Notices by Electronic Frontier Foundation (eff@mastodon.social)

When you join EFF, not only can you get a gift to show our thanks, you also get to know you're supporting the leading nonprofit defending your rights on the Internet. https://eff.org/join

Gather 'round EFF's digital diner and learn some answers to common questions about how technology works at Digital Rights Bytes! 🎵 https://digitalrightsbytes.org

If we gut Section 230, "we would either see people lock it all down & it's very boring & you don't get to say anything, or they just abandon all pretense of content moderation & we're just overrun with spam & bots,” EFF's India McKinney told S&P Global Market Intelligence. https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/reforming-internet-liability-shield-hinges-on-us-election-court-battles-83389962

Watch your step for this scavenger. The Foggy Gremlin sticks to you like a leech, and creates a mist to draw in predators. You can run, but no longer hide, as the fog cloud grows exhaustion sets in. A world once open and bright has become narrow, dark, and sinister. https://eff.org/SLSpooky

Making spyware companies disclose information about their customers and practices to the public or in court could reduce spyware’s popularity over time “because the number one thing they’re selling is secrecy,” EFF’s Sophia Cope told CyberScoop.
https://cyberscoop.com/spyware-court-cases-nso-group-meta-whatsapp-apple/

“The current generation of AI technology is fundamentally about reproducing old patterns, yet it is marketed as a source of truth, wisdom, and impartiality,” EFF’s Kit Walsh told Phil Mandelbaum for @CrooksandLiars. “This is deeply harmful.”
https://crooksandliars.com/2024/10/ai-destroying-democracy

EFF applauds CFPB's move to subject employers' use of AI and algorithmic scores to the Fair Credit Reporting act, giving workers more transparency and control over the opaque and unaccountable systems that affect their workplace conditions. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-takes-action-to-curb-unchecked-worker-surveillance/

David Burnham - the @nytimes reporter whose investigations were the basis for “Serpico” and “Silkwood” - was among the first to recognize the dangerous impact of the NSA’s capabilities in the emerging digital landscape. He died this month at age 91. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/10/appreciation-david-burnham

“If Meta wishes to behave ethically, it must ensure that Palestinians also have a seat at the table,” EFF’s @jilliancyork told @theintercept. https://theintercept.com/2024/10/21/instagram-israel-palestine-censorship-sjp/

Join EFF's circle of kick-ass members and get access to various ✨ exclusive ✨ benefits, like members-only meet ups and updates on the latest digital rights battles! https://eff.org/join

Trading away the public's fundamental due process rights in exchange for read-only access to the laws that regulate product, building, and environmental safety is a bad bargain. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/10/courts-agree-no-one-should-have-monopoly-over-law-congress-shouldnt-change

The lesson will be repeated until it is learned: there is no backdoor just for the good guys. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/10/salt-typhoon-hack-shows-theres-no-security-backdoor-thats-only-good-guys

The lesson will be repeated until it is learned: there is no backdoor just for the good guys. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/10/salt-typhoon-hack-shows-theres-no-security-backdoor-thats-only-good-guys

You can leave the dead malls of platform capitalism, and find the services which cater to you. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/06/whats-difference-between-mastodon-bluesky-and-threads

Academic research “can be reproduced & distributed around the world virtually for free,” which is “vital for the scientific process, global collaboration & knowledge building,” - EFF’s Rory Mir.

But publishers don't want to give up control. https://builtin.com/articles/shadow-library

With the election nearing and fears of disinformation and conspiracy theories on the rise, we’re re-releasing our March 2023 “How to Fix the Internet” podcast episode with Alice Marwick, “So You Think You’re a Critical Thinker?” https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/10/podcast-episode-rerelease-so-you-think-youre-critical-thinker

If 23andMe tries to sell your genetic data along with its business, many of you have the right to say “no.” https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/10/sale-23andmes-data-would-be-bad-privacy-heres-what-customers-can-do

"The data broker industry is the wild west of unregulated surveillance...a vast, interconnected, opaque industry with hundreds of companies people have never heard of" making billions per year selling your personal data, EFF’s Lena Cohen told @theregister. https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/09/national_public_data_bankrupt/

Forcing social media users to submit to age verification strips away privacy and First Amendment rights for minors and adults alike, we argued in a brief to the Fifth Circuit. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/10/eff-fifth-circuit-age-verification-laws-will-hurt-more-they-help

“Artificial Intelligence,” with its biased historical datasets and opaque procedures, has no place in deciding what asylum seekers and immigrants get to stay in the United States.  https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/09/eff-140-other-organizations-call-end-ai-use-immigration-decisions