Notices by Electronic Frontier Foundation (eff@mastodon.social), page 7

Texas “continued to incorrectly suggest that online age verification–which requires millions of internet users to upload and submit identifying information–is no different than quick, one-on-one, in-person ID checks," EFF’s Lisa Femia told @texastribune. https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/15/texas-porn-site-ban-us-supreme-court/

“People looking for alternative social media apps should be cautious about the privacy implications of sharing information with an app that has not yet seen substantial public scrutiny outside of China,” EFF’s @cooperq told @verge. https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/16/24345245/rednote-xiaohongshu-tiktok-ban-privacy

Livestream number 2️⃣ incoming! Join this session hosted by EFF, ACLU Cal Action, TransLatin@ Coalition, and Oakland Privacy where we'll be discussing California's new legislative session and the impacts of digital speech proposals on various communities. https://livestream.eff.org

Minors’ rights to access information are being attacked by policy makers across the political spectrum, and adults need to be champions for them even if they think kids use social media too much, EFF’s @davidgreene said. https://www.kalw.org/2025-01-15/the-bay-agenda-the-future-of-press-freedom

TikTok users could try to access a web-based browser version on a VPN, but that would lack some of the app’s features and personalization, EFF’s @jgkelley told @Reuters. "It won't be a good service for you, and it won't be a profitable service for them.” https://www.reuters.com/technology/how-tiktok-ban-would-work-why-user-workarounds-wont-2025-01-16/

Platforms shouldn’t silence people for drawing attention to the influence those platforms, and other large companies, have. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/01/platforms-systematically-removed-user-because-he-made-most-wanted-ceo-playing

T-MINUS ONE HOUR UNTIL EFF'S LIVESTREAM 🚀 Join us at 10 AM pacific time for a discussion about your rights to privacy and free expression under Trump and the 119th Congress: https://livestream.eff.org

Carry your books, laptop, and even groceries while showing your support for digital privacy. https://shop.eff.org/products/lady-lock-reproductive-justice-tote-bag

Age verification 🪪 surveillance 📹 consumer privacy 🧑💻
We'll be discussing these and how you can advocate for your digital rights under the Trump administration with our livestream tomorrow at 10 AM Pacific: https://eff.org/effectingchange

EFF’s @davidgreene joined Thomas Peele & @FACoalition's Ginny LaRoe for KALW’s discussion of the dangers and opportunities that journalism faces under the Trump Administration. https://www.kalw.org/2025-01-15/the-bay-agenda-the-future-of-press-freedom

Today, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that could have far-reaching effects for every internet users’ free speech, anonymity, and privacy rights.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/01/five-things-know-about-supreme-court-case-texas-age-verification-law-free-speech

Many people reported having their accounts banned and content removed after commenting on the assassination of UnitedHealth Group CEO Brian Thompson, showing just how much control over our online expression social media and financial platforms have. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/01/platforms-systematically-removed-user-because-he-made-most-wanted-ceo-playing

"The ban or forced sale of one social media app will do virtually nothing to protect Americans' data privacy from another country," EFF’s @davidgreene told @cnet. https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/tiktok-takes-its-case-to-the-supreme-court-what-to-know/

“One of the things we hate most at EFF is products that play on people’s fears and vulnerabilities in order to suck in their data and their money," EFF's Cindy Cohn told @TheNewStack. Read more about the gadgets that won Worst in Show at #CES2025. https://thenewstack.io/ces-2025-worst-in-show-betas-for-a-dystopian-future/

TikTok users likely could circumvent the ban via VPNs, EFF’s @evacide told @CBSNews, though many free VPNs make money by selling user data and some have been known to install malware. “I would advise people to be very careful about the VPN they choose." https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tiktok-ban-app-phone/

“The UAE is an authoritarian state with a dismal human rights record and a history of using technology to spy on activists, journalists, and dissidents,” EFF’s @evacide told @WIRED, so it likely would optimize AI not for democracy but for police states. https://www.wired.com/story/uae-intelligence-chief-ai-money/

EFF joined international human rights groups in sending a letter directly to the UK Prime Minister urging immediate action to secure the release of Alaa Abd El Fattah, a British-Egyptian writer, technologist, and prisoner of conscience.

His mother, Leila Soueif, has been on a hunger strike for 100+ days, demanding the UK government intervene to free her son. Time is running out. #FreeAlaa https://madr.network/open-letter-the-uk-government-must-act-now-to-free-alaa/

This week the Supreme Court will consider whether a Texas law that requires a huge swath of websites to implement age verification is constitutional. Here’s what you need to know. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/01/five-things-know-about-supreme-court-case-texas-age-verification-law-free-speech

Many have riffed on the tradition of using playing cards to help troops recognize the enemy. While social media accounts selling “Gaza’s Most Wanted” and “Covid's Most Wanted” cards remain online, a user selling “Most Wanted CEO” cards was quickly banned. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/01/platforms-systematically-removed-user-because-he-made-most-wanted-ceo-playing

Meta’s new policies allowing certain hate speech “was more of a primarily political capitulation than it was an earnest attempt to revise pressing problems with content moderation,” EFF’s @davidgreene told Truthout. https://truthout.org/articles/metas-allowance-of-hate-speech-is-another-side-effect-of-big-tech-monopoly/