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EFFector Vol. 31, No. 8 Monday, May 21, 2018 editor@eff.org
A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
ISSN 1062-9424
effector: n, Computer Sci. A device for producing a
desired change.
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In our 734th issue:
* EFF Wins Final Victory Over Podcasting Patent
The Supreme Court denied Personal Audio LLC's petition for review, putting an
end to a years-long fight between EFF and the patent troll. Personal Audio
had claimed that podcasters like Adam Corolla and other, smaller podcasters
infringed its patent for a "system disseminating media content" in serialized
episodes. EFF challenged the patent arguing, among other things, that people
were podcasting before Personal Audio first applied for its patent. EFF first
won in the Patent Office in 2015, and with the decision from the Supreme
Court, this case is finally over and podcasters can cast without fear.
Read more: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/05/eff-wins-final-victory-over-podcasting-patent
* The Senate Voted to Stand Up for Net Neutrality, Now Tell the House to Do the Same
On May 16, the Senate voted to restore the 2015 Open Internet Order and
reject the FCC’s attempt to gut net neutrality. The final Senate vote was
52 to 47 in favor. That puts a bare majority of the Senate in step with the
86% of Americans [1] who oppose the FCC’s repeal of net neutrality
protections. This is a great first step, but now the fight moves to the House
of Representatives.
Under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), a majority vote in Congress can
overturn the FCC's rule. With the passage of the CRA measure in the Senate,
we're partway to restoring net neutrality protections. However, a majority of
the members of the House of Representatives have not committed to voting for
it. We have to keep up the momentum that got us a win in the Senate by
getting 218 representatives committing to voting in favor. Take a minute to
check where your representative stands, and, if they haven't already, ask
them to stand up for net neutrality. [2]
[1]
http://vop.org/overwhelming-bipartisan-public-opposition-repealing-net-neutrality-persists/
[2] https://checkyourreps.org/
Read more: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/05/senate-voted-stand-net-neutrality-now-tell-house-do-same
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EFF Updates
* PGP and EFAIL: Frequently Asked Questions
Researchers have developed code exploiting several vulnerabilities in PGP
(including GPG) for email and theorized many more which others could build
upon. This understandably has caused people to ask many questions. We've
attempted to answer some of the most important ones for you, such as what
attacks the researchers have found, who was affected by the vulnerabilities,
and what to look out for going forward.
We'll continue to update our pages as this situation evolves, so keep
checking back on EFF.org.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/05/pgp-and-efail-frequently-asked-questions
* Privacy Badger Rolls Out New Ways to Fight Facebook Tracking
EFF released a new version of Privacy Badger featuring a new, experimental
way to protect your privacy on and, crucially, off Facebook. When you click a
link on Facebook, the external link is wrapped in a URL that points back to
Facebook.com. Facebook is not alone in this, as companies like Google and
Twitter do the same. Facebook goes a step further by hiding that wrapped
Facebook.com URL so it looks innocuous, but is still tracking where you go.
To combat this, the latest version of Privacy Badger finds all those wraps as
they’re added to the page, replaces them with their "unwrapped"
equivalents, and blocks the tracking code that would run when you hover over
or click on them.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/05/privacy-badger-rolls-out-new-ways-fight-facebook-tracking
* EFF Presents John Scalzi's Science Fiction Story About Our Right to Repair Petition to the Copyright Office
Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act makes it illegal to get
around any sort of lock that controls access to copyrighted material. While
it is possible to get exemptions to this provision, it's a long and arduous
process that still results in burdens being placed on things like repair
shops. Because there is copyrighted software in cars, mechanics can be
violating the law when they try to get into the diagnostic systems of your
car. That's a nightmare scenario, which author John Scalzi was kind enough to
write us a science fiction story to illustrate.
* The Secure Data Act Would Stop Backdoors
A new bill introduced in Congress gets encryption right. The bipartisan
Secure Data Act would protect companies that make encrypted mobile phones,
tablets, desktop and laptop computers, as well as developers of popular
software for sending end-to-end encrypted messages, including Signal and
WhatsApp, from being forced to alter their products in a way that would
weaken the encryption. The bill also forbids the government from seeking a
court order that would mandate such alterations.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/05/secure-data-act-would-stop-backdoors
* Fourth Circuit Rules That Suspicionless Forensic Searches of Electronic Devices at the Border Are Unconstitutional
In a victory for privacy rights at the border, on May 9, the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that forensic searches of electronic
devices carried out by border agents without any suspicion that the traveler
has committed a crime violate the U.S. Constitution.
* Privacy Policy Update
We’ve updated our privacy policy to provide more transparency about our
privacy practices and more detailed information about how you can access,
correct and remove personal data stored with EFF.
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Announcements
* EFF at WIPO SCCR 36
EFF will be attending the 36th meeting of the Standing Committee on Copyright
and Related Rights of WIPO, the World Intellectual Property Organization. The
meeting will discuss a proposed treaty that would give broadcasters exclusive
new rights over the material that they broadcast, as well as copyright
limitations and exceptions for libraries and archives and for education, and
the status of copyright in the digital age.
https://www.eff.org/event/eff-wipo-sccr-36
* Members-Only Speakeasy : Bay Area
Join the Electronic Frontier Foundation staff for a drink on Wednesday, May
30 in San Francisco! Raise a glass with EFF attorneys, technologists, and
activists and discover our latest work defending your freedom online. EFF's
Speakeasy events are free, informal meetups that give you a chance to mingle
with local members and meet the people behind the world's leading digital
civil liberties organization. It is also /our/ chance to thank you, the EFF
members who make this work possible.
As a special treat, the EFF staff will give the crowd a brief update on our
work on emerging online rights issues. If you are a current San Francisco Bay
Area EFF member accepting email, you will find a personal invitation with
location details in your inbox! Space is limited, so reserve your spot. If
you are traveling through San Francisco next week and would like to join in,
contact membership@eff.org [1] for more information.
[1]
https://www.eff.org/event/members-only-speakeasy-bay-area-5
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Job Openings
* Grant Writer - Temporary
EFF is looking for a temporary Grant Writer to support EFF's fundraising
operations during a team member’s leave of absence. Do you love Internet
freedom? Do you have experience in persuasive writing and grant management?
Consider joining us!
https://www.eff.org/opportunities/jobs/grant-writer-temporary
* Civil Liberties Staff Attorney
EFF is looking to hire an experienced litigator with an unshakeable sense of
justice and Fourth Amendment expertise to join our civil liberties team.
https://www.eff.org/opportunities/jobs/civil-liberties-staff-attorney
* Staff Technologist – JavaScript Developer
EFF is seeking a full-time Staff Technologist to work with our Browser
Extensions team as the lead developer for [1]HTTPS Everywhere [2].
[1] https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
[2] https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
https://www.eff.org/opportunities/jobs/staff-technologist-javascript-developer
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MiniLinks
- Google Employees Resign in Protest Against Pentagon Contract
Several Google employees have left the company, writing that continued
involvement in the Pentagon's Project Maven deserves more sober reflection
and public debate. (Gizmodo)
https://gizmodo.com/google-employees-resign-in-protest-against-pentagon-con-1825729300
- What Proportion of Social Media Posts Get Moderated, and Why?
We need transparency from the platforms themselves when it comes to how they
moderate content online. For now, researchers including Nicolas Suzor have
been tracking how the content moderation processes of major platforms are
actually working in practice. (Digital Social Contract)
- Service Meant to Monitor Inmates’ Calls Could Track You, Too
Prison phone company Securus, which markets its location-finding service as a
feature for law enforcement and corrections officials, can get real-time
location data for nearly any cellphone in the country. (New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/10/technology/cellphone-tracking-law-enforcement.html
- How Cities Are Reining in Out-of-Control Policing Tech
Cities and counties are making progress in the fight to rein in law
enforcement surveillance. (Slate)
- ICE Just Abandoned Its Dream of ‘Extreme Vetting’ Software That Could Predict Whether a Foreign Visitor Would Become a Terrorist
EFF and dozens of privacy groups fought the "extreme vetting" software
initiative for more than a year. Its closure is a triumph. (Washington Post)
- Congress' Latest Move to Extend Copyright Protection Is Misguided
The CLASSICS Act is "as blatant a gift without any public return as is
conceivable. And it's not just a gift through cash; it's a gift through a
monopoly regulation of speech," says Lawrence Lessig. (Wired)
https://www.wired.com/story/congress-latest-move-to-extend-copyright-protection-is-misguided/
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