This post is part of a series on Mastodon and the fediverse. We also have a post on privacy and security on Mastodon, and why the fediverse will be great—if we don’t screw it up, and more are on the way. You… Read More ›
Tag Archive for ‘Commentary’
KOSA Would Let the Government Control What Young People See Online
The latest version of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) is focused on removing online information that people need to see—people of all ages. Letting governments—state or federal—decide what information anyone needs to see is a dangerous endeavor. On top… Read More ›
The Fediverse Could Be Awesome (if we don’t screw it up)
This post is part of a series on Mastodon and the fediverse. We also have a post on security and privacy on Mastodon, and more are on the way. Something remarkable is happening. For the past two weeks, people have… Read More ›
The Rise of the Police-Advertiser
In August, the Tulsa police department held a press conference about how its new Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs), a controversial piece of surveillance technology, was the policing equivalent of “turning the lights on” for the first time. In Ontario,… Read More ›
Better Regulating Drone Use Requires Communication, Not Surveillance
In 2018, Congress gave the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security sweeping new authorities to destroy or commandeer privately-owned drones, as well as intercept the data it sends and receives. EFF objected to The Preventing Emerging Threats Act of 2018… Read More ›
The Internet Is Not Facebook: Why Infrastructure Providers Should Stay Out of Content Policing
Cloudflare’s recent headline-making decision to refuse its services to KiwiFarms—a site notorious for allowing its users to wage harassment campaigns against trans people—is likely to lead to more calls for infrastructure companies to police online speech. Although EFF would shed… Read More ›
Google’s Perilous Plan for a Cloud Center in Saudi Arabia is an Irresponsible Threat to Human Rights
On August 9, a Saudi woman was sentenced to 34 years in prison by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s notorious specialized criminal court in Riyadh. Her crime? Having a Twitter account and following and retweeting dissidents and activists. That same day,… Read More ›
Study of Electronic Monitoring Smartphone Apps Confirms Advocates’ Concerns of Privacy Harms
Researchers at the University of Washington and Harvard Law School recently published a groundbreaking study analyzing the technical capabilities of 16 electronic monitoring (EM) smartphone apps used as “alternatives” to criminal and civil detention. The study, billed as the “first… Read More ›
San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors Grants Police More Surveillance Powers
In a 4-7 vote, San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors passed a 15-month pilot program granting the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) more live surveillance powers. This was despite the objections of a diverse coalition of community groups and civil rights… Read More ›
Giving Big Corporations “Closed Generic” Top-Level Domain Names to Run as Private Kingdoms Is Still a Bad Idea
No business can own the generic word for the product it sells. We would find it preposterous if a single airline claimed exclusive use of the word “air,” or a broadband service tried to stop its rivals from using the… Read More ›