Rights

Record Number of Countries Blocked the Internet in Blackouts in 2022

Global internet blackouts occurred at an alarming rate last year as countries worked to cover up humanitarian and war crimes, a new study shows.

Privacy & Security Nikki Main Feb 28

Meta’s Own Commissioned Report Says It Harmed Palestinian Human Rights

A human rights assessment claims Meta managed to simultaneously over-enforce erroneous content removals and under-enforce truly harmful, violating content.

Tech News Mack DeGeurin Sep 22

Congress Has a New $94 Billion Plan to Bring Affordable Internet to Everyone

The so-called digital divide in the U.S. has become all the more glaring over the course of the current pandemic. A new bill could help close the gap. Enter the Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act, a new bill that was spearheaded by Democrats Rep. James Clyburn, of South Carolina, and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar…

Tech Policy Shoshana Wodinsky Mar 11

Lawmakers Are Worried ISPs Can’t Deliver on Their Rural Broadband Promises

Last week, 160 members of Congress sent a letter to the FCC raising concerns about someRural Digital Opportunity Fund(RDOF) winners’ ability to provide rural America with the broadband access they promised. The letter did not call out individual internet service providers or organizations by name, but it did call on the FCC to “redouble its…

Internet Joanna Nelius Jan 26

Iran’s Internet Has Been Shut Off For 4 Days and No One Knows When It’s Coming Back

The government of Iran shut off the internet for virtually everyone in the country on Saturday as protests over fuel prices turned violent. The internet in Iran has now been inaccessible to the general population of 81 million for almost four days, and it’s not clear when the government will turn it back on. “The…

Tech News Matt Novak Nov 20

How a 19th-Century Teenager Sparked a Battle Over Who Owns Our Faces

More than a century ago, a teenager named Abigail Roberson had her photo taken at a professional studio in upstate New York. The photo wasn’t particularly scandalous—Roberson is pictured from the shoulders up, looking away from the camera—but it achieved the 1890s version of virality and set off a legal debate about privacy that remains…

Privacy & Security Ishaan Jhaveri Oct 25

When Will Robots Deserve Human Rights?

Films and TV shows like Blade Runner, Humans, and Westworld, where highly advanced robots have no rights, trouble our conscience. They show us that our behaviors are not just harmful to robots—they also demean and diminish us as a species. We like to think we’re better than the characters on the screen, and that when…

Artificial Intelligence George Dvorsky Jun 2

Terminally Ill Teen Wins Battle to Be Cryogenically Preserved

A terminally ill 14-year-old girl had her dying wish come true when a British high court approved her request to be preserved at a cryonics facility in the United States. It’s the first case of its kind, setting an important precedent for the future. The court ruled that the girl’s mother, who supported her daughter’s…

Tech News George Dvorsky Nov 18

What You Need to Know If You’re Going to Record the Cops

There are some very disturbing videos circulating the Internet right now, depicting the deaths of unarmed civilians at the hands of trained, armed men. Many of these videos even show individuals being shot in the back, or as they try to flee. These are videos of police officers in America killing unarmed black men like…

Tech News Nadia Kayyali - EFF Apr 17

Transparency Is Great, But It’s No Substitute For Free Speech

Twitter has released a new transparency report. The company—which scored five stars in our latest “Who Has Your Back?” report—blogged about the release, wrote that “[p]roviding this insight is simply the right thing to do, especially in an age of increasing concerns about government surveillance.” More than thirty Internet companies now publish transparency reports. Transparency…

Tech News Eva Galperin and Jillian York - EFF Feb 16

Canada’s Highest Court Affirms The Right To Doctor-Assisted Suicide

In a historic decision, the Canadian Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that adults who are mentally competent and suffering intolerably and permanently have the right to seek a doctor’s help in dying — and it doesn’t matter if that suffering is physical or psychological. For Canadians, this is a decision 22 years in the making.…

io9 George Dvorsky Feb 6

How International Human Rights Law Should Be Applied to NSA Spying

This past Monday, the Human Rights Committee commenced its one hundredth and tenth session in Geneva from March 10-28. During this session, the Committee will review the reports of several countries on how they are implementing the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), an international human rights treaty and one…

Privacy & Security Kimberly Carlson and Katitza Rodriguez - EFF Mar 12

Apple: Our Supplies (Largely) Don’t Come From War Zones

Apple has just published its supplier responsibility report, which audits its contract workers who produce and assemble hardware in factories outside the US. Perhaps most interestingly, Apple explains in the report that it has confirmed that none of its suppliers use tantalum—a metal that is regularly used in mobile electronics—from areas engaged in warfare. The…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe Feb 13

Why We Need to Take Terms and Conditions Way More Seriously

Every time you install a new app on your phone, you have to agree to some terms and conditions—which you do, blindly. But should we be taking those long passages of text more seriously? In this video, Professor Tom Rodden explains that the average user lingers over the terms and conditions section for 1.5—2 seconds.…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe Feb 6

Why DRM in Cars Is Going to Drive Everyone Mad

Forget extra cup holders or power windows: the new Renault Zoe comes with a “feature” that absolutely nobody wants. Instead of selling consumers a complete car that they can use, repair, and upgrade as they see fit, Renault has opted to lock purchasers into a rental contract with a battery manufacturer and enforce that contract…

Privacy & Security Parker Higgins - EFF Nov 14

Kim Dotcom’s Mega Manifesto: “Privacy Is a Basic Human Right”

Kim Dotcom just broadcast a batshit spectacle live to the world from his mansion in New Zealand. Lofty ideas! Techno! A fake FBI raid! The gist: His new startup Mega isn’t just super-private file storage in the cloud. It’s a political statement about your privacy. Your data is yours and yours alone. https://gizmodo.com/hands-on-with-kim-dotcoms-new-mega-this-service-could-5977163 Dotcom was…

Privacy & Security Mario Aguilar Jan 20

What Happens to Your Life When the Cloud Disappears?

Steve Wozniak recently lost his calendar. Mat Honan saw his iCloud security breached and his entire digital life was obliterated. In the cloud, when something goes wrong, you are screwed. There are no rules to stop it, no protections in place. There’s no responsibility. Companies like Apple or Google or Microsoft or Dropbox change features…

Tech News Dave Winer Aug 21

Connecticut Bill Aims to Make Cops Pay for First Amendment Violations

Officers of the law in Connecticut may soon have a strong incentive to tolerate citizens filming them—financial liability. Police typically work under the condition of “qualified immunity,” which protects them from liability when they screw up and say arrest a person for filming them. This deflects the legal costs (lawyer fees, settlements, etc) from the…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Apr 25

7 Rules for Recording Police

Last week the City of Boston agreed to pay Simon Glik $170,000 in damages and legal fees to settle a civil rights lawsuit stemming from his 2007 felony arrest for videotaping police roughing up a suspect. Prior to the settlement, the First Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that Glik had a “constitutionally protected right…

Privacy & Security Steve Silverman - Reason Apr 10

Sell Your Book in the iBookstore and Apple Won’t Let You Sell It Anywhere Else

Selling a book with Apple’s iBook Author program is now a one-way ticket to Apple being the only place you can sell the book. Maybe selling your book on iBooks isn’t such a great deal after all. Dan Wineman of Venomous Porridge went to publish his first book from within the iBooks Author application when…

Tech News Roberto Baldwin Jan 19

Rights

Record Number of Countries Blocked the Internet in Blackouts in 2022

Meta’s Own Commissioned Report Says It Harmed Palestinian Human Rights

Congress Has a New $94 Billion Plan to Bring Affordable Internet to Everyone

Lawmakers Are Worried ISPs Can’t Deliver on Their Rural Broadband Promises

Iran’s Internet Has Been Shut Off For 4 Days and No One Knows When It’s Coming Back

How a 19th-Century Teenager Sparked a Battle Over Who Owns Our Faces

When Will Robots Deserve Human Rights?

Terminally Ill Teen Wins Battle to Be Cryogenically Preserved

What You Need to Know If You’re Going to Record the Cops

Transparency Is Great, But It’s No Substitute For Free Speech

Canada’s Highest Court Affirms The Right To Doctor-Assisted Suicide

How International Human Rights Law Should Be Applied to NSA Spying

Apple: Our Supplies (Largely) Don’t Come From War Zones

Why We Need to Take Terms and Conditions Way More Seriously

Why DRM in Cars Is Going to Drive Everyone Mad

Kim Dotcom’s Mega Manifesto: “Privacy Is a Basic Human Right”

What Happens to Your Life When the Cloud Disappears?

Connecticut Bill Aims to Make Cops Pay for First Amendment Violations

7 Rules for Recording Police

Sell Your Book in the iBookstore and Apple Won’t Let You Sell It Anywhere Else

‘Cognitive Surrender’ Is a New and Useful Term for How AI Melts Brains

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Marshall Acton III Home Speaker Drops to a Record Low, the Deal Countdown Has Already Started

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

I’m Worried About the Helpless AI Disruptors of the Future

Russia Allegedly Swung at VPNs but Accidentally Hit Its Own Banking Sector Instead

Ryan Coogler Is Shifting ‘Animorphs’ Into a Disney+ Show

No Fooling, ‘Spaceballs 2’ Will Hit Theaters April 2027

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

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