Favorite A District Court recently considered a civil claim that the Treasury Department overstepped when it listed Tornado Cash on the U.S. sanctions list. This claim took some steps, if not enough, to address EFF’s concerns about coders rights. In the case, Van Loon v Department of the Treasury, EFF argued in an amicus…
All posts tagged Legal Analysis
Federal Judge Upholds Arizonans’ Right to Record the Police
Favorite The Arizona legislature last year passed a law (H.B. 2319 codified at A.R.S. § 13-3732) banning the video recording of police activity within eight feet of officers, making doing so a class 3 misdemeanor (which would allow for up to 30 days in jail). The law included some exceptions, such as for “a person…
EFF to 9th Circuit: App Stores Shouldn’t Be Liable for Processing Payments for User Content
Favorite EFF filed a brief this week in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit arguing that app stores should not be liable for user speech just because they recommend that speech or process payments for those users. Those stores should be protected by Section 230, a law that protects Americans’ freedom of…
Court Rejects Efforts to Identify Anonymous Webhost
Favorite Note: The post was co-authored by EFF legal intern Janelle Robins In a victory for online expression, a U.S. District Court judge has quashed a subpoena aimed at revealing the identity of an anonymous person who simply hosted a website. The background facts tell a too-familiar tale in the age of social media: a…
DC Circuit FOSTA Ruling Lets a Bad Law Stay on the Books, But Offers Meaningful Protection for Some Sex Work Forums and Sex Workers Using Online Services
Favorite The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on July 7 affirmed the dismissal of Woodhull Freedom Foundation v. US, the constitutional challenge to FOSTA. That’s certainly disappointing: this bad law will now stay on the books. But the good news is that FOSTA stays on the books in a more limited manner: the…
Victory! Ninth Circuit Allows Human Rights Case to Move Forward Against Cisco Systems
Favorite People around the world have been searching for ways to hold accountable companies that build tools for government repression. From massive surveillance systems to state-sponsored malware, governments around the world are increasingly using technology to locate, track, and engage in human rights abuses against disfavored communities, journalists, and activists. In a tremendous victory for…
The United States vs. Hansen Decision Is Not “Encouraging” for Speech Rights
Favorite The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling in United States v. Hansen upholds a law that makes it a crime to “encourage” a person to remain in the country without authorization. The Court had two choices in this case: instruct Congress and all legislatures to use the words they actually mean (and normal people use)…
Supreme Court Sends Bad Spaniels Back to Obedience School, Leaves Rogers Test Mostly Intact
Favorite The question of when you can use a trademark is one we see all the time—and one that is often misunderstood. Many of the world’s largest and most powerful companies are fanatical about their trademarks. But that means the public is often in the dark about how their First Amendment rights stack up to…
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…
States Should Not Skirt Federal Rules on Fiber Infrastructure
Favorite Across the country, states are designing broadband plans to begin spending billions of federal dollars made available by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and past COVID-19 rescue dollar investment programs. The Biden administration has consistently made clear that states are to build future-proof infrastructure to deliver broadband that will be useful for…