Favorite In a victory for transparency in police use of facial recognition, a New Jersey appellate court today ruled that state prosecutors—who charged a man for armed robbery after the technology showed he was a “possible match” for the suspect—must turn over to the defendant detailed information about the face scanning software used, including how…
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To Save the News, We Must Open Up App Stores
Favorite 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 didn’t just usher in a new kind of computing device – the first…
Digital Rights Updates with EFFector 35.7
Favorite Catch up on the latest news in the digital rights movement with our EFFector newsletter! Our latest issue is out now, and it is jam packed with updates, from decisions made by the Supreme court on Section 230 and fair use cases, to EFF’s investigation into California police agencies sharing drivers’ location data with…
Our Right To Challenge Junk Patents Is Under Threat
Favorite The U.S. Patent Office has proposed new rules about who can challenge wrongly granted patents. If the rules become official, they will offer new protections to patent trolls. Challenging patents will become far more onerous, and impossible for some. The new rules could stop organizations like EFF, which used this process to fight the…
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Has Made a Mockery of the Constitutional Right to Privacy
Favorite The latest evidence that Section 702 of the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act (FISA) must be ended or drastically reformed came last month in the form of a newly unsealed order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) detailing massive violations of Americans’ privacy by the FBI. The FISC order is replete with problems. It…
The Right to Repair Is Law in Minnesota. California Should Be Next
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…
EU’s Proposed Cyber Resilience Act Raises Concerns for Open Source and Cybersecurity
Favorite The EU is in the middle of the amendments process for its proposed Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), a law intended to bolster Europe’s defenses against cyber-attacks and improve product security. This law targets a broad swath of products brought to market intended for European consumers, including Internet of Things (IoT) devices, desktop computers, and…
To Save the News, We Must Ban Surveillance Advertising
Favorite 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 spying on us. These companies have tendrils that reach into our apps, our televisions,…
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…