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

“There are a lot of things that are tolerated and not enforced, even though technically they could be” under Section 1201 of the DMCA, EFF’s @mitchstoltz told Comstock's magazine. “And I think modded games fall into that category.” https://www.comstocksmag.com/web-only/inside-californias-retro-video-game-modding-scene

KOSA lets the government decide what’s “safe” to read online. That’s not protection—it’s censorship. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/05/kids-online-safety-act-will-make-internet-worse-everyone

Congress is bringing back the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). It doesn’t protect kids—it gives government officials power to pressure platforms to take down lawful speech. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/05/kids-online-safety-act-will-make-internet-worse-everyone

“CBP believes it has the authority to search devices not just when the traveler is a suspect, but also to gather intelligence on someone else the traveler may be connected to… a form of dragnet intelligence gathering,” EFF’s Sophia Cope told The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/15/travel-trump-america-us-border-detentions

"They really do want to sort of establish themselves as being like an entire ecosystem of police surveillance technology," but "there's a huge concern around" whether Fusus could be used to target protesters, EFF’s Beryl Lipton told the Detroit Free Press. https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/wayne/2025/05/15/dearborn-police-contract-axon-fusus-access-surveillance-videos/83592148007/

An EO can’t order a state directly to comply with data requests because it would be considered “unconstitutional commandeering,” and withholding federal funding directed by Congress could be illegal impoundment, EFF’s Sophia Cope told Government Technology News.
https://www.govtech.com/policy/does-the-federal-government-have-a-right-to-states-data

Flock’s invasive new tool “will certainly help to bring expanded surveillance powers to police departments of all sizes that never needed this much information on any random person who happens to drive by,” EFF’s Beryl Lipton warned @404mediaco. https://www.404media.co/license-plate-reader-company-flock-is-building-a-massive-people-lookup-tool-leak-shows/

The First Amendment still applies to speech about abortion even if Texas doesn't want it to, EFF’s Jennifer Pinsof told @taylorlorenz’s Power User podcast.
https://youtu.be/vB-d3NLWxfg?si=qU70dvaJvK2S3IyT

Google, Meta, and Amazon are among the top companies tracking you across the web. By automatically blocking their trackers, Privacy Badger makes it harder for Big Tech companies to profit from your personal information. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/03/online-tracking-out-control-privacy-badger-can-help-you-fight-back

The IRS has a long history of keeping tax information confidential. But a new data-sharing agreement with ICE breaks that precedence and betrays the trust of immigrant communities in ways that could bear consequences for decades. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/04/irs-ice-immigrant-data-sharing-agreement-betrays-data-privacy-and-taxpayers-trust

EFF has kicked off Season 6 of our award-winning “How to Fix the Internet” podcast with Kate Bertash of the Digital Defense Fund and Adversarial Fashion. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/04/podcast-episode-digital-autonomy-bodily-autonomy

The Treasury Dept. and DHS have agreed to allow the IRS to share with ICE taxpayer information of certain immigrants. Weaponizing government data vital to the functioning & funding of public goods and services by repurposing it for law enforcement & surveillance is an affront to a democratic society. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/04/irs-ice-immigrant-data-sharing-agreement-betrays-data-privacy-and-taxpayers-trust

Your location data isn’t just a pin on a map. It can reveal where you work, worship, protest, or seek healthcare—and it’s being harvested, sold, and weaponized. Lawmakers must act now to protect our privacy. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/04/privacy-map-how-states-are-fighting-location-surveillance

DOGE’s creation of one massive, omnipotent database could let authorities retaliate against critics of the government, undermine political foes or personal enemies, and target marginalized groups, EFF’s Tori Noble told @Gizmodo. https://gizmodo.com/with-its-destruction-of-government-data-silos-doge-is-building-a-surveillance-weapon-2000596860

The U.S. mail is a vital system of communication and commerce that should not be distorted into infrastructure for dragnet surveillance. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/05/no-postal-service-data-sharing-deport-immigrants

NEW EPISODE, NEW SEASON: What if we saw digital autonomy and bodily autonomy as two sides of the same coin, inseparable? Kate Bertash joins EFF’s Cindy Cohn and @jgkelley on “How to Fix the Internet.” https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/04/podcast-episode-digital-autonomy-bodily-autonomy

Setting a crucial precedent, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that consumers can sue national or multinational companies in the consumers’ home courts if those companies violate state data privacy laws. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/05/ninth-circuit-hands-users-big-win-californians-can-sue-out-state-corporations

The next time you come across body-worn cameras or another piece of tech on your city council’s agenda or police department’s budget, take a closer look to see what other strings and surveillance tools might be attached.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/04/beware-bundle-companies-are-banking-becoming-your-police-departments-favorite

Drones, robots, and automated license plate readers - These are just some of the technologies we've explained for you in our Field Guide to Police Surveillance, Street Level Surveillance. https://sls.eff.org/

Most people should use a password manager, but there's no one-size-fits-all recommendation. https://ssd.eff.org/module/choosing-the-password-manager-that-s-right-for-you