Author: Rory Mir

Knowledge production doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Every great scientific breakthrough is built on prior work, and an ongoing exchange with peers in the field. That’s why we need to address the threat of major publishers and platforms having an improper influence on how scientific knowledge is accessed—or outright suppressed. In the digital age, the […]

EFF usually warns of new horrors threatening your rights online, but this Halloween we’ve summoned a few of our own we’d like to share.  Our new Signal Sticker Pack highlights some creatures—both mythical and terrifying—conjured up by our designers for you to share this spooky season. If you’re new to Signal, it’s a free and […]

Austin organizers turned out to rebuke the city’s misguided contract with Flock Safety— and won. This successful pushback from the community means at the end of the month Austin police will no longer be able to use the surveillance network of automated license plate readers (ALPRs) across the city. Two years ago Austin City Council […]

Approaching San Diego’s first annual review of the city’s controversial Flock Safety contract, a local coalition is calling on the city council to roll back this dangerous and costly automated license plate reader (ALPR) program. The TRUST Coalition—a grassroots alliance including Electronic Frontier Alliance members Tech Workers Coalition San Diego and techLEAD—has rallied to stop […]

Technologists play a huge role in building alternative tools and resources when our right to privacy and security are undermined by governments and major corporations. This direct resistance ensures that even in the face of powerful adversaries, communities can find some safety and autonomy through community-built tools. One of the most renowned names in this […]

This past January the new administration issued an executive order on Artificial Intelligence (AI), taking the place of the now rescinded Biden-era order, calling for a new AI Action Plan tasked with “unburdening” the current AI industry to stoke innovation and remove “engineered social agendas” from the industry. This new action plan for the president […]

The steady rise of decentralized networks this year is transforming social media.  Platforms like Mastodon, Bluesky, and Threads are still in their infancy but have already shown that when users are given options, innovation thrives and it results in better tools and protections for our rights online. By moving towards a digital landscape that can’t […]

Safe trick-or-treating this Halloween means being aware of the real monsters of street-level surveillance. You might not always see these menaces, but they are watching you. The real-world harms of these terrors wreak havoc on our communities. Here, we highlight just a few of the beasts. To learn more about all of the street-level surveillance […]

The 900 MHz band, a frequency range serving as a commons for all, is now at risk due to NextNav’s brazen attempt to privatize this shared resource.  Left by the FCC for use by amateur radio operators, unlicensed consumer devices, and industrial, scientific, and medical equipment, this spectrum has become a hotbed for new technologies […]

At DEF CON 32 this year, the Electronic Frontier Foundation became the first organization to be given the Uber Contributor award. This award recognizes EFF’s work in education and litigation, naming us “Defenders of the Hacker Spirit.” DEF CON Uber Contributor Award EFF Staff Attorney Hannah Zhao and Staff Technologist Cooper Quintin accepting the Uber […]