This month’s stupid patent, like many stupid patents before it, simply claims the idea of using a computer for basic calculations. U.S. Patent No. 6,817,863 (the ’863 patent) is titled “Computer program, method, and system for monitoring nutrition content of… Read More ›
Archive for June 2017
Internet, Activate! Stand Up for Net Neutrality on July 12
Two months ago, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced his plan to abandon the agency’s commitment to protecting net neutrality. On July 12, let’s give the world a preview of what the Internet will look like if the FCC goes forward… Read More ›
Californians: Demand a Vote on Your Broadband Privacy Before the Telecom Lobby Runs Out the Clock
What do they do when they can’t win the vote? Try to Stop a Vote. Right now, politicians in Sacramento are holding up a bill that would restore your broadband privacy rights and directly reject Congress and the Trump Administration’s… Read More ›
Don’t Trust in Antitrust Law to Protect Net Neutrality
Back in 2014, we considered many possible ways of protecting net neutrality that would not rely on the FCC, including antitrust law. Unfortunately, U.S. antitrust law is not up to the challenge. Antitrust law is an economic doctrine that gives… Read More ›
Five Eyes Unlimited: What A Global Anti-Encryption Regime Could Look Like
This week, the political heads of the intelligence services of Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States (the “Five Eyes” alliance) met in Ottawa. The Australian delegation entered the meeting saying publicly that they intended to… Read More ›
McMansion Hell Responds to Zillow’s Unfounded Legal Claims
Update 5:00pm: Zillow has released a statement saying the company has “decided against moving forward with legal action.” EFF is pleased that Zillow has withdrawn its threat and won’t be seeking to take down any of the posts on McMansion… Read More ›
Copyright Office Proposes Modest Fixes to DMCA 1201, Leaves Fundamental Flaws Untouched
The U.S. Copyright Office just released a long-awaited report about Section 1201, the law that bans circumventing digital restrictions on copyrighted works. Despite years of evidence that the social costs of the law far outweigh any benefits, the Copyright Office… Read More ›
Let's Encrypt Has Issued 100 Million Certificates
This evening, the Let’s Encrypt certificate authority issued its hundred millionth digital certificate. This is a remarkable milestone in just a year and a half of public operation; Let’s Encrypt is likely now either the largest or second-largest public CA… Read More ›
Top Canadian Court Permits Worldwide Internet Censorship
A country has the right to prevent the world’s Internet users from accessing information, Canada’s highest court ruled on Wednesday. In a decision that has troubling implications for free expression online, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld a company’s effort… Read More ›
The Worst of Donald Trump’s Toxic Agenda Is Lying in Wait – A Major U.S. Crisis Will Unleash It
During the presidential campaign, some imagined that the more overtly racist elements of Donald Trump’s platform were just talk designed to rile up the base, not anything he seriously intended to act on. But in his first week in office,… Read More ›