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We recently introduced a policy governing large language model (LLM) assisted contributions to EFF's open-source projects. At EFF, we strive to produce high quality software tools, rather than simply generating more lines of code in less time. We now explicitly require that contributors understand the code they submit to us and that comments and documentation be authored by a human. LLMs excel at producing code that looks mostly human generated, but can often have underlying bugs that can b

Wisconsin’s S.B. 130 / A.B. 105 is a spectacularly bad idea. It’s an age-verification bill that effectively bans VPN access to certain websites for Wisconsinites and censors lawful speech. We wrote about it last November in our blog “Lawmakers Want to Ban VPNs—And They Have No Idea What They're Doing,” but since then, the bill has passed the State Assembly and is scheduled for a vote in the State Senate tomorrow. In light of this, EFF sent a letter to the entire Wisconsin Legislature urging

(This appeared as an op-ed published February 12, 2026 in the San Jose Spotlight, written by Huy Tran (SIREN), Jeffrey Wang (CAIR-SFBA), and Jennifer Pinsof.) As ICE and other federal agencies continue their assault on civil liberties, local leaders are stepping up to protect their communities. This includes pushing back against automated license plate readers, or ALPRs, which are tools of mass surveillance that can be weaponized against immigrants, political dissidents and other targets. In rec

Report from EFF, Center for Just Journalism, and IPVM Helps Cut Through Sales HypeSAN FRANCISCO — A new report released today offers journalists tips on cutting through the sales hype about police surveillance technology and report accurately on costs, benefits, privacy, and accountability as these invasive and often ineffective tools come to communities across the nation. The “Selling Safety” report is a joint project of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the Center for Just Journalism (

The New York Times reported that Meta is considering adding face recognition technology to its smart glasses. According to an internal Meta document, the company may launch the product “during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns.” This is a bad idea that Meta should abandon. If adopted and released to the public, it would violate the privacy rights of millions of people and cost the

Discord has begun rolling out mandatory age verification and the internet is, understandably, freaking out. At EFF, we’ve been raising the alarm about age verification mandates for years. In December, we launched our Age Verification Resource Hub to push back against laws and platform policies that require users to hand over sensitive personal information just to access basic online services. At the time, age gates were largely enforced in polities where it was mandated by law. Now they’re landi

Criticize the government online? The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) might ask Google to cough up your name. By abusing an investigative tool called "administrative subpoenas," DHS has been demanding that tech companies hand over users' names, locations, and more. We're explaining how companies can stand up for users—and covering the latest news in the fight for privacy and free speech online—with our EFFector newsletter. For over 35 years, EFFector has been your guide to underst

Surveillance technology vendors, federal agencies, and wealthy private donors have long helped provide local law enforcement “free” access to surveillance equipment that bypasses local oversight. The result is predictable: serious accountability gaps and data pipelines to other entities, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), that expose millions of people to harm. The cost of “free” surveillance tools — like automated license plate readers (ALPRs), networked cameras, face recognit

We are calling on technology companies like Meta and Google to stand up for their users by resisting the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) lawless administrative subpoenas for user data. In the past year, DHS has consistently targeted people engaged in First Amendment activity. Among other things, the agency has issued subpoenas to technology companies to unmask or locate people who have documented ICE's activities in their community, criticized the government, or attended protes

Amazon Ring’s Super Bowl ad offered a vision of our streets that should leave every person unsettled about the company’s goals for disintegrating our privacy in public. In the ad, disguised as a heartfelt effort to reunite the lost dogs of the country with their innocent owners, the company previewed future surveillance of our streets: a world where biometric identification could be unleashed from consumer devices to identify, track, and locate anything — human, pet, and otherwise. The ad for Ri

Group led by EFF and Imperial Valley Equity & Justice Asks Gov. Newsom and Caltrans Director to Act Immediately SAN FRANCISCO – California must revoke permits allowing federal agencies such as Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to put automated license plate readers along border highways, a coalition led by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and Imperial Valley Equity & Justice (IVEJ) demanded today. In a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom and Ca

Interviewer: Jillian York Yazan Badran is an assistant professor in international media and communication studies at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, and a researcher at the Echo research group. His research focuses on the intersection between media, journalism and politics particularly in the MENA region and within its exilic and diasporic communities. *This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Jillian York: What does free speech or free expression mean to you? Yazan Badran: So I th

(This appeared as an op-ed published Friday, Feb. 6 in the Daily Journal, a California legal newspaper.) Section 230, “the 26 words that created the internet,” was enacted 30 years ago this week. It was no rush-job—rather, it was the result of wise legislative deliberation and foresight, and it remains the best bulwark to protect free expression online. The internet lets people everywhere connect, share ideas and advocate for change without needing immense resources or technical expertise. Our u

We are sad to report the passing of longtime EFF Board member, Dave Farber. Dave was 91 and lived in Tokyo from age 83, where he was the Distinguished Professor at Keio University and Co-Director of the Keio Cyber Civilization Research Center (CCRC). Known as the Grandfather of the Internet, Dave made countless contributions to the internet, both directly and through his support for generations of students. Dave was the longest-serving EFF Board member, having joined in the early 1990s, before t

Section 230 helps make it possible for online communities to host user speech: from restaurant reviews, to fan fiction, to collaborative encyclopedias. But recent debates about the law often overlook how it works in practice. To mark its 30th anniversary, EFF is interviewing leaders of online platforms about how they handle complaints, moderate content, and protect their users’ ability to speak and share information. A decade ago, Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that operates Wikipedia, rece

Flock contracts have quietly spread to cities across the country. But Flock ALPR (Automated License Plate Readers) erode civil liberties from the moment they're installed. While officials claim these cameras keep neighborhoods safe, the evidence tells a different story. The data reveals how Flock has enabled surveillance of people seeking abortions, protesters exercising First Amendment rights, and communities targeted by discriminatory policing. This is exactly why cities are saying no. Fr

Section 230 helps make it possible for online communities to host user speech: from restaurant reviews, to fan fiction, to collaborative encyclopedias. But recent debates about the law often overlook how it works in practice. To mark its 30th anniversary, EFF is interviewing leaders of online platforms about how they handle complaints, moderate content, and protect their users’ ability to speak and share information. Yelp hosts millions of reviews written by internet users about local businesses

For thirty years, internet users have benefited from a key federal law that allows everyone to express themselves, find community, organize politically, and participate in society. Section 230, which protects internet users’ speech by protecting the online intermediaries we rely on, is the legal support that sustains the internet as we know it. Yet as Section 230 turns 30 this week, there are bipartisan proposals in Congress to either repeal or sunset the law. These proposals seize upon legitima

Federal agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have descended into utter lawlessness, most recently in Minnesota. The violence is shocking. So are the intrusions on digital rights. For example, we have a First Amendment right to record on-duty police, including ICE and CBP, but federal agents are violating this right. Indeed, Alex Pretti was exercising this right shortly before federal agents shot and killed him. So were the many people wh

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have descended into utter lawlessness, most recently in Minnesota. The violence is shocking. So are the intrusions on digital rights and civil liberties. For example, immigration agents are routinely scanning faces of people they suspect of unlawful presence in the country – 100,000 times, according to the Wall Street Journal. The technology has already misidentified at least one person, according to 404 Media. Fac

The phrase "artificial intelligence" has been around for a long time, covering everything from computers with "brains"—think Data from Star Trek or Hal 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey—to the autocomplete function that too often has you sending emails to the wrong person. It's a term that sweeps a wide array of uses into it—some well-established, others still being developed. Recent news shows us a rapidly expanding catalog of potential harms that may result from companies pushing AI into ev

EFF has long warned about the dangers of the “real-time bidding” (RTB) system powering nearly every ad you see online. A proposed class-action settlement with Google over their RTB system is a step in the right direction towards giving people more control over their data. Truly curbing the harms of RTB, however, will require stronger legislative protections. What Is Real-Time Bidding? RTB is the process by which most websites and apps auction off their ad space. Unfortunately, the milliseconds-l

The Electronic Frontier Foundation stands with the people of Minneapolis and with all of the communities impacted by the ongoing campaign of ICE and CBP violence. EFF will be closed Friday, Jan. 30 as part of the national shutdown in opposition to ICE and CBP and the brutality and terror they and other federal agencies continue to inflict on immigrant communities and any who stand with them. We do not make this decision lightly, but we will not remain silent. See our statement on ICE/CBP violenc

Today, we’re launching Encrypt It Already, our push to get companies to offer stronger privacy protections to our data and communications by implementing end-to-end encryption. If that name sounds a little familiar, it’s because this is a spiritual successor to our 2019 campaign, Fix It Already, a campaign where we pushed companies to fix longstanding issues. End-to-end encryption is the best way we have to protect our conversations and data. It ensures the company that provides a service cannot

The Digital Services Act (DSA) Human Rights Alliance has, since its founding by EFF and Access Now in 2021, worked to ensure that the European Union follows a human rights-based approach to platform governance by integrating a wide range of voices and perspectives to contextualise DSA enforcement and examining the DSA’s effect on tech regulations around the world.As the DSA moves from legislation to enforcement, it has become increasingly clear that its impact depends not only on the text of the

Lawmakers in Washington are once again focusing on kids, screens, and mental health. But according to Congress, Big Tech is somehow both the problem and the solution. We're diving into the latest attempt to control how kids access the internet and more with our latest EFFector newsletter. Since 1990, EFFector has been your guide to understanding the intersection of technology, civil liberties, and the law. This latest issue tracks what to do when you hit an age gate online, explains why ren

Dangerously unchecked surveillance and rights violations have been a throughline of the Department of Homeland Security since the agency’s creation in the wake of the September 11th attacks. In particular, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have been responsible for countless civil liberties and digital rights violations since that time. In the past year, however, ICE and CBP have descended into utter lawlessness, repeatedly refusing to exercise or

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem last week posted a photo of the arrest of Nekima Levy Armstrong, one of three activists who had entered a St. Paul, Minn. church to confront a pastor who also serves as acting field director of the St Paul Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office. A short while later, the White House posted the same photo – except that version had been digitally altered to darken Armstrong’s skin and rearrange her facial features to make it appear she was sobb

We're taking part in Copyright Week, a series of actions and discussions supporting key principles that should guide copyright policy. Every day this week, various groups are taking on different elements of copyright law and policy, and addressing what's at stake, and what we need to do to make sure that copyright promotes creativity and innovation. Long before generative AI, copyright holders warned that new technologies for reading and analyzing information would destroy creativity.

We're taking part in Copyright Week, a series of actions and discussions supporting key principles that should guide copyright policy. Every day this week, various groups are taking on different elements of copyright law and policy, and addressing what's at stake, and what we need to do to make sure that copyright promotes creativity and innovation. In the Netflix/Spotify/Amazon era, many of us access copyrighted works purely in digital form – and that means we rarely have the chance t

We're taking part in Copyright Week, a series of actions and discussions supporting key principles that should guide copyright policy. Every day this week, various groups are taking on different elements of copyright law and policy, and addressing what's at stake, and what we need to do to make sure that copyright promotes creativity and innovation. There’s a crisis of creativity in mainstream American culture. We have fewer and fewer studios and record labels and fewer and fewer platf

We're taking part in Copyright Week, a series of actions and discussions supporting key principles that should guide copyright policy. Every day this week, various groups are taking on different elements of copyright law and policy, and addressing what's at stake, and what we need to do to make sure that copyright promotes creativity and innovation. Copyright owners increasingly claim more draconian copyright law and policy will fight back against big tech companies. In reality, copyri

Earlier this month, Iran’s internet connectivity faced one of its most severe disruptions in recent years with a near-total shutdown from the global internet and major restrictions on mobile access. EFF joined architects, operators, and stewards of the global internet infrastructure in calling upon authorities in Iran to immediately restore full and unfiltered internet access. We further call upon the international technical community to remain vigilant in monitoring connectivity and to support

We're taking part in Copyright Week, a series of actions and discussions supporting key principles that should guide copyright policy. Every day this week, various groups are taking on different elements of copyright law and policy, and addressing what's at stake, and what we need to do to make sure that copyright promotes creativity and innovation. Imagine every post online came with a bounty of up to $150,000 paid to anyone who finds it violates opaque government rules—all out of the

So many data breaches happen throughout the year that it can be pretty easy to gloss over not just if, but how many different breaches compromised your data. We're diving into these data breaches and more with our latest EFFector newsletter. Since 1990, EFFector has been your guide to understanding the intersection of technology, civil liberties, and the law. This latest issue tracks U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) surveillance spending spree, explains how hackers are

Lawmakers in Washington are once again focusing on kids, screens, and mental health. But according to Congress, Big Tech is somehow both the problem and the solution. The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing today on “examining the effect of technology on America’s youth.” Witnesses warned about “addictive” online content, mental health, and kids spending too much time buried in screen. At the center of the debate is a bill from Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) called the Kids O

The Baton Rouge Police Department announced this week that it will begin using a drone designed by military equipment manufacturer Lockheed Martin and Edge Autonomy, making it one of the first local police departments to use an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a history of primary use in foreign war zones. Baton Rouge is now one of the first local police departments in the United States to deploy an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with such extensive surveillance capabilities — a dangerous escal

Government invasion of a reporter’s home, and seizure of journalistic materials, is exactly the kind of abuse of power the First Amendment is designed to prevent. It represents the most extreme form of press intimidation. Yet, that’s what happened on Wednesday morning to Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson, when the FBI searched her Virginia home and took her phone, two laptops, and a Garmin watch. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has joined 30 other press freedom and civil liberties orga

EFF asked a California appeals court to uphold a lower court’s decision to strike a tech CEO’s lawsuit against a journalist that sought to silence reporting the CEO, Maury Blackman, didn’t like. The journalist, Jack Poulson, reported on Maury Blackman’s arrest for felony domestic violence after receiving a copy of the arrest report from a confidential source. Blackman didn’t like that. So, he sued Poulson��along with Substack, Amazon Web Services, and Poulson’s non-profit, Tech Inquiry—to try an

EFF last summer asked a federal judge to block the federal government from using Medicaid data to identify and deport immigrants. We also warned about the danger of the Trump administration consolidating all of the government’s information into a single searchable, AI-driven interface with help from Palantir, a company that has a shaky-at-best record on privacy and human rights. Now we have the first evidence that our concerns have become reality. “Palantir is working on a tool for Immigration a

This blog also appears in our Age Verification Resource Hub: our one-stop shop for users seeking to understand what age-gating laws actually do, what’s at stake, how to protect yourself, and why EFF opposes all forms of age verification mandates. Head to EFF.org/Age to explore our resources and join us in the fight for a free, open, private, and yes—safe—internet. EFF is against age gating and age verification mandates, and we hope we’ll win in getting existing ones overturned and new ones preve

Learn more about how ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on surveillance technology to spy on everyone – and potentially the entire population – in the United States, and how you can track the spending of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE has been conducting raids in American cities, targeting, observing, intimidating, mistreating, arresting, and torturing people who are living in the country illegally. They have also been targeting people with work permits, asylum seekers, permanent residents (people with a "green card"), and naturalized citizens.

Lees meer over hoe ICE honderden miljoenen dollars heeft uitgegeven aan surveillance technologie om iedereen – en mogelijk zelfs de hele bevolking – in de Verenigde Staten te bespioneren, en hoe u de uitgaven van het Ministerie van Binnenlandse Veiligheid kunt volgen. ICE heeft Amerikaanse steden binnengevallen en richt zich op, observeert, intimideert, mishandelt, arresteert en martelt mensen die illegaal in het land verblijven. Ze hebben ook mensen met werkvergunningen, asielzoekers, permanente inwoners (mensen met een "green card") en naturalisatieburgers op het oog.

Read more about how ICE has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on surveillance technology to spy on anyone—and potentially everyone—in the United States, and how to follow the Homeland Security Spending Trail.. ICE has been invading U.S. cities, targeting, surveilling, harassing, assaulting, detaining, and torturing people who are undocumented immigrants. They also have targeted people with work permits, asylum seekers, permanent residents (people holding “green cards”), naturalized citizens,

Read more about how enterprising hackers have started projects to do counter surveillance against ICE, and learn how to follow the Homeland Security spending trail. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has a new budget under the current administration, and they are going on a surveillance tech shopping spree. Standing at $28.7 billion dollars for the year 2025 (nearly triple their 2024 budget) and at least another $56.25 billion over the next three years, ICE's budget would be the

Learn more about how activist hackers have launched projects to monitor the activities of ICE, and discover how you can track the spending of the Department of Homeland Security. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has a new budget under the current administration, and they are in the process of acquiring a large amount of surveillance equipment. With a budget of $28.7 billion for 2025 (nearly three times the amount allocated for 2024), and at least an additional $56.25 billion over the next three years, ICE's budget represents...

Lees meer over hoe ondernemende hackers projecten zijn gestart om toezicht te houden op de activiteiten van ICE en leer hoe u de bestedingen van het Ministerie van Binnenlandse Veiligheid kunt volgen. De Amerikaanse Immigratie- en Douanehandhaving (ICE) heeft een nieuw budget onder de huidige regering, en ze zijn bezig met een grootschalige aanschaf van surveillanceapparatuur. Met een budget van 28,7 miljard dollar voor 2025 (bijna drie keer zoveel als hun budget voor 2024) en minstens nog eens 56,25 miljard dollar over de komende drie jaar, zou het budget van ICE het...

Age verification requirements are rapidly spreading, ushering in a new era of online surveillance, censorship, and exclusion, not just for young people, but for everyone. Laws that mandate age verification typically require websites and apps to collect sensitive data from every user, often through intrusive methods such as identity checks, biometric scans, or other questionable "estimation techniques," before granting access to certain content or services. Legislators often tout these laws as the ultimate solution for "child online safety."

Deze handleiding is geschreven door Andrew Zuker, met ondersteuning van de Heinrich Boell Foundation. De Amerikaanse overheid publiceert grote hoeveelheden gedetailleerde gegevens over de uitgaven, maar het doorzoeken van deze gegevens en het vinden van informatie kan een uitdaging zijn. Complexe zoekfuncties en slechte gebruikersinterfaces op overheidswebsites kunnen een onderzoek bemoeilijken, net als inconsistente bedrijfsprofielen en complexe bedrijfsstructuren. Deze week hebben EFF en de Heinrich Boell Foundation een bijgewerkte versie uitgebracht van...

De verplichtingen voor leeftijdsverificatie verspreiden zich snel en brengen een nieuw tijdperk van online toezicht, censuur en uitsluiting met zich mee, niet alleen voor jongeren, maar voor iedereen. Wetten die leeftijdscontrole vereisen, verplichten websites en apps doorgaans om gevoelige gegevens van elke gebruiker te verzamelen, vaak via ingrijpende methoden zoals identiteitscontroles, biometrische scans of andere twijfelachtige "schattingstechnieken", voordat ze toegang verlenen tot bepaalde inhoud of diensten. Wetgevers prijzen deze wetten als de ultieme oplossing voor de "online veiligheid van kinderen."