In our 662nd issue:

• UPDATES
• MINILINKS
• ANNOUNCEMENTS

After One Year of NSA Leaks, What Do We Know and Why Does it Matter?

June 5th marked one year since the first Snowden leak. EFF has been fighting NSA surveillance for years, but the new insights sparked an unprecedented public debate. Since that first revelation, we’ve learned a lot about exactly how insidious, ubiquitous, and aggressive NSA surveillance really is—enough to debunk the favorite arguments of NSA apologists. While we are not been pleased with the recently weakened legislation that some in Congress are saying will end bulk surveillance, we have been excited to see litigation, legislative advocacy, and activism all join forces, domestically and globally, to fight surveillance.

In Harm's Way: Why We Need Net Neutrality

Since the FCC released its proposal for new net neutrality rules last month, there has been a lot of talk about the potential for an Internet fast lane, and rightfully so. But there are many ways that network discrimination can happen. Understanding all of them makes it clear that when ISPs have the ability to pick Internet "winners," we all lose. Fortunately, there's still time to comment on the FCC's proposal at DearFCC.org.

Join the Tor Challenge. Help keep Tor Strong.

Tor is a tool that helps you stay anonymous online by routing traffic through relays operated by individuals like you, all over the world. hese relays help people in repressive regimes access blocked sites. Additionally, they helps maintain anonymity for whistleblowers, domestic violence survivors and other vulnerable people. The bottomline is that Tor helps everyone maintain privacy while using the Internet. We’re running the Tor Challenge to strengthen the Tor network. The more people operate relays, the stronger and safer Tor is. Visit Tor Challenge to learn how you can participate today.

EFF Updates

NOTICE: EFF's Privacy Policy Has Been Updated Twice. We've Also Added and Updated a Technology Projects Privacy Policy

EFF has updated our Privacy Policy twice in the past month, to reflect some upgrades and changes to the website. We also added, and then slightly edited, a Technology Projects Privacy Policy to cover the increasing amount of software that EFF provides.

Most recently, on June 12, 2014 we updated it to reflect: 1) changes to reflect EFF’s new Action Center, including the consequences for logging in or clicking “remember me,” the identifying information we retain about logged in users and how to manage your account; 2) information used by EFF about purchasers in our Shop; 3) a specific section addressing EFF’s use of Third Party Services and API’s.

Previously, on May 1st we updated our policy to reflect: 1) introduction of EFF's separate Technology Projects Privacy Policy; 2) that we will try to give prior notice to users when someone seeks their data from us and that we have actually challenged requests for access to our user information; 3) clarifying that we will ensure that information we give to third parties is protected, even if that is not through a specific agreement (it may, for example, be because the third party does not engage in logging.)

And while we launched the Technology Projects Privacy Policy on May 1, 2014, we updated it on June 2, 2014 to reflect the possible collection of information for research datasets.

Appeals Court Decision Crushes Key Copyright Troll Tactic

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit agreed with EFF in its decision in AF Holdings v. Does 1-1058, ruling that trolls shouldn't have the ability to sue large groups of John Doe defendants together with minimal evidence. Fun fact: to come to its conclusion, the court relied on EFF's analogy comparing BitTorrent users who download files to blackjack players who visit a table at different times.

Senator Leahy Kills Patent Reform (For Now)

Sen. Leahy announced that he would be taking patent legislation off the Judiciary Committee's agenda, effectively killing the House's strong patent reform bill, the Innovation Act.

17 Student Groups Pen Open Letters on the Toxicity of Mass Surveillance to Academic Freedom

Students from 17 groups published open letters about the harm surveillance is doing to speech, academics, and campus life at their universities.

EFF Argues Government Must Stop Destroying Evidence in Jewel v. NSA

After communications with government lawyers revealed that the government has continued to destroy evidence relating to EFF's case against the NSA, EFF filed an emergency motion asking the Court to block the destruction. The judge asked for further briefing on the issue.

Defamation Suits Used to Bludgeon Southeast Asian Bloggers and Independent Press

Southeast Asia has a high level of social media and Internet use. Unfortunately, bloggers in several Southeast Asian countries are under attack for expressing political opinions, facing defamation suits that threaten to inhibit free expression and discourse.

Cambodia's Draft Law Turns Free Speech into Cybercrime

A leaked draft of a new Cambodian cybercrime law contains provisions that would seriously threaten freedom of speech and expression—in a place where the Internet is often the best source of uncensored information for citizens.

Twitter Steps Down From the Free Speech Party

Twitter has made the decision to voluntarily comply with court orders requesting censorship in Russia and Pakistan. This is particularly concerning because Twitter cannot be compelled to comply with these orders—it does not have significant assets or employees in either country—and thus the decision appears to signal an end to Twitter’s policy to support free speech whenever possible.

miniLinks

Stop Creepy Online Tracking with Privacy Badger

Check out our handy one-page explanation on how Privacy Badger helps protect you online.

Cory Doctorow novel pulled from school reading list

EFF Fellow Cory Doctorow’s book "Little Brother" was yanked from a Florida high school "because of concerns that some parents might object to. . .the idea of questioning authority."

Data Pirates of the Caribbean: The NSA Is Recording Every Cell Phone Call in the Bahamas

Leaked NSA documents show that the NSA exploited DEA authority to record audio of nearly every cell phone call in the Bahamas.

Internet Giants Erect Barriers to Spy Agencies

Among other changes made by Internet companies, Google has introduced a new email encryption tool.

Supported by Members

Our members make it possible for EFF to bring legal and technological expertise into crucial battles about online rights. Whether defending free speech online or challenging unconstitutional surveillance, your participation makes a difference. Every donation gives technology users who value freedom online a stronger voice and more formidable advocate.

Please consider becoming an EFF member today.

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Administrivia

Editor: Nadia Kayyali, Activist
editor@eff.org

EFFector is a publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
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