Favorite Last week, Minnesota governor Tim Walz signed an omnibus bill that includes a comprehensive right to repair law requiring manufacturers to make spare parts, repair information, and tools available to consumers and repair shops. This law builds on smaller, but still significant, wins in Colorado, Massachusetts, and New York. California could be next. “The…
Federal Judge Makes History in Holding That Border Searches of Cell Phones Require a Warrant
Favorite With United States v. Smith (S.D.N.Y. May 11, 2023), a district court judge in New York made history by being the first court to rule that a warrant is required for a cell phone search at the border, “absent exigent circumstances” (although other district courts have wanted to do so). EFF is thrilled about…
The Press is Falling for Anti-Abortion “Fetal Heartbeat” Propaganda
Favorite A woman rests next to anti-abortion posters in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24, 2022, in Washington, D.C. Getty Images “Once a fetal heartbeat could be detected, typically around the sixth week of pregnancy … ” When I read this phrase in the New Yorker, referring to Texas’s first abortion ban,…
Californians: Speak Up To Protect People Seeking Repro and Gender-Affirming Care
Favorite We need your help to advance A.B. 793, a bill authored by Assemblymember Mia Bonta to protect people seeking abortion and gender-affirming care from dragnet-style digital surveillance. It’s facing law enforcement opposition as it heads to the Assembly floor for a vote. California’s Assemblymembers need to hear from you to stand up for what’s…
EFF at RightsCon 2023
Favorite After three years of virtual gatherings, RightsCon is back! The 12th edition of the world’s leading summit on human rights in the digital age will be a hybrid convening taking place online through the RightsCon platform and in San José, Costa Rica between June 5-8. RightsCon provides an opportunity for human rights experts, technologists,…
Jamie Raskin and Rachel Maddow, Brought to You by Peter Thiel and Lockheed Martin
Favorite Progressive Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and MSNBC host Rachel Maddow are outspoken critics of the bloated defense budget and the MAGA wing of the Republican Party. Next month, though, both Raskin and Maddow will headline an event sponsored by defense industry giant Lockheed Martin and Palantir, a $26 billion defense contractor founded and chaired…
Victory in California! Police Instructors Can’t Claim Copyright Protections to Block Release of Use-of-Force and Other Training Materials
Favorite After a two-year legal battle, the state agency that certifies police officers in California has agreed to EFF’s demand that it stop using copyright concerns as a predicate to withhold law enforcement training materials from public scrutiny. The immediate impact of this victory for transparency is the public will be able to visit the…
Civil Liberties Groups Demand California Police Stop Sharing Drivers’ Location Data With Police In Anti-Abortion States
Favorite This sharing by 71 CA police agencies violates state law and could be used by other states to identify and prosecute abortion seekers and providers. SAN FRANCISCO—Seventy-one California police agencies in 22 counties must immediately stop sharing automated license plate reader (ALPR) data with law enforcement agencies in other states because it violates California…
Jan. 6 Megadonor Helping Ohio GOP Preemptively Overturn Will of the Voters
Favorite In March, two former Ohio Republican Party leaders were convicted on racketeering and bribery charges in a scheme that federal prosecutors described as the state’s largest-ever corruption case. In total, five Republican operatives were indicted in the plot, which involved a power company bankrolling efforts to elect industry-friendly lawmakers and a new state House…
Congress Must Exercise Caution in AI Regulation
Favorite Artificial intelligence technologies (AI) are all the rage in Washington D.C. these days. Policymakers are hearing stories of utopian opportunities and certain doom from technologists, CEOs, and public interest groups and trying to figure out when and how Congress should intervene. Congress should be paying attention to AI technologies. Many are tools with extraordinary…