In our 679th issue:

• UPDATES
• MINILINKS
• ANNOUNCEMENTS

When the Government Comes Knocking, Which Companies Have Your Back?

EFF has released its newest report charting which companies promise to uphold best practices in privacy and transparency. The report analyzes the published policies of 24 major technology companies, including Facebook, Google, Twitter, and ISPs like AT&T and Comcast. While we've released this report for four years, this year we made the criteria more challenging to reflect the higher standards we've come to expect from technology companies.

In this year's Who Has Your Back, nine companies earned stars in every category available to them: Adobe, Apple, CREDO, Dropbox, Sonic, Wickr, Wikimedia, Wordpress.com, and Yahoo. Three companies scored especially poorly: AT&T, Verizon, and WhatsApp.

Fast Track Ping Pongs Back to the Senate as the Administration's Desperation Mounts

If you're finding it hard to follow the machinations over the Fast Track bill, you're not alone--even Washington insiders are finding it hard to predict the administration's next move. As of last week, the House of Representatives has passed the Fast Track bill, but not an associated bill that is a legislative precondition for pro-trade Democrats. This means that it's now up to the Senate to pass both bills if they can, and then to send them back to the House--and that President Obama will wait to see both bills on his desk before he signs either.

The message to the Senate remains the same--the bill must still be blocked. This means our call to action remains live, and that your support is as crucial as ever.

EFF Got Sued, But We're OK

Atlanta-based patent attorney Scott A. Horstemeyer sued EFF last month for defamation. He didn't appreciate the "Stupid Patent of the Month" blog post we wrote. We explained to him that there were no false facts in the post to retract or correct, and the opinions we expressed are founded on the undisputed facts and are fully protected by the Constitution. Within days of serving the complaint, Horstemeyer abandon his misguided and counterproductive litigation, unilaterally dismissing the lawsuit.

We thank our counsel at Bryan Cave and everyone who sent us messages of support, and we're looking forward to continuing to call out innovation-choking patents wherever we see them.

EFF25: Celebrate 25 Years of Fighting for the Users

EFF turns 25 on July 10! We're trying to add 2,500 new and renewing donors before our anniversary to strengthen the digital rights movement. Will you join us?

EFF Updates

Federal Circuit Strikes Its Own Blow Against Overbroad Software Patents

Good news for champions of common sense in patent law: in Williamson v. Citrix, the Federal Circuit overruled its ill-advised case law that has been one of the primary drivers of overbroad software patents. The court finally recognized that patent applicants cannot bypass certain limits on patent rights solely by avoiding "magic words." EFF had filed an amicus brief urging the court to do just that.

Twitter Gives Users a New Tool to Fight Harassment

Twitter is starting to take harassment seriously, announcing that it is adding the ability to share their block lists. At Twitter describes, "You can now export and share your block lists with people in your community facing similar issues or import another user’s list into your own account and block multiple accounts all at once, instead of blocking them individually." That's good news for targets of online harassment.

Facebook Overhauls Its Inmate Account Takedown Process

Over the last year, we have reported on numerous inmates being punished with solitary confinement--some receiving decades-long punishments--simply for posting to Facebook or even just having their families manage their Facebook accounts for them. Meanwhile, records obtained by EFF showed that Facebook had secretly censored hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of inmate accounts. In the wake of the scandal, prisons are now learning that Facebook has changed its practices and is being far more discerning when it comes to suspending inmate profiles. But one thing that hasn’t changed: Facebook’s lack of transparency.

Fighting for Privacy, Two Years After Snowden

Two years ago, Glenn Greenwald published in the Guardian a single document confirming a key piece of the NSA's surveillance program--a document that fundamentally transformed EFF's long-running battle for an end to unchecked government surveillance. We've done a great deal of work in the two years, but we've got ambitious goals ahead of us.

Ex-Mozilla Engineer Calls for Firefox to Protect Users Against Tracking (Meanwhile, You Can Install Privacy Badger)

Monica Chew, formerly of Mozilla, and Georgios Kontaxis, of Columbia University, published a paper detailing the proposed new Firefox Tracking Protection technology. With Tracking Protection enabled they found that they received 67.5% fewer cookies and reduced page load time by an astonishing 44% while browsing the Alexa top 200 news sites. But Tracking Protection remains deeply hidden in the browser's most obscure settings system. EFF's free tool Privacy Badger is a one-click solution for users who want to protect their privacy as they browse the web.

Cybersecurity and the Tylenol Murders

When a criminal started lacing Tylenol capsules with cyanide in 1982, Johnson & Johnson quickly sprang into action to ensure consumer safety. It increased its internal production controls, recalled the capsules, offered an exchange for tablets, and within two months started using triple-seal tamper-resistant packaging. The company focused on fixing weak points in their supply chain so that users could be sure that no one had interfered with the product before they purchased it. We can learn a lot from that example when we think through the challenges of cybersecurity we're facing today.

miniLinks

How a New Librarian of Congress Could Improve U.S. Copyright

The Atlantic reports on the Librarian of Congress stepping down in January after 27 years on the job, and how his successor could positively influence copyright policy.

When Your Conspiracy Theory Is Right

WNYC's Note To Self podcast discusses the history of the Stingray mobile tracking device, and the case that brought its use by law enforcement to light.

theSummit Fundraiser Retiring

After ten successful years, Vegas 2.0's theSummit at DEF CON is closing up shop. We thank them for their hard work in bringing the digital rights community together.

Supported by Donors

Since 1990, our members have made 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. Even just $25 a year will help support hard-hitting litigation, activism, and technology development. Please consider giving today.

Donate

Administrivia

Editor: Rainey Reitman, Activism Director
editor@eff.org

EFFector is a publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
eff.org

Membership & donation queries: membership@eff.org

General EFF, legal, policy, or online resources queries: info@eff.org