Author: Paige Collings

For many years, data brokers have existed in the shadows, exploiting gaps in privacy laws to harvest our information—all for their own profit. They sell our precise movements without our knowledge or meaningful consent to a variety of private and state actors, including law enforcement agencies. And they show no sign of stopping. This incentivizes […]

The UK is having a moment. In late July, new rules took effect that require all online services available in the UK to assess whether they host content considered harmful to children, and if so, these services must introduce age checks to prevent children from accessing such content. Online services are also required to change […]

Young people should be able to access information, speak to each other and to the world, play games, and express themselves online without the government making decisions about what speech is permissible. But in one of the latest misguided attempts to protect children online, internet users of all ages in the UK are being forced […]

Staying safe whilst dating online should not be the responsibility of users—dating apps should be prioritizing our privacy by default, and laws should require companies to prioritize user privacy over their profit. But dating apps are taking shortcuts in safeguarding the privacy and security of users in favour of developing and deploying AI tools on […]

Lawmakers and regulators around the world have been prolific with passing legislation restricting freedom of expression and privacy for LGBTQ+ individuals and fueling offline intolerance. Online platforms are also complicit in this pervasive ecosystem by censoring pro-LGBTQ+ speech, forcing LGBTQ+ individuals to self-censor or turn to VPNs to avoid being profiled, harassed, doxxed, or criminally […]

Last week, EFF joined 30 civil society groups and academics in warning UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Department for Science, Innovation & Technology Secretary Peter Kyle about the law enforcement risks contained within the draft Data Use and Access Bill (DUA Bill). Clause 80 of the DUA Bill weakens the safeguards for solely automated […]

In January, Meta made targeted changes to its hateful conduct policy that would allow dehumanizing statements to be made about certain vulnerable groups. More specifically, Meta’s hateful conduct policy now contains the following text: People sometimes use sex- or gender-exclusive language when discussing access to spaces often limited by sex or gender, such as access […]

This post is part three in a series of posts about EFF’s work in Europe. Read about how and why we work in Europe here.  EFF’s mission is to ensure that technology supports freedom, justice, and innovation for all people of the world. While our work has taken us to far corners of the globe, […]

EFF is delighted to be attending RightsCon again—this year hosted in Taipei, Taiwan between 24-27 February. RightsCon provides an opportunity for human rights experts, technologists, activists, and government representatives to discuss pressing human rights challenges and their potential solutions.  Many EFFers are heading to Taipei and will be actively participating in this year’s event. Several […]

Digital security training can feel overwhelming, and not everyone will have access to new apps, new devices, and new tools. There also isn’t one single system of digital security training, and we can’t know the security plans of everyone we communicate with—some people might have concerns about payment processors preventing them from obtaining fees for […]