Today, President Obama is meeting with prominent American tech companies to discuss the ongoing NSA spying controversy. This comes just two days after Rajesh De, the general counsel of the NSA, stated before a government oversight board that tech companies were legally mandated to assist the government in mass surveillance programs and companies were aware of the surveillance. Specifically, the general counsel indicated that the collection under Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act was carried out with the “full knowledge and assistance of any company from which information is obtained.” De indicated that tech companies probably just didn’t know the word…
Author: EFFSource
In a single year, the public learned more information about the NSA and its global surveillance dragnet than we learned during the previous 30 years combined. Much of that knowledge can be attributed to whistleblower Edward Snowden and the journalists tirelessly working to inform the public about the NSA’s surveillance programs. But another force, one that has received far less attention, has been hard at work, too: the Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA. FOIA can get a bad rap. It can be slow, it can be tedious, and it can be frustrating—but when FOIA works, it can recalibrate the…
“Twitter and so on, we will root them out. The international community can say this or that – I don’t care. They will see the power of the Turkish Republic.” The above is a statement made by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during an election rally in Bursa just before banning Twitter late Thursday. Most reports state that the decision to block the site is in response to a leak of a voice recording of the prime minister that was published on YouTube and popularized on Twitter. The recording, purportedly of Erdoğan speaking to his son by phone,…
EFF has delivered a letter to Washington Governor Jay Inslee today, urging him to sign into law EHB 2789 to establish a reasonable set of rules under which drones may be operated in the state. The bill, which has already passed through the state House and Senate, creates a requirement for law enforcement agencies to obtain warrants in most cases, and additionaly sets up a data minimization framework and short retention limit. From our letter to the governor: As the power of high-tech surveillance gear increases, and the cost of deploying and using that gear decreases, legal limits must be…
This week, EFF joined over 5,600 individuals in a letter (PDF) pressing the Senate for meaningful patent reform—reform that goes beyond the current Senate proposals and provides strong fixes to the patent troll problem. As we wrote: We need to increase transparency in the litigation process, starting with demand letters and patent ownership; we need to control the costs of litigation by, when appropriate, shifting fees and limiting expensive discovery; we need better programs for challenging bad patents; and we need to protect end-users and consumers. Patent reform affects everybody involved in an innovation’s lifecycle. The 5,600 individual signers included over 1,500…
Sunshine Week may be just seven days in March, but fighting for government transparency is a year-round mission for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. In fact, it’s not unusual for litigation over public records to drag on for years upon years. To help make sense of it all, here’s a handy infographic illustrating EFF’s current Freedom of Information Act caseload. For more information on EFF’s FOIA lawsuits: EFF v. CIA – Intelligence Oversight Board Reports EFF v. DOJ – Expanding Surveillance Law EFF v. DOJ – Secret Interpretations of Section 215 of the Patriot Act EFF v. DOT – Drone Authorization…
Over 25 leading technology companies have joined a public letter urging Senator Ron Wyden, the newly appointed Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, to firmly oppose any form of “fast track” authority for trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Fast Track, also known as Trade Promotion Authority, is a mechanism that in practice limits Congressional oversight over U.S. trade policy, and gives the White House sweeping power to negotiate and finalize trade agreements. The companies call on Senator Wyden, already an outspoken advocate for greater transparency and public participation in TPP negotiations, to uphold his dedication to users and…
The Freedom of Information Act is not the only law the public can use to obtain records from the government. Most states have similar laws for accessing documents on the state and local levels. Here in California, EFF is using the California Public Records Act to learn what new technologies local law enforcement agencies are using and whether these technologies violate our rights. Do you drive a car in the greater Los Angeles Metropolitan area? According to the L.A. Police Department and L.A. Sheriff’s Department, your car is part of a vast criminal investigation. The agencies took a novel approach…
Government Claims EFF’s Lawsuits Don’t Cover Ongoing Surveillance – Raising Fears Key Documents May Have Been DestroyedSan Francisco – The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) will fight disturbing new government claims in an emergency court hearing Wednesday – claims that may imply records documenting ongoing government surveillance have been destroyed despite a judge’s order. Over the last several weeks, EFF has been battling to ensure that evidence of the NSA surveillance program will be preserved as part of its two cases challenging the illegal government spying: Jewel v. NSA and First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles v. NSA. But in a…
California State Sen. Monning (D-Carmel) has introduced legislation intended to protect Californians’ privacy rights behind the wheel. We have not yet completed our analysis of the bill, sponsored by the Automobile Association of America, but apparently a thorough analysis wasn’t required for the automotive industry to come out slinging FUD against it. In a hyperbolic statement, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, an industry group representing 12 of the largest car makers in the world, immediately condemned the bill as an “unacceptable threat to motorist safety, privacy” and a “data grab” by the AAA. The bill is no such thing. While we…