies, is here. Part three, about banning surveillance ads, is here. Part four, about opening up app stores, is...

To Save the News, We Must Open Up App Stores

This is part four of an ongoing, five-part series. Part one, the introduction, is here. Part two, about breaking up ad-tech companies, is here. Part three, about banning surveillance ads, is here.When Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad in 2010, he...

To Save the News, We Must Ban Surveillance Advertising

This is part three of an ongoing, five-part series. Part one, the introduction, is here. Part two, about breaking up ad-tech companies, is here.The ad-tech industry is incredibly profitable, raking in hundreds of billions of dollars every year by...

To Save the News, We Must Shatter Ad-Tech

The news is in trouble. It’s not just the mass closures of newsrooms - it’s also the physical and ideological attacks on journalists.News websites are plastered with ads, but more than half of the money those ads generate is siphoned off by...