How Push Notifications Can Betray Your Privacy (and What to Do About It)
Push notifications travel through Apple or Google servers before reaching a device, exposing message content and metadata to the platform providers. Law‑enforcement can compel these companies to hand over notification data, and forensic tools can recover deleted notifications from a phone’s internal storage. Secure‑messaging apps like Signal and WhatsApp now offer granular notification controls to limit what appears on lock screens. Adjusting OS‑wide and app‑specific settings can mitigate the privacy risks inherent in push‑based alerts.
Digital Hopes, Real Power: The Rise of Network Shutdowns
In 2024 governments imposed a record 304 internet shutdowns across 54 nations, signaling that network blackouts have become a normalized tool of state control. The article traces the evolution from early ad‑hoc cuts, such as Egypt’s 2011 blackout, to today’s...
EFF to State AGs: Investigate Google's Broken Promise to Users Targeted by the Government
The Electronic Frontier Foundation filed complaints with the California and New York attorneys general accusing Google of violating its promise to notify users before handing over data to law‑enforcement agencies. The complaint centers on Amandla Thomas‑Johnson, whose ICE subpoena was...
Hot Off the Press: EFF's Updated Guide to Tech at the US-Mexico Border
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has issued an updated 40‑page, full‑color zine documenting surveillance technology along the U.S.–Mexico border. The new edition adds fresh models of towers, military‑grade equipment, disguised trail cameras, and automated license‑plate readers, and is available for purchase...
War as a Pretext: Gulf States Are Tightening the Screws on Speech—Again
Amid the escalating conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, Gulf states have intensified crackdowns on speech. The United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and others have arrested hundreds for posting war‑related images or commentary, invoking broad cybercrime...
We Need You: Our Privacy Cannot Afford a Clean Extension of Section 702
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is warning Congress against a "clean" reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which expires soon. Section 702 lets the NSA collect full overseas communications and permits the FBI to query the U.S....
Comparison Shopping Is Not a (Computer) Crime
Amazon has sued AI startup Perplexity, alleging its Comet browser violates the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act by automating access to Amazon’s site for price‑comparison purchases. A federal district court accepted Amazon’s claim, leaning on the older Facebook v. Power...
Banning New Foreign Routers Mistargets Products to Fix Real Problem
On March 23 the FCC updated its Covered List to ban all new consumer routers made abroad unless granted a Department of Defense or Homeland Security exception. The agency says foreign‑made routers create supply‑chain vulnerabilities that could threaten the U.S....
Another Court Rules Copyright Can’t Stop People From Reading and Speaking the Law
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld that reproducing building codes incorporated into federal or state law qualifies as fair use, rejecting ASTM’s claim of copyright over those standards. The court found UpCodes’ use transformative, factual, and...
Digital Hopes, Real Power: How the Arab Spring Fueled a Global Surveillance Boom
The Arab Spring’s 2011 uprisings sparked a rapid expansion of state surveillance across the MENA region, turning smartphones and social media into tools for authoritarian control. Governments layered legacy informant networks with deep‑packet inspection, commercial spyware such as Pegasus, and...
The FAA’s “Temporary” Flight Restriction for Drones Is a Blatant Attempt to Criminalize Filming ICE
The Federal Aviation Administration issued a nationwide temporary flight restriction (TFR 6/4375) on Jan 16, 2026 that bars any drone from flying within 3000 feet of ICE or CBP vehicles. The restriction, slated to last 21 months until Oct 29, 2027, carries criminal and civil penalties, including...
A Baseless Copyright Claim Against a Web Host—And Why It Failed
Law firm Higbee & Associates sued May First Movement Technology, alleging infringement of an AFP photograph that the nonprofit never posted. The image had been uploaded years earlier by a member organization, and May First promptly removed it after being...
Google and Amazon: Acknowledged Risks, and Ignored Responsibilities
Human rights groups have pressed Google and Amazon to address the risks of Project Nimbus, a cloud and AI contract with Israel’s Ministry of Defense and Security Agency. Despite internal warnings and mounting media reports linking the services to potential...
EFF’s Submission to the UN OHCHR on Protection of Human Rights Defenders in the Digital Age
The Electronic Frontier Foundation submitted a detailed report to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights warning that emerging online‑harm regulations are increasingly weaponized against human‑rights defenders. It cites the UK’s Online Safety Act as a template...
Digital Hopes, Real Power: From Revolution to Regulation
Over the past decade, governments from Egypt to Qatar have transformed ad‑hoc internet blocks into comprehensive cybercrime, disinformation and platform‑liability regimes that criminalize online speech. Freedom House reports 66% of users live where political sites are blocked and 78% face...
