The Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council, an organization that says its purpose is to advance “equal opportunity and civil rights” in the media, has faced criticism in the past that the organization acts as little more than a corporate front group. Two positions… Read More ›
Archive for August 2015
Stupid Patent of the Month: A Drink Mixer Attacks the Internet of Things
Imagine if the inventor of the Segway claimed to own “any thing that moves in response to human commands.” Or if the inventor of the telegraph applied for a patent covering any use of electric current for communication. Absurdly overbroad… Read More ›
EFF to Supreme Court: Police Need a Warrant for Americans’ Cell Phone Location Records
Florida Case Allowing Unconstitutional Mobile Phone Tracking Needs Review by High Court Washington D.C.—Americans have the right to expect that digital records of their daily travels—when they left home, where they went, and how long they stayed—is private information, the… Read More ›
Users to USTR: Don't Sign Away Our Ability to Fix the Orphan Works Problem
The United States’ excessive copyright terms have led to an orphan works crisis in this country. Tens of thousands of books, films, music recordings, and other cultural works across decades have been made completely inaccessible by copyright’s strict monopoly, which… Read More ›
Why the Koch Brothers Will Pour All Their Money Into Making Bernie Sanders President
I have a prediction: Charles and David Koch will soon announce they’re backing Bernie Sanders for president. Here’s my logic, which is irrefutable: We know the Koch brothers, and the organizations they fund, hate corporate welfare more than anything. They hate it!… Read More ›
Justice Delayed: Ninth Circuit Sends EFF’s NSL Cases Back for Consideration Under USA FREEDOM
Often overlooked in discussions of the USA FREEDOM Act passed in June are the changes made to the National Security Letter (NSL) statute. The law addresses some of the more obvious problems with NSLs but fails, by a long shot,… Read More ›
Calling All Cosplayers: Project Secret Identity Returns to Dragon Con
Project Secret Identity is back. EFF is returning to Dragon Con, the science fiction and fantasy convention in Atlanta, Georgia, for a Labor Day weekend of cosplay activism. This year’s privacy campaign will be even more sensational thanks to our… Read More ›
As Al Jazeera Journalists Are Jailed for 3 Years in Egypt, Will U.S. Stop "Cozying Up" to Regime?
In Egypt, Al Jazeera journalists Mohamed Fahmy, Baher Mohamed and Peter Greste were sentenced over the weekend to three years in jail for “spreading false news” that purportedly harmed Egypt following the 2013 military coup. Fahmy and Mohamed were taken… Read More ›
"Our Climate, Our Future": As Obama Visits Arctic, Alaskans Urge Him to Reverse Shell Oil Deal
Weeks after approving Shell’s plans to drill in Alaska, President Obama is heading to the state to warn about the dangers of climate change. “Alaska’s glaciers are melting faster, too, threatening tourism and adding to rising seas,” Obama said in… Read More ›
Preserving Borders vs. Preserving People: Death Toll Rises as Refugees Head to Europe Seeking Safety
The European Union has called for emergency talks to address the rapidly growing number of people fleeing to Europe to escape violence and unrest in Syria, Libya, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, sub-Saharan Africa and other regions. According to the United… Read More ›