Electronic Frontier Foundation

The Metro Council will consider a bill to restrict Nashville police's use of drones following the MNPD’s trial program in Madison. The proposed ordinance, filed by Sandra Sepulveda, would require future drone programs to be approved by the council after public hearing and limit deployment to specific emergency situations. The proposal addresses growing privacy concerns regarding surveillance technology used by law enforcement.

Atlanta activist Samuel Tunick was charged with destruction of evidence for using a duress password to delete his phone's data during a warrantless border search by federal agents. The case highlights a legal loophole allowing warrantless cellphone searches at international ports of entry under the Fourth Amendment's border exception, which critics argue fails to account for the privacy implications of modern smartphones.

UC San Diego has ended its participation in the Operation Stonegarden grant program, which funded campus police collaboration with Border Patrol, following student and faculty protests. The decision followed a CalMatters investigation revealing the decade-long partnership and student concerns about risks to undocumented and international students.

DEF CON 2026 has banned Meta-style smart glasses with recording capabilities, including prescription lenses, citing privacy concerns. The conference's 2023 photo policy prohibits secret photography of attendees without consent. Similar bans by Monopoly Events and CalMac reflect growing privacy concerns over discreet recording devices.

Automated license plate readers (ALPRs), like those from Flock Safety, are widely deployed in the U.S., capturing vehicle data and creating searchable databases. Privacy advocates argue these systems enable unconstitutional surveillance by aggregating data to track individuals' movements, while law enforcement claims they aid crime-solving. Courts have not yet ruled on whether denser systems violate constitutional protections.

The article discusses how bots now generate more internet traffic than humans, but websites remain unadapted to accommodate both human and agentic visitors. The author describes their experience with Anthropic's Fable subagents attempting to access sites like archive.org, highlighting how agents circumvent website blocks. The comparison to the Star Wars cantina scene illustrates the exclusion of non-human visitors and the economic tension between publishers and agents.

The FCC is considering rules requiring carriers to collect personal data like name, address, and government ID for phone service activation, potentially ending anonymous prepaid phones. Privacy advocates argue this would harm vulnerable groups and fail to address scam calls, as most illegal robocalls originate overseas.

The article advocates against Congress implementing mandatory age verification measures online, highlighting an Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) campaign urging lawmakers to oppose such policies. It includes a call to action through an online petition.

The UK has introduced a new social media ban for under-16s, but the article argues this policy will cause more harm than it prevents. The piece critiques the regulation's potential negative consequences without explicitly detailing them.

A new bill targets government pressure to silence lawful online speech, as highlighted in an article from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). The article and its comments section indicate public engagement with the issue.

Cory Doctorow discusses the unsustainable hype around AI with Charlie Warzel on the Galaxy Brain podcast, critiquing the ideology behind AI development and its potential to prioritize corporate power over human flourishing. He introduces the concept of 'enshittification,' describing how platforms degrade services after gaining market dominance, and highlights his new book, 'The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI,' which expands on these themes.

Over 60 rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have urged the UK Home Office to abandon plans to use AI-powered facial age estimation to determine the age of asylum-seeking children, citing concerns about bias, inaccuracy, and legal issues. The technology, set for a 2027 rollout, faces criticism for unreliable performance, particularly affecting people of color and trauma-affected individuals, with error margins of up to 2.5 years at the 16-to-18-year-old threshold.

A Virginia man is suing Amazon and its subsidiary Ring over the Familiar Faces feature, alleging it collects facial-recognition data without consent. The lawsuit claims the AI-powered feature captures biometric data from individuals, including passersby, and stores it on Amazon's servers, violating state privacy laws.

A House subcommittee will hold a June 4 hearing focused on the impact of artificial intelligence on cybersecurity, featuring witnesses from Google, the Frontier Model Forum, Corridor Security, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Subcommittee chairman Andy Ogles emphasized the need to address AI-enabled cyber threats and maintain U.S. leadership in AI technology.

California's Digital Age Assurance Act (AB 1043) may exempt open-source operating systems like Linux and FreeBSD from age verification requirements. Proposed amendments, including AB 1856, define 'open source' to exclude entities requiring age checks, potentially freeing Linux vendors from compliance. The Electronic Frontier Foundation and others criticize the law for stifling digital liberties and entrenching major OS providers.

X is limiting non-paid users to 50 posts and 200 replies per day, prompting outrage from social media personalities. The Amalgamated Union of Influencers is threatening an industry-wide strike. Elon Musk is behind the changes.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) argues to the 4th Circuit that electronic device searches at the border require a warrant. The EFF is advocating for increased privacy protections for travelers. This case has implications for digital privacy and security.

The UK government's plan to implement age gates across the internet risks breaking the web and may not effectively keep kids safe. Privacy groups and VPN providers have warned that the proposals could lead to a system where all users have to prove their age to access certain services. The plans have sparked concerns over privacy, security, and the potential for Big Tech dominance.

The article discusses concerns about Google's data handling practices, alleging they violated user promises and allowed ICE access to personal data. The user expresses frustration over this breach, linking it to potential privacy violations.

A California bill aims to require 3D printers to assist law enforcement in tracking ghost guns, which are untraceable firearms made via 3D printing. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has commented on the proposal, likely expressing concerns about privacy and regulatory overreach.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is urging California and New York attorneys general to investigate Google for failing to notify users before sharing data with ICE. The case involves Amandla Thomas-Johnson, a Cornell University PhD candidate who claims ICE accessed his email without prior notice.

The article criticizes California's proposed legislation aimed at censoring 3D printing, highlighting concerns over stifling innovation and free speech. It references EFF's opposition and HN discussions about the policy's potential impacts.

Reddit has been subpoenaed by federal prosecutors to identify an anonymous user criticizing Trump's immigration policies via a grand jury. The user's anonymity is protected under the First Amendment, but the government's use of a grand jury marks a significant escalation in efforts to unmask critics.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is leaving X due to a significant decline in platform engagement. The non-profit reports a drastic drop in impressions, with current posts receiving less than 3% of the traffic from seven years ago.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is leaving the social media platform X, marking a significant shift in its advocacy strategies. This decision comes amid ongoing debates about digital privacy and platform accountability.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has announced its departure from X, a social media platform. This move follows ongoing disagreements over platform policies and user privacy concerns.