Deeplinks Blog

Deeplinks Blog by Cindy Cohn | April 8, 2016

The Burr-Feinstein Proposal Is Simply Anti-Security

Sens. Richard Burr and Dianne Feinstein recently released a draft bill forcing nearly all U.S. companies to decrypt any encrypted data they may handle. Specifically, it would place a new, sweepingly broad duty on device manufacturers, software developers, ISPs, online services and others to decrypt encrypted data or offer...

Deeplinks Blog by Andrew Crocker | April 8, 2016

The California Bill to Undermine Smartphone Encryption Actually Got Worse

State lawmakers recently introduced some misguided changes to California’s Assembly Bill 1681, which would require that manufacturers and operating system providers be able to decrypt smartphones sold in the state. On first glance, the amendment to A.B. 1681 might seem to address some of EFF’s previous criticisms, but...

Deeplinks Blog by Vera Ranieri | April 8, 2016

Over a Year Later, EFF Granted Leave to Intervene in Patent Case

Fight to Make Documents Public Continues
In December, 2014, EFF asked a court to allow it to intervene in a patent case so that we could formally request that certain documents in the court record be unsealed and made available to the public. Yesterday, EFF’s motion to intervene was...

Deeplinks Blog by Bill Budington | April 7, 2016

WhatsApp Rolls Out End-To-End Encryption to its Over One Billion Users

End-to-end encryption has just gone massively mainstream. In an update on March 31st, the Facebook-owned messaging platform WhatsApp quietly pushed an update adding end-to-end encryption enabled by default to its chat and call functionality. They announced the change publicly on Tuesday, allowing the app's over 1 billion monthly...

Deeplinks Blog by Karen Gullo, Sophia Cope | April 7, 2016

Illinois Law Requiring Sex Offenders To Report All Internet Activity Violates Free Speech Rights

With the goal of keeping tabs on sex offenders, the state of Illinois has veered way off course. Its offender registration statute requires individuals to report every nook and cranny of their online activities to law enforcement—or face jail time. Every Internet site they visit, every online retailer account they...

Deeplinks Blog by Cory Doctorow, Mitch Stoltz | April 6, 2016

The FCC's Plan To Unlock Your Set-Top Box Is About Competition, Not Copyright

The Federal Communications Commission is trying to open up the closed world of TV set-top boxes, with the goal of finally killing that dust-gathering, power-sucking box altogether. They’ve proposed a new rule known as “Unlock the Box” that allows devices and apps from any...

Deeplinks Blog by Shahid Buttar, Sophia Cope | April 6, 2016

Court’s Decision on Recording Police Erodes First Amendment Rights and Transparency While Inviting Violence

A federal district court in Pennsylvania recently issued a terrible joint decision in Fields v. City of Philadelphia and Geraci v. City of Philadelphia, holding for the first time that "observing and recording" police activities is not protected by the First Amendment unless an observer visibly challenges police conduct...

Deeplinks Blog by Kit Walsh | April 5, 2016

Nest Reminds Customers That Ownership Isn't What It Used to Be

Nest Labs, a home automation company acquired by Google in 2014, will disable some of its customers' home automation control devices in May. This move is causing quite a stir among people who purchased the $300 Revolv Hub devices—customers who reasonably expected that the promised "lifetime" of updates would...

Deeplinks Blog by Cory Doctorow | April 4, 2016

Save Netflix!

Netflix is in terrible danger. In fact, these might be its last days.
Oh, not today's Netflix. The Netflix you're using today is fine. It made it—got to do something daring and edgy, prove out its model, and become part of the establishment.
But the...

Deeplinks Blog by rainey Reitman | March 31, 2016

Amnesty International: Encryption is a Human Rights Issue

New Report Analyzes How Crypto Backdoors, Interference with Crypto, and Compelled Disclosure of Encryption Keys All Impact Free Expression and Privacy
Defending encryption is a human rights issue, according to a new Amnesty International report. The report calls on nation-states to promote the use of encryption tools as...

Deeplinks Blog by Daniel Nazer | March 31, 2016

Stupid Patent of the Month: Mega-Troll Intellectual Ventures Hits Florist With Do-It-On-A-Computer Scheduling Patent

When it comes to patent trolls, no one is bigger than Intellectual Ventures. The Washington State-based behemoth is at the center of both patent trolling and the debate around patent reform. Though it claims to promote innovation, Intellectual Ventures is behind some of the most outrageous...

Deeplinks Blog by Dave Maass | March 31, 2016

EFF Pressure Results in Increased Disclosure of Abuse of California’s Law Enforcement Databases

EFF’s efforts to fix holes in oversight of the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS) are paying off.New data and records released by California Department of Justice (CADOJ) show a steep increase in the number of agencies disclosing cases of abuse of the state's network of law enforcement databases—a major...

Deeplinks Blog by Jillian C. York | March 31, 2016

Onlinecensorship.org Launches Inaugural Report

We’re proud to announce today’s release of Onlinecensorship.org’s first report looking at how content is regulated by social media companies. Onlinecensorship.org—a joint project of EFF and Visualizing Impact (VI) that won the 2014 Knight News Challenge—seeks to encourage social media companies to operate with greater transparency and accountability...

Deeplinks Blog by Daniel Nazer | March 30, 2016

Victory: Court Orders Patent Bully Garfum To Pay Attorneys’ Fees

In a decision that could help other victims of abusive patent litigation, a court today ordered that Garfum.com Corporation must pay an EFF client’s attorneys’ fees. The court found that Garfum’s patent suit lacked merit and was litigated unreasonably.
Back in late 2014, Garfum sued a small photography website...

Deeplinks Blog by Vera Ranieri | March 30, 2016

Patent Lawsuits Should Not Be Shrouded in Secrecy

EFF Moves To Unseal Important Rulings Regarding Repeat Litigant Blue Spike
The public has a First Amendment right to access court records, and that right is generally only curtailed when there is “good cause” to do so. Unfortunately, when it comes to patent cases, courts routinely allow [PDF]...

Deeplinks Blog

Deeplinks Blog

The Burr-Feinstein Proposal Is Simply Anti-Security

The California Bill to Undermine Smartphone Encryption Actually Got Worse

Over a Year Later, EFF Granted Leave to Intervene in Patent Case

WhatsApp Rolls Out End-To-End Encryption to its Over One Billion Users

Illinois Law Requiring Sex Offenders To Report All Internet Activity Violates Free Speech Rights

The FCC's Plan To Unlock Your Set-Top Box Is About Competition, Not Copyright

Court’s Decision on Recording Police Erodes First Amendment Rights and Transparency While Inviting Violence

Nest Reminds Customers That Ownership Isn't What It Used to Be

Save Netflix!

Amnesty International: Encryption is a Human Rights Issue

Stupid Patent of the Month: Mega-Troll Intellectual Ventures Hits Florist With Do-It-On-A-Computer Scheduling Patent

EFF Pressure Results in Increased Disclosure of Abuse of California’s Law Enforcement Databases

Onlinecensorship.org Launches Inaugural Report

Victory: Court Orders Patent Bully Garfum To Pay Attorneys’ Fees

Patent Lawsuits Should Not Be Shrouded in Secrecy

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