Top Features
Last week, the House of Representatives voted 232-190 to pass the Save the Internet Act (H.R. 1644). Thank you for speaking up to tell the House to protect net neutrality! The Save the Internet Act will restore the provisions of the 2015 Open Internet Order—including privacy and competition protections—and bans against blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization.
Now we need to let the Senate hear from us. Contact your Senators today and tell them to co-sponsor the Save the Internet Act (S. 682).
We launched Fix It Already last month to tell Silicon Valley companies about the privacy and security fixes they need to make right away. The campaign already has its first victory, with WhatsApp fixing its long-standing group-messaging problem. Now, WhatsApp users will be able to asked for their express consent before they are added to group messaging threads. The company says that the changes will be available to all as the next version of WhatsApp is rolled out over the next several weeks.
Now it’s time for the eight other products and platforms that we called out to catch up with WhatsApp—fix it already!
EFF Updates
EFF is protecting an anonymous Reddit user against an abusive copyright claim brought by a religious group. The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, which is the supervising body and publisher for Jehovah’s Witnesses, has subpoenaed Reddit seeking information about a user who has posted comments and concerns about Watchtower magazine, as part of a potential copyright lawsuit. The user’s comments include copies of an advertisement, and a chart describing compliance with European privacy laws.
The posts are classic lawful fair uses—that is, legal ways to use copyrighted material without permission. EFF has filed a motion to quash Watchtower’s subpoena.
Your Fourth Amendment rights shouldn’t disappear because of an email provider’s terms of service. That’s the point that EFF is arguing in our recent amicus brief in U.S. v. Wilson, a federal appellate case.
Email and other electronic communications contain the most personal details of our lives. Almost all courts that have squarely addressed the issue have found that emails, texts, and other electronic communications are protected from warrantless searches by the Fourth Amendment.
But in the Wilson case, a district court reasoned that the Fourth Amendment doesn’t apply if an email user violates a provider’s terms of service. The Ninth Circuit should reject such a sweeping invalidation of constitutional rights, and we look forward to the court’s decision.
Last week, the website TorrentFreak published an article about leaked TV episodes, including some content from the Starz network. When TorrentFreak tweeted out its article, an agency working for Starz sent a copyright takedown over the tweet. TorrentFreak then wrote about the takedown of its tweet, including comments from EFF about how the takedown was unjustified. When EFF tweeted about the TorrentFreak articles—our tweets were hit with takedown notices, as well.
We filed a counter-notice, and the tweets have been restored. But there’s no excuse for these types of takedowns—articles reporting on copyright infringement are not infringement.
Announcements
On April 18th, join us for our third annual celebration of fascinating, obscure, and trivial minutiae of digital security, online rights, and Internet culture. It’s the ultimate technology quiz crafted by EFF experts and hosted by our very own CyberTiger Cooper Quintin.
Doors open at 6:00pm, and the quiz begins promptly at 7:00pm at San Francisco's Public Works. Space is limited, so register now!
Many thanks to Facebook and Gandi.net for being our first 2019 sponsors! There's still time to sponsor EFF’s Third Annual Tech Trivia Night. If you or your company want to learn more, please contact Nicole Puller.
At 10 a.m. on Thursday, April 18, EFF will argue to the Indiana Supreme Court that the police cannot force a criminal suspect to turn over a passcode or otherwise be forced to unlock a cell phone. The case is Katelin Seo v. State of Indiana.
The Fifth Amendment of the Constitution states that people cannot be forced to incriminate themselves, and it’s well settled that the privilege protects against “testimonial” communications. However, courts have struggled with how to apply the Fifth Amendment to compelled decryption of encrypted devices.
EFF was invited to take part in this important case as amicus. In Thursday’s hearing, EFF Senior Staff Attorney Andrew Crocker will explain that the forced unlocking of a device requires someone to disclose “the contents of his mind.” That is analogous to written or oral testimony, and is therefore protected under the Constitution.
Thursday’s hearing is in Indiana’s Wabash County to give the public the opportunity to observe the work of the court. Over 750 students are scheduled to attend the argument. It will also be live-streamed.
At 9:00am on April 24th, EFF Special Consultant Cory Doctorow will deliver a keynote address at Halifax's AltSecCon, "Atlantic Canada's Non-Profit, Annual Information Security Conference."
On April 26-28, EFF will be part of LinuxFest Northwest, a free community event for people of all technical skill levels. Stop by our table in the expo hall to talk about digital rights issues, or sign up to become a member. The event will take place at Bellingham Technical College.
On May 4th in São Paulo, Senior Investigative Researcher Dave Maass, a member of EFF's new Threat Lab, will be a guest speaker at Cryptorave, a Brazilian event on encryption and security. Dave's talk is titled "Surveillance Safari: Recognizing the Ways the Cops Spy on Populations."
On May 4th, EFF Tech Projects Director Dr. Jeremy Gillula will participate on a panel discussing the implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on free speech at Stanford University.
Job Openings
EFF is looking for an experienced digital rights policy expert to help us further EFF’s mission around the globe. We’re looking for someone who can help us effectively engage in Europe and other global policy fights in a way that could help shape the future of technology. Substantial experience in international copyright and intermediary liability policy is essential, as are established connections to other groups working in the field.
The right candidate will have expertise in European Union lawmaking and/or judicial process, as well as a deep knowledge of global copyright laws, intermediary liability issues, and this arena connects to United States law.
MiniLinks
Ahmed Mansoor has entered the 4th week of a hunger strike against an unjust and cruel 10-year jail sentence in the United Arab Emirates. A blogger and technologist, Mansoor was sentenced simply for writing criticism of the government on social media. Take action to help him now: https://www.gc4hr.org/news/view/2113. (Gulf Center for Human Rights)
The New York Times editorial board endorses a national "Right to Repair" bill in this April 6 editorial, pointing out that a competitive landscape of independent repair shops dramatically lowers the price of maintaining everything from a tractor to an iPhone. (New York Times)
Companies are collecting more data on their workers. A 2018 survey by Gartner found that 22% of organizations in various industries are using employee-movement data, and 17% are gathering workplace computer-usage data. As more consumer privacy laws take shape, will employees' concerns be passed over? (CNBC)
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) used fake Facebook profiles to identify people committing immigration fraud, by creating social media profiles tied to the University of Farmington—a sham university created by ICE as a sting operation. That's a clear violation of Facebook's policy. EFF's Dave Maass explains that Facebook should be more transparent by posting a list of agencies caught violating site policies. (The Guardian)
|
