đź‘® Amazon Ring Is Back in the Mass Surveillance Game | EFFector 37.9

EFF is gearing up to beat the heat in Las Vegas for the summer security conferences! Before we make our journey to the Strip, we figured let’s get y’all up-to-speed with a new edition of EFFector. This time we’re covering an illegal mass surveillance scheme by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, calling out dating apps for […]

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Sanctioning Facilitators of Iran’s Petroleum and Petrochemical Trade

Today, the United States is taking decisive action to disrupt the Iranian regime’s ability to fund its destabilizing activities, including its nuclear program, support for terrorist groups, and oppression of its own people. The Department of State is imposing sanctions on 20 entities for their involvement in the trade of Iranian petroleum, petroleum products, or […]

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Deputy UN chief urges bold action to transform food systems at global summit in Addis Ababa

Delivering closing remarks at the UN Food Systems Summit +4 Stocktaking Moment (UNFSS+4) in Addis Ababa, co-hosted by Ethiopia and Italy, Ms. Mohammed praised the growing momentum behind food systems transformation. But she also warned that with just five years left to 2030, “hunger and malnutrition persist. Climate shocks, conflict, debt, and inequality are widening […]

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EFF to Court: The DMCA Didn’t Create a New Right of Attribution, You Shouldn’t Either

Amid a wave of lawsuits targeting how AI companies use copyrighted works to train large language models that generate new works, a peculiar provision of copyright law is suddenly in the spotlight: Section 1202 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Section 1202 restricts intentionally removing or changing copyright management information (CMI), such as a […]

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Ryanair’s CFAA Claim Against Booking.com Has Nothing To Do with Actual Hacking

The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) is supposed to be about attacks on computer systems. It is not, as a federal district court suggested in Ryanair v. Booking.com, applicable when someone uses valid login credentials to access information to which those credentials provide access. Now that the case is on appeal, EFF has filed […]

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When Your Power Meter Becomes a Tool of Mass Surveillance

Simply using extra electricity to power some Christmas lights or a big fish tank shouldn’t bring the police to your door. In fact, in California, the law explicitly protects the privacy of power customers, prohibiting public utilities from disclosing precise “smart” meter data in most cases.  Despite this, Sacramento’s power company and law enforcement agencies […]

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You Went to a Drag Show—Now the State of Florida Wants Your Name

If you thought going to a Pride event or drag show was just another night out, think again. If you were in Florida, it might land your name in a government database. That’s what’s happening in Vero Beach, FL, where the Florida Attorney General’s office has subpoenaed a local restaurant, The Kilted Mermaid, demanding surveillance […]

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Just Banning Minors From Social Media Is Not Protecting Them

By publishing its guidelines under Article 28 of the Digital Services Act, the European Commission has taken a major step towards social media bans that will undermine privacy, expression, and participation rights for young people that are already enshrined in international human rights law.  EFF recently submitted feedback to the Commission’s consultation on the guidelines, […]

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Dating Apps Need to Learn How Consent Works

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 […]

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Samsung Electronics Clinches $16.5 Billion Semiconductor Deal with Tesla, Shares Surge

Samsung Electronics has finalized a $16.5 billion contract to supply semiconductors to Tesla, marking a major milestone for the South Korean tech giant’s foundry business. The agreement, confirmed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk on July 28, 2025, will run through December 31, 2033 and centers on the production of Tesla’s next-generation AI6 chips. The chips […]

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