Top Features
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are supporting a plan to “sunset” Section 230. But without Section 230, Big Tech will shoot first, ask questions later when it comes to taking down controversial online speech. For marginalized users with little social power, Big Tech takedowns will be permanent, because Big Tech has no incentive to figure out whether it’s worth hosting their speech.
We need your help to tell all U.S. Senators and Representatives to oppose the bill to end Section 230, and vote no on it if it comes to the floor.
EFF Updates
Gay Gordon-Byrne, executive director of The Repair Association, joins EFF’s Cindy Cohn and Jason Kelley to discuss this pivotal moment in the fight for consumers to have the right to products that are repairable and reusable.
It’s a simple proposition: No single country should be able to restrict speech across the entire internet. Any other approach invites a swift relay race to the bottom for online expression, giving governments and courts in countries with the weakest speech protections carte blanche to edit the internet.
A Texas age verification law will rob people of anonymity online, chill access to speech for privacy—and security—minded internet users, and entirely block some adults from accessing constitutionally protected online content, EFF argued in a brief filed with the Supreme Court last week.
The European Union’s new Digital Markets Act is a complex, many-legged beast, but at its root, it is a regulation that aims to make it easier for the public to control the technology they use and rely on. There’s just one wrinkle: the Big Tech companies don’t want that future, and they’re trying their damnedest to strangle it in its cradle.
The government violates the privacy rights of individuals on pretrial release when it continuously tracks, retains, and shares their location, EFF explained in a friend-of-the-court brief filed in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Here's an audio version of EFFector. We hope you enjoy it!
Announcements
EFF is excited to be at HOPE XV, July 12-14 at St. John’s University in New York City! Register now for in-person or virtual attendance.
EFF will be back in Las Vegas for Black Hat USA on August 7 and 8! We'll be in the Business Hall, where you can come say hi and learn more about the work we are doing to defend digital freedoms. You can even pick up a special member gift as a token of our thanks when you take advantage of our membership specials or donate! Interested in attending? EFF supporters attending in person can get $200 off briefing tickets by using the code "EFF2024" when registering online.
You have until this Friday, May 31 to nominate key leaders and organizations in the fight for freedom and innovation online to be honored with 2024 EFF Awards! Nominees must have made a specific, substantial contribution to help ensure that technology supports freedom, justice, and innovation for all people; the contribution may be technical, social, economic, or cultural. Our community has celebrated people working in diverse fields including journalism, art, digital access, legislation, tech development, and law. 2024 winners will be celebrated at a live event Thursday, Sept. 12 in San Francisco.
EFF is the leading nonprofit organization defending civil liberties in the digital world, championing user privacy, free expression, and innovation through impact litigation, policy analysis, grassroots activism, and technology development. Our mission is to ensure that technology supports freedom, justice, and innovation for all people of the world.
But what does that mean to you? We’d love to know what you think of EFF: Why do you support us, how do you see our mission, what’s the issue you’re most glad that we’re addressing? Drop us a line at testimonials@eff.org and let us know!
Job Openings
EFF is looking for a full-time Social Media and Video Manager to join our Activism team. The Social Media and Video Manager leads EFF’s social media strategy and video creation, and analyzes, guides, and develops EFF’s presence on online platforms. As social media and video production are becoming powerful pathways for sharing EFF’s work, this position will play an important role in developing EFF’s approach and ensuring EFF’s continued success in protecting digital rights. You’ll need a broad understanding of digital platforms, best practices, and trends related to current and emerging social media platforms; experience developing content for a broad cultural, diverse, and multigenerational audience; and the ability to understand and succinctly articulate complex and nuanced technology, legislation, and court cases around digital liberties.
Applications are now open for the Fall 2024 Intern Class, with a deadline of June 30! EFF’s legal internships provide law students with a unique opportunity to develop valuable skills and real-world experience while working with a nationally-recognized public interest law firm. Legal interns learn from and assist EFF’s staff attorneys in all aspects of litigation, including legal research, factual investigation, and drafting of memoranda and briefs, while also helping with policy research, client counseling, and the development of public education materials (e.g., blog posts). EFF’s docket ranges across the technological and legal landscape, from online fair use of copyrighted materials to illegal government spying.
MiniLinks
EFF’s Erica Portnoy explains why we all should recognize and fight legislation that’s pushing us to give up our power, privacy, and control over our health care and free expression.
As Massachusetts lawmakers weigh new facial recognition rules, their own guards shop for AI-enhanced surveillance that privacy advocates call “chilling,” “unlawful,” and “racially biased.”
The conviction of Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev is sending ripple effects through the blockchain industry, and EFF’s Aaron Mackey predicts a chilling effect as devs are deterred from building privacy and security-enhancing digital tools.
As Israel's assault on Gaza continues on the ground, a parallel battle rages on social media between people and bots. “We don't want people's voices being censored by states, but we also don't want people's voices being drowned out by these bots and by humans doing propaganda as well as states doing propaganda,” EFF’s Jillian C. York said.
“This is exactly the kind of onerous, one-sided ‘agreement’ that necessitates the right-to-repair,” EFF’s Kit Walsh said. “The data collection is excessive” and it “forecloses competition and allows Samsung to inflate the prices for parts.”
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