Electronic Frontier Foundation

The KIDS Act is not just some benign form of digital “carding.” If passed, the bouncer at the door is an online entity capturing and storing personal data from users who simply want to access legal, First Amendment-protected content on the internet, EFF’s @irmck.bsky.social wrote for @coindesk.com.

The KIDS Act is way worse than digital carding — it is a mass surveillance system

The fact that lawmakers are even contemplating a bill that would create a surveillance and censorship regime should be a wake-up call for everyone who values privacy and free expression, argues Electr...

Today could be Congress's last chance to stop the KIDS Act. Tell your lawmaker to vote NO on this rushed, messy package of internet bills that threatens privacy, free expression, and private messaging online. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...

The KIDS Act Would Require Age Checks To Get Online

Buried inside the KIDS Act are provisions that will push online services to verify all users’ ages, require government-directed moderation policies for online speech, and even create new rules about

“Anytime a company collects highly sensitive personal data, there are risks the data will be shared, breached, or later seized by the government,” EFF’s @mariotrujillo.bsky.social told @sfchronicle.com. “Companies should ask themselves, is violating everyone’s privacy worth it?”

Grocery Outlet Bay Area stores are using facial recognition technology to catch shoplifters

Grocery Outlet has begun using facial recognition in some Bay Area stores to identify suspected shoplifters.

When a license plate is captured by an automated license plate reader (ALPR), it’s instantly compared against a list of vehicles that the police are actively looking for, known as a “hotlist.” EFF has learned that one of these hotlists targets immigrants on behalf of ICE. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...

Are Your Local Police Using Flock Safety ALPRs to Scan for Immigrants?

When a car passes an automated license plate reader (ALPR), its plate is captured and instantly compared against a list of vehicles that police are actively looking for or that police have identified

Congress could vote on the KIDS Act as soon as tomorrow. The bill would pressure websites to determine users’ ages, and more broadly moderate lawful speech. We’re urging lawmakers to vote NO: act.eff.org/action/tell...

Tell Congress: Don’t Force Age Checks Online

Congress is preparing to vote on the KIDS Act, a sweeping internet bill that would pressure websites and apps to determine users’ ages before allowing them to read websites, send private messages, or participate in online communities.

“There is no technology available that is entirely privacy-protective, fully accurate, and that guarantees complete coverage of the population,” EFF’s Rin Alajaji told @inc.com, and “no one should have to sacrifice their privacy or anonymity in order to exercise their free speech rights online.”

The Internet Is Starting to Card Everyone. These Startups Are Making Millions From It

Age-verification systems are increasingly sophisticated. They're lucrative for the businesses creating them, too.

RSS is a secret trick to making the internet more usable. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...

Hate “The Algorithm?” RSS Is One of the Tools You’ve Been Looking For

Since at least the moment Facebook introduced (and apologized for) its News Feed, “the algorithm” has been shorthand for the ways the tech giants control what we see and when we see it. In the age of

Grindr has been caught sharing users' HIV status and precise location with advertisers without obtaining valid consent. They must immediately stop prioritizing profits over users’ safety, and make privacy the default across its platform. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...

EFF to Grindr: This Pride Month, Put Safety and Privacy Over Profits

This Pride month, we’re calling on the dating app Grindr to prioritize LGBTQ+ user safety by making privacy the default across its platform. That means no more sharing personal data with advertisers

The KIDS Act will effectively create a new mass surveillance system, EFF’s @irmck.bsky.social wrote for @coindesk.com. Your current online usage is not necessarily linked to your specific identity; if this bill passes, that will likely change.

The KIDS Act is way worse than digital carding — it is a mass surveillance system

The fact that lawmakers are even contemplating a bill that would create a surveillance and censorship regime should be a wake-up call for everyone who values privacy and free expression, argues Electr...

Meta's new feature that automatically lets other users make AI imagery using your Instagram photos is the sort of setting that should absolutely be opt-in for users. Here's how to turn it off.

Online privacy isn’t dead. For more simple tips to protect your privacy, visit eff.org/optoutoctober.

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California bill AB 2047 mandates 3D printers analyze each print. These scans are only feasible through cloud-connected AI scans, a surveillance apparatus that’s prone to misuse and will chill lawful speech. Creators deserve better. www.eff.org/3DPrintCA

Reject California’s Attack on 3D Printers

California lawmakers are advancing A.B. 2047 in the State Assembly within the next few weeks. The impact is surveillance, manufacturer lock-in, and censorship for all creators and in the state.

EFF helped expose Texas' use of automated license plate readers to track down a woman suspected of self-managing an abortion. Our friends at Mayday Health helped make sure pregnant people were aware of the surveillance risk. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...

"We Want Texans to Know Their Rights": Q&A with Mayday Health on the

Last May, EFF reported that a sheriff’s office in Texas searched data from more than 83,000 automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras to track down a woman suspected of self-managing an abortion.

🚨Congress could vote on the KIDS Act today. The bill will push websites towards demanding to know users’ ages, whether through more data collection or error-prone age estimation. act.eff.org/action/tell...

Tell Congress: Don’t Force Age Checks Online

Congress is preparing to vote on the KIDS Act, a sweeping internet bill that would pressure websites and apps to determine users’ ages before allowing them to read websites, send private messages, or participate in online communities.

Killing physical discs is just the next step in diminishing your right to own your videogame library. This is how we reclaim digital ownership. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...

Sony Nerfs Videogame Ownership

Playstation’s decision to kill physical game discs is the latest attack on our diminishing rights to access and engage with culture digitally. Rent-seeking corporations and negligent lawmakers share

Following EFF and 404 Media’s report on Texas’s use of Flock cameras, eye-catching billboards popped up in Houston, warning drivers that if they’re pregnant, the state of Texas could be tracking them. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...

"We Want Texans to Know Their Rights": Q&A with Mayday Health on the

Last May, EFF reported that a sheriff’s office in Texas searched data from more than 83,000 automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras to track down a woman suspected of self-managing an abortion.

“I hear a lot of privacy nihilism from people, like, ‘They already have our data, they’re already surveilling us,’” EFF’s @lisafemia.bsky.social told @mercurynews.com, but surveillance isn’t inevitable. “There’s a real misunderstanding of data and its sensitivity.”

Surveillance technology is inevitable. Or is it?

From doorbell cameras to automated license plate readers, public surveillance has expanded rapidly since 2020. Is the tide finally turning? We sit down with Electronic Freedom Foundation attorney Lisa...

RSS is a secret trick to making the internet more usable. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...

Hate “The Algorithm?” RSS Is One of the Tools You’ve Been Looking For

Since at least the moment Facebook introduced (and apologized for) its News Feed, “the algorithm” has been shorthand for the ways the tech giants control what we see and when we see it. In the age of

No one—of any age—should have their web browsing tracked and logged from website to website. The Senate should reject the KIDS act and instead pass comprehensive privacy laws that benefit all users. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...

The House Passed The KIDS Act—The Senate Should Reject It 

Last week, the House voted on the KIDS Act, a disjointed package of legislation that seeks to control Americans’ web browsing and private messaging. The package combines a revised version of the Kids

We applaud SCOTUS' decision in Chatrie v. United States. The Court reaffirmed that you have an expectation of privacy in location data that reveals your movements in the physical world, and that even short-term surveillance of these movements is a search subject to the Fourth Amendment. (1/3)

RSS has been around for decades, but it’s still one of the most powerful tools around to take control of your media and social consumption. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...

Hate “The Algorithm?” RSS Is One of the Tools You’ve Been Looking For

Since at least the moment Facebook introduced (and apologized for) its News Feed, “the algorithm” has been shorthand for the ways the tech giants control what we see and when we see it. In the age of

Police already face few consequences for using force in person. “That would become so much easier and so much less emotionally and physically burdensome if they can deploy force by pressing a button,” EFF’s @mguariglia.bsky.social told @404media.co.

New Orleans Cops Published Policy Document Allowing Weaponized Drones

Cops and drone companies seem increasingly eager to put weapons on their drones.

Axon’s products could widen ICE’s reach enormously, EFF’s @mguariglia.bsky.social told @cnbc.com. “You are talking about a platform that could give federal law enforcement a real-time picture of where people are, what is happening on the ground and how to respond with local precision.”

Trump bought as much as $5 million in Axon stock before ICE sought $220 million Taser deal

Axon Enterprise has ramped up lobbying in Congress on federal law enforcement technology as ICE pursues a potential $220 million Taser deal.

EFF spoke with Mayday Health, the nonprofit behind the billboards in Texas warning pregnant drivers that authorities could be using automated license plate readers (ALPRs) to track their movements. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...

"We Want Texans to Know Their Rights": Q&A with Mayday Health on the

Last May, EFF reported that a sheriff’s office in Texas searched data from more than 83,000 automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras to track down a woman suspected of self-managing an abortion.

Right now, the only thing holding back most police from deploying armed drones and robots is the policies of companies and the social stigma surrounding the issue. Neither of these will hold forever. We need regulation. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...

Lawmakers Must Act Now to Prevent Armed Police Drones

This is not science fiction. It’s not premature. If towns, cities, states, or the federal government want to act to reign in the emergence of armed police drones and robots, we have precious little