Press Room

Press Release | October 14, 2003

Electronic Frontier Foundation Defends Alleged Filesharer

Los Angeles, California - EFF today announced that it will
defend Ross Plank of Playa Del Rey, California, against a
wrongly filed complaint, among the 261 copyright
infringement lawsuits the recording industry has filed
against individuals.
The federal lawsuit filed against Plank in Los Angeles
...

Read more about Electronic Frontier Foundation Defends Alleged Filesharer

Press Release | October 9, 2003

EFF on SunnComm's Threat Against Princeton Student

CD copy-protection vendor, SunnComm Technologies Inc., today threatened to sue Princeton graduate student J. Alex Halderman for publishing a paper that reveals that simply holding down the shift key can defeat its latest copy-protection technology. "What more proof do you need that the DMCA is chilling legitimate research?...

Read more about EFF on SunnComm's Threat Against Princeton Student

Press Release | October 6, 2003

Princeton Researcher Debunks Copy Protection, Again

Princeton computer science student Alex Halderman has released a paper describing a one-click method to bypass the "copy protection" on the recently released Anthony Hamilton CD from BMG. "Halderman's paper illustrates exactly who's hurt by copy protections: the ordinary user, who can't move tracks to his iPod without going...

Read more about Princeton Researcher Debunks Copy Protection, Again

Press Release | October 3, 2003

EFF Welcomes Suspension of VeriSign's SiteFinder Service

EFF welcomed the suspension of VeriSign's SiteFinder service today, after a formal request from ICANN. "We're pleased that ICANN has finally found the will to stand up for the clear interests of Internet users, to stop VeriSign's interference with their network traffic," said Staff Attorney Wendy Seltzer. Staff Technologist Seth...

Read more about EFF Welcomes Suspension of VeriSign's SiteFinder Service

Press Release | October 2, 2003

EFF Analysis on Trusted Computing

EFF today released its analysis of Trusted Computing, supporting some of the security proposals while criticizing those that take control away from computer owners. "Helping computer owners defend their computers against attacks is progress in computer security, but treating computer owners themselves as the bad guys is not," said...

Read more about EFF Analysis on Trusted Computing

Press Release | October 1, 2003

EFF Commentary on Coleman hearings

At Congressional hearings yesterday, the RIAA announced that it was ceasing its campaign of "sue first and ask questions later" in its crusade against American filesharers and would begin to write letters first before launching litigation. "It's too bad that it took episodes like the mistaken lawsuit against the 65-year-old...

Read more about EFF Commentary on Coleman hearings

Press Release | September 29, 2003

RIAA Finds Few Takers for Shamnesty

The Recording Industry Association of America today announced that 838 of the 60 million Americans who file-share have accepted its "Clean Slate" offer. "At such a paltry uptake rate, the RIAA program looks more like a blank slate," says EFF Staff Attorney Wendy Seltzer.

Read more about RIAA Finds Few Takers for Shamnesty

Press Release | September 28, 2003

EFF Supports the Benjamin Franklin True Patriot Act

EFF applauds the introduction last week of legislation that would repeal USA PATRIOT Act provisions that threaten citizens' privacy rights. The Benjamin Franklin True Patriot Act (HR 3171), introduced by Congressman Dennis Kucinich along with 20 Congressional cosponsors, would repeal more than ten sections of USA PATRIOT, including those authorizing...

Read more about EFF Supports the Benjamin Franklin True Patriot Act

Press Release | September 26, 2003

Flawed E-Voting Standard Sent Back to Drawing Board

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
today applauded a technical working group for heeding
critics who called for rejection of a flawed electronic
voting standard proposal that failed to require adequate
security measures.
The working group of the Institute of Electrical and
...

Read more about Flawed E-Voting Standard Sent Back to Drawing Board

Press Release | September 24, 2003

Recording Industry Withdraws Music Sharing Lawsuit

San Francisco - Seven major record labels dismissed charges
of copyright infringement leveled at a 65-year-old educator,
artist, and grandmother from Massachusetts late last week.
Sarah Ward was one of 261 individuals sued by the recording
industry for allegedly sharing copyrighted music using
peer-to-peer (P2P)...

Read more about Recording Industry Withdraws Music Sharing Lawsuit

Press Release | September 16, 2003

Verisign's "Sitefinder" Harms Internet

Internet services company Verisign, which controls portions of the Domain Name System (DNS), has abruptly implemented a scheme in which people who mistakenly enter a non-existent domain name are redirected to Verisign advertising. This move has shocked and outraged network administrators. "Verisign's unilateral action harms the Internet," said EFF...

Read more about Verisign's "Sitefinder" Harms Internet

Press Release | September 13, 2003

Voting Machine Standard Generates Controversy

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
today urged a technical association to stop balloting on a
flawed proposal for an electronic voting machine standard.
EFF invited concerned parties to write letters to the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
(IEEE), requesting an...

Read more about Voting Machine Standard Generates Controversy

Press Release | September 8, 2003

Recording Industry Announces Lawsuits Against Music Sharers

San Francisco - The Recording Industry Association of
America (RIAA) today filed 261 lawsuits against people who
allegedly shared copyrighted music online. The RIAA
announced plans to sue more file-sharers and introduced an
"amnesty" program available only to file-sharers who the
RIAA has not yet...

Read more about Recording Industry Announces Lawsuits Against Music Sharers

Press Release | September 5, 2003

Recording Industry Plans "Amnesty" for Music Sharers

San Francisco - Numerous news sources, including Billboard
and Associated Press, have reported since yesterday that the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) will
announce an "amnesty" program for people who are sharing
music files online perhaps as early as next week.

"Rather than demanding that...

Read more about Recording Industry Plans "Amnesty" for Music Sharers

Press Release | September 5, 2003

Congress Plans Hearings on Recording Industry Tactics

San Francisco - Ninety-five organizations, ranging across
the political spectrum, today sent letters to the chairs of
the Senate Commerce and Judiciary Committees and the
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations to thank them for planning
hearings on the subpoena provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright
Act...

Read more about Congress Plans Hearings on Recording Industry Tactics

Press Release | September 2, 2003

EFF Comment on DMCA Garage Door Opener Ruling

A federal district court in Chicago has rejected an effort by garage door opener vendor Chamberlain to use the DMCA to ban its competitor, Skylink, from selling replacement "clickers" for Chamberlain openers. "The Court properly rejected Chamberlain's use of the DMCA (PDF) to lock people out of their...

Read more about EFF Comment on DMCA Garage Door Opener Ruling

Press Release | August 26, 2003

SCO to Sue Individual Linux Users

On Wednesday, August 25, the SCO Group Inc. announced plans to sue individual Linux users who decline to pay it a $700 license fee. "Suing consumers in order to speed-up resolution of SCO's lawsuit against IBM is completely unjustifiable," said EFF Staff Attorney Jason Schultz. "SCO should prove...

Read more about SCO to Sue Individual Linux Users

Press Release | August 25, 2003

California Supreme Court Upholds Free Speech in DVD Case

San Francisco - The California Supreme Court ruled today that publication of information regarding the decoding of DVDs merits a strong level of protection as free speech and sent a key case back to a lower court for a decision on whether a court can prevent Andrew Bunner from publishing...

Read more about California Supreme Court Upholds Free Speech in DVD Case

Press Release | August 8, 2003

Federal Court Spurns Recording Industry Enforcement Tactics

Boston, MA - A Massachusetts district court today dealt the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) a serious
setback by rejecting its Washington, D.C., subpoenas for
the identities of Massachusetts students. For the moment,
MIT and Boston College need not respond to the RIAA demands.

"Today's...

Read more about Federal Court Spurns Recording Industry Enforcement Tactics

Press Release | August 8, 2003

Massachusetts Court Stops RIAA Juggernaut

A Massachusetts district court blocked the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) from using a single court in Washington, D.C., to issue subpoenas for Massachusetts students' identities. "The court rejected the RIAA's bald-faced attempt to use a single D.C. court ruling to steamroller Internet users' privacy nationwide," said EFF staff...

Read more about Massachusetts Court Stops RIAA Juggernaut

Press Release | July 31, 2003

Pacific Bell Sues Recording Industry for Customer Privacy

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation today
applauded a lawsuit brought by Pacific Bell Internet
Services against three organizations that are manipulating
copyright laws to violate the privacy of ISP customers.

The case concerns 97 subpoenas directed to Pacific Bell
over the past two weeks....

Read more about Pacific Bell Sues Recording Industry for Customer Privacy

Press Release | July 25, 2003

File Sharers: See If the Recording Industry Is After You

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
today offered important resources to those wondering
whether the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)
has filed a subpoena seeking their identities in connection
with a crackdown on music file-sharing.

EFF is assisting Internet users by offering a...

Read more about File Sharers: See If the Recording Industry Is After You

Press Release | July 24, 2003

EFF on FCC's Order Regarding Implementation of Children's Internet Protection Act

The Federal Communications Commission today adopted measures to ensure that implementation of the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), a law mandating the use of Internet blocking software in public libraries, complies with the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding that law. "The FCC failed to take this opportunity to...

Read more about EFF on FCC's Order Regarding Implementation of Children's Internet Protection Act

Press Release | July 23, 2003

Security Researchers Discover Huge Flaws in E-Voting System

San Francisco - In response to today's release of research
about critical security flaws in e-voting systems, the
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) urged immediate passage
of e-voting legislation to prevent election fraud.

Security researchers at Johns Hopkins University and Rice
University announced today that they have...

Read more about Security Researchers Discover Huge Flaws in E-Voting System

Press Release | July 18, 2003

Electronic Frontier Foundation Launches File Sharing Ads

San Francisco - An ad from the Electronic Frontier
Foundation (EFF) intended for the more than 60 million U.S.
residents sharing music files online appeared in Rolling
Stone's August 9 issue, hitting the stands today.

The EFF ad -- part of an ongoing campaign to protect the
...

Read more about Electronic Frontier Foundation Launches File Sharing Ads

Press Release | July 17, 2003

Misguided "Anti-Piracy" Bill Introduced in Congress

San Francisco - Members of the U.S. Congress yesterday
introduced the Author, Consumer, and Computer Owner
Protection and Security (ACCOPS) Act of 2003, targeting for
criminal prosecution the 60 million Americans engaged in
Internet file sharing of music and movies.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today...

Read more about Misguided "Anti-Piracy" Bill Introduced in Congress

Press Release | July 2, 2003

Electronic Frontier Foundation Issues E-Voting Alert

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation issued an
action alert this week warning that electronic voting
machines installed without a verifiable paper audit trail
and open source software programming are vulnerable to
election fraud.

"Touchscreen voting machines can increase accessibility for
people with disabilities,...

Read more about Electronic Frontier Foundation Issues E-Voting Alert

Press Release | July 1, 2003

Electronic Frontier Foundation Defends Printer Cartridge Co.

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today asked a federal appeals court to rule that a company can examine a competitor's technology in order to manufacture printer toner cartridges compatible with Lexmark printers without facing a copyright lawsuit.

Printer maker Lexmark had sued, claiming that cartridge remanufacturer Static...

Read more about Electronic Frontier Foundation Defends Printer Cartridge Co.

Press Release | June 30, 2003

Electronic Frontier Foundation "Let the Music Play" Campaign

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
today launched a "Let the Music Play" campaign urging the
more than 60 million U.S. citizens who use file-sharing
software to demand changes in copyright law to get artists
paid and make file-sharing legal.

The EFF Let the...

Read more about Electronic Frontier Foundation "Let the Music Play" Campaign

Press Release | June 30, 2003

EFF on 7th Circuit Aimster Ruling

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals today ruled against Madster (formerly known as Aimster). "Just as the inventors of the photocopier and the VCR, today's innovators should be free to produce useful products without fear of being sued simply because some people may misuse their products to commit copyright...

Read more about EFF on 7th Circuit Aimster Ruling

Press Release | June 25, 2003

EFF on RIAA's Attack on the American Public

EFF responds to today's announcement by the RIAA that it will begin gathering evidence that will be used to sue individuals who use file-sharing software: "It's plain that the dinosaurs of the recording industry have completely lost touch with reality," said Fred von Lohmann, EFF senior staff attorney. "At...

Read more about EFF on RIAA's Attack on the American Public

Press Release | June 18, 2003

EFF responds to Hatch on computer destruction

Senator Orrin Hatch proposed yesterday that entertainment companies be entitled to destroy people's computers after two warnings of copyright infringement, according to press reports. "This is an entirely unreasonable proposal, tantamount to a debt collector sending you two warnings that your car payment is late and then claiming that...

Read more about EFF responds to Hatch on computer destruction

Press Release | June 18, 2003

Public Has Right to Skip or Mute Movie Scenes

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today asked a federal court to rule that people have the right to use technology to skip scenes or mute language they find disturbing while viewing movies they have obtained lawfully.
The case, entitled Huntsman v. Soderbergh, involves consumer use of...

Read more about Public Has Right to Skip or Mute Movie Scenes

Press Release | June 10, 2003

EFF on Digital Networks' decision to disable ReplayTV's features

EFF is disappointed with Digital Networks North America's decision to disable the Commercial Advance and Send Show features in new model 5500 ReplayTVs. "This is yet another example of Hollywood dictating what technologies consumers can and can't use" said EFF Attorney Gwen Hinze. "Consumers are the real losers from Digital...

Read more about EFF on Digital Networks' decision to disable ReplayTV's features

Press Release | June 4, 2003

EFF Statement on Court Order Requiring Verizon to Identify Users Pending Further Rulings

"RIAA's claim that it has an emergency need to violate the privacy of the two Verizon users is weak, especially since one of those users has already filed a declaration stating that he has disabled KaZaA entirely," said EFF Legal Director Cindy Cohn. "Once again, RIAA has shown that it...

Read more about EFF Statement on Court Order Requiring Verizon to Identify Users Pending Further Rulings

Press Release | June 2, 2003

Dastar Court strengthens public domain

EFF welcomes the Supreme Court's decision in Dastar Corp. v. Twentieth Century Fox, that the Lanham Act does not interfere with republication of uncopyrighted works. "The Supreme Court's unanimous decision recognized that the public should be free to reuse materials from the public domain," said EFF Staff Attorney Wendy Seltzer...

Read more about Dastar Court strengthens public domain

Press Release | May 27, 2003

California Supreme Court to Hear DVD Case

San Francisco - The California Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing for May 29, 2003, on a key legal challenge to the publication of information regarding the decryption of DVDs. In the case, called DVD-CCA v. Bunner, California resident Andrew Bunner was one of thousands of republishers of the DVD-decryption...

Read more about California Supreme Court to Hear DVD Case

Press Release | May 21, 2003

EFF on Veto of Colorado Super-DMCA

"Governor Owens, in vetoing the Colorado super-DMCA bill, recognized that these bills are bad for innovation, bad for competition, and bad for consumers," said Fred von Lohmann, senior staff attorney with the nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation. "These MPAA-sponsored bills represent the worst kind of special interest legislation, sacrificing the public...

Read more about EFF on Veto of Colorado Super-DMCA

Press Release | May 20, 2003

TIA Report Shines No New Light

The Bush Administration released its long-awaited report to Congress on the "Total Information Awareness" program today. (Now renamed "Terrorism Information Awareness") "The report is disappointing -- after more than a hundred pages, you don't know anything more about whether TIA will work or whether your civil liberties will be...

Read more about TIA Report Shines No New Light

Press Release | May 15, 2003

Court Hears 321 Studios Argument

Judge Susan Illston of the Northern District of California heard arguments in 321 Studios v. Metro Goldwyn Mayer this morning on whether 321's DVD backup software violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. "Fair use and the DMCA have been on a collision course since 1998," said EFF Staff Attorney Wendy...

Read more about Court Hears 321 Studios Argument

Press Release | May 1, 2003

EFF on College Student Settlements

The Wall Street Journal reports that all four of the college students recently sued by the RIAA have settled their actions, agreeing to pay between $12,000 and $17,500 each without admitting any wrongdoing. The students allegedly maintained "index servers" that allowed students to search on-campus local area networks (LANs...

Read more about EFF on College Student Settlements

Press Release | April 24, 2003

Court Gives Hollywood Broad Powers to Violate Your Privacy

The D.C. District Court today ruled that alleged copyright infringers are to be deemed guilty until proven innocent. Judge Bates agreed with RIAA that copyright holders can issue subpoenas to ISPs to demand identifying information about any Internet users based upon a mere allegation of infringement, with no notice to...

Read more about Court Gives Hollywood Broad Powers to Violate Your Privacy

Press Release | March 20, 2012

Electronic Frontier Foundation Supports Unlicensed Spectrum

Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Release
San Francisco, CA - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today supported a spectrum policy proposal from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and asked the FCC to acknowledge its First Amendment obligation to allocate additional spectrum for unlicensed use. Unlicensed use of spectrum would...

Read more about Electronic Frontier Foundation Supports Unlicensed Spectrum

Press Release | April 14, 2003

EFF on Interz0ne threats

EFF is concerned about Blackboard's use of legal threats and a temporary restraining order to block a reverse engineering discussion at the Interz0ne II conference this past weekend. We have been contacted in the matter. "Stopping speakers as they are preparing to give a scientific talk is a...

Read more about EFF on Interz0ne threats

Press Release | April 3, 2003

EFF on RIAA's Latest P2P Lawsuits

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) today announced that it has filed lawsuits against four college students, accusing them of running "Napster-like" services inside their university networks. "This is another in a string of unfortunate efforts by the recording industry to treat music fans like criminals," said Fred...

Read more about EFF on RIAA's Latest P2P Lawsuits

Press Release | March 28, 2003

CBS Rejects Gateway Ad

CBS has rejected a new television commercial produced by Gateway aimed at educating consumers about enjoying digital music while respecting copyright. The computer-maker had created the ad to accompany its new "RipBurnRespect" campaign. "The entertainment industries have stressed the need for 'copyright education,' said Fred von Lohmann, EFF...

Read more about CBS Rejects Gateway Ad

Press Release | March 28, 2003

EFF: Federal Court Reverses in Taxes.com Web Publishing Case

Oakland, CA - A federal court today agreed with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) that the tax problem help website Taxes.com should not be forced to rewrite truthful information in order to appear less prominently in search engine results.
"The court's decision to reverse an earlier ruling on Taxes.com...

Read more about EFF: Federal Court Reverses in Taxes.com Web Publishing Case

Press Release | March 21, 2003

EFF on SonicBlue Bankruptcy

SonicBlue today announced its intention to file for bankruptcy protection. The company, maker of the ReplayTV digital video recorder, has been spending as much as $1 million a month in litigation expenses to defend a lawsuit brought by more than two dozen entertainment companies. The entertainment companies allege...

Read more about EFF on SonicBlue Bankruptcy

Press Release | February 28, 2003

Electronic Frontier Foundation on SonicBlue Bankruptcy

SonicBlue today announced its intention to file for bankruptcy protection.
The company, maker of the ReplayTV digital video recorder, has been spending as much as $1 million a month in litigation expenses to defend a lawsuit brought by more than two dozen entertainment companies. The entertainment companies allege that...

Read more about Electronic Frontier Foundation on SonicBlue Bankruptcy

Press Release | February 8, 2003

Patriot II

"We're still reeling from the original USA-Patriot Act's impact on civil liberties and now the government wants more," said Cindy Cohn, EFF's Legal Director. "Where is the evidence that the law passed less than two years ago is insufficient? When will Congress draw the line and say 'this much of...

Read more about Patriot II

Search form

Search form

Press Room

Press Room

Pages

Follow EFF:

Contact

About

Issues

Updates

Press

Donate