US Tech Companies Must Be Accountable in US Courts for Facilitating Persecution and Torture Abroad, EFF Urges US Supreme Court
The Electronic Frontier Foundation filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a 9th Circuit ruling that U.S. tech companies can be sued under the Alien Tort Statute for aiding foreign human‑rights abuses. The case focuses on Cisco Systems’ custom‑built “Golden Shield” system, which the Chinese government used to spy on, detain and torture members of the Falun Gong religious group. The appellate court held that knowledge of the abuse, not specific intent, is sufficient for liability, reversing a 2014 dismissal. The Supreme Court will hear arguments on April 28, 2024, a decision that could set precedent for the entire surveillance‑technology industry.
Traffic Violation! License Plate Reader Mission Creep Is Already Here
A recent 404 Media report reveals that Georgia State Patrol used a Flock Safety automated license plate reader (ALPR) to issue a traffic ticket for a motorcyclist holding a phone, contradicting the vendor’s claim that its technology is not employed...
EFF Sues for Answers About Medicare's AI Experiment
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to obtain records on the WISeR program, a multi‑state Medicare pilot that uses artificial intelligence to evaluate prior‑authorization requests. WISeR,...
Nicole Ozer Named as Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Executive Director
Nicole Ozer has been appointed executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), effective June 1, succeeding long‑time leader Cindy Cohn. Ozer brings two decades of experience in technology‑focused civil liberties law, having led the ACLU’s Technology and Civil Liberties...
UK Politicians Continue to Miss the Point in Latest Social Media Ban Proposal
The UK Parliament is debating a new amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill that would give the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology authority to block social‑media access for anyone under 18, replace the earlier Lords‑proposed...
EFF Launches New Fight to Free the Law
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has sued the Consumer Product Safety Commission to force the release of safety codes for children’s products that were incorporated into federal law but remain claimed as copyrighted. Public.Resource.Org, a nonprofit that publishes government documents, argues...
Copyright Bullying Vs. Religious Freedom
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is urging a Southern District of New York judge to quash DMCA subpoenas issued by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society aimed at unmasking anonymous researcher J. Doe. Doe’s work, which uses fair‑use analysis of...
EFF to Third Circuit: Electronic Device Searches at the Border Require a Warrant
The Electronic Frontier Foundation and the ACLU filed an amicus brief urging the Third Circuit to require a warrant for electronic device searches at the border. The brief centers on U.S. v. Roggio, where agents seized a traveler’s laptop, tablet,...
EFF to Supreme Court: Shut Down Unconstitutional Geofence Searches
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, ACLU, and Georgetown Law’s Center on Privacy & Technology filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to declare geofence warrants unconstitutional. Geofence warrants force companies to hand over location data for every device within...
Victory! Tenth Circuit Finds Fourth Amendment Doesn’t Support Broad Search of Protesters’ Devices and Digital Data
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reversed a district court ruling that had dismissed a civil‑rights suit over sweeping warrants targeting a protester’s devices and a nonprofit’s Facebook page. The appellate panel found the three warrants overbroad,...
Tech Companies Shouldn’t Be Bullied Into Doing Surveillance
The U.S. Department of Defense has warned AI firm Anthropic that it could be labeled a “supply chain risk” unless the company lifts its self‑imposed bans on autonomous weapons and surveillance use. Anthropic, which was cleared for classified work in...
EFF to Wisconsin Legislature: VPN Bans Are Still a Terrible Idea
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has sent a letter to Wisconsin’s entire legislature urging a vote against S.B. 130 and A.B. 105, bills that would ban VPN use and impose invasive age‑verification on certain websites. The measures have cleared the...
San Jose Can Protect Immigrants by Ending Flock Surveillance System
San Jose’s police department has logged more than 261,000 automated license‑plate reader (ALPR) searches in just over a year—roughly 700 daily—without warrants, raising privacy alarms. Neighboring jurisdictions such as Mountain View, Los Altos Hills, Santa Cruz, East Palo Alto and...
New Report Helps Journalists Dig Deeper Into Police Surveillance Technology
A new "Selling Safety" guide, co‑authored by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Center for Just Journalism and IPVM, equips reporters with tools to cut through the hype surrounding police surveillance technology. The report details how vendors market devices as silver‑bullet...
“Free” Surveillance Tech Still Comes at a High and Dangerous Cost
The piece warns that "free" surveillance technology—delivered through vendor pilots, federal grants, and wealthy donor gifts—carries hidden civil‑liberty costs and long‑term financial obligations. It cites examples such as Denver’s drone trials, Denver’s contested Flock ALPR contract, Atlanta’s police foundation opacity,...
Coalition Urges California to Revoke Permits for Federal License Plate Reader Surveillance
A coalition led by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Imperial Valley Equity & Justice has asked Governor Gavin Newsom and Caltrans to immediately revoke permits that allow federal agencies such as Customs and Border Patrol and the DEA to install...
