In a partial victory for police accountability, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that the First Amendment protects a passenger who livestreams the traffic stop of the car he is traveling in. EFF filed an amicus… Read More ›
Tag Archive for ‘Legal Analysis’
Beware the Gifts of Dragons: How D&D’s Open Gaming License May Have Become a Trap for Creators
According to leaks reported last week, the company that owns Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) is planning to revoke the open license that has, since the year 2000, applied to a wide range of unofficial, commercial products that build on the… Read More ›
First Court in California Suppresses Evidence from Overbroad Geofence Warrant
A California trial court has held a geofence warrant issued to the San Francisco Police Department violated the Fourth Amendment and California’s landmark electronic communications privacy law, CalECPA. The court suppressed evidence stemming from the warrant, becoming the first court… Read More ›
Google Loses Appeal Against EU's Record Antitrust fine, But Will Big Tech Ever Change?
The EU continues to crack down on big tech companies with its full arsenal of antitrust rules. This month, Google lost its appeal against a record fine, now slightly trimmed to €4.13 billion, for abusing its dominant position through the… Read More ›
Impact Litigation in Action: Building the Caselaw Behind a Win for Free Speech
A recent District Court decision in In re DMCA 512(h) Subpoena to Twitter, Inc. is a great win for free speech. The Court firmly rejected the argument that copyright law creates a shortcut around the First Amendment’s protections for anonymous… Read More ›
When “Jawboning” Creates Private Liability
A (Very) Narrow Path to Holding Social Media Companies Legally Liable for Collaborating with Government in Content Moderation For the last several years we have seen numerous arguments that social media platforms are “state actors” that “must carry” all user… Read More ›
Copyright "Small Claims" Quasi-Court Opens. Here's Why Many Defendants Will Opt Out.
A new quasi-court for copyright, with nationwide reach, began accepting cases this week. The “Copyright Claims Board” or “CCB,” housed within the Copyright Office in Washington DC, will rule on private copyright infringement lawsuits from around the country and award… Read More ›
First Circuit Court of Appeals Upholds Eight Months of Warrantless 24/7 Video Surveillance
EFF Legal Intern Talya Nevins contributed to the drafting of this blog post. A federal appellate court in Massachusetts has issued a ruling that effectively allows federal agents in Puerto Rico and most of New England to secretly watch and… Read More ›
EFF’s Flagship Jewel v. NSA Dragnet Spying Case Rejected by the Supreme Court
We all deserve the right to have a private conversation online. That’s why EFF has taken on government surveillance for the past 30-plus years. One of our longest-running efforts has been to stop the National Security Agency’s (NSA) surveillance that… Read More ›
Massachusetts' Highest Court Upholds Cell Tower Dump Warrant
This blog post was drafted with help from former EFF Legal Intern Emma Hagemann. Massachusetts’ highest court has upheld the collection of mass cell tower data, despite recognizing that this data not only provides investigators with “highly personal and private”… Read More ›