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We're thrilled to share that the Electronic Frontier Alliance (EFA) has a fresh new look and a wealth of new resources for community organizers. EFF can’t be everywhere and in every fight, which is why back in 2016 we committed to building a network with grassroots organizations, and made the EFA a critical part of our work. Local organizers from within the community are better situated to build support and change in the long term. So when civil liberties and digital rights are under threat in your neck of the woods, we hope you find or become a local EFA member.

After eight very eventful years for local organizing, the EFA is going strong with over 70 active groups across the United States. To renew our support of the network, EFF revamped the look of the EFA and made a number of improvements to our online hub for all things EFA: https://efa.eff.org.

But the network is bigger than EFF. EFA is composed of its members, and relies on dedicated local advocates, educators, and hackers to help drive the work forward. If you’re part of a not-for-profit community group, we encourage you to apply.

JOIN EFA

Defend Digital Rights Locally

What Is the EFA?

The Electronic Frontier Alliance (EFA) is an information-sharing network of grassroots groups across the United States, administered by EFF’s team of organizers. All groups are totally independent—meaning no one is obliged to follow EFF’s lead to be supported. The result is a network with incredibly diverse beliefs, focuses, and tactics; from hacker spaces developing open-source software tools, to community ISPs, to student groups hosting surveillance self-defense workshops.

A few things do unify alliance members, though. All groups must be tied to a local community, meaning their work is based in a specific region or institution, with meaningful ways for other community members to get involved. Groups must also be not-for-profit; either unincorporated or registered as a non-profit. Finally, all member organizations publicly endorse EFA’s five core principles:

- Free expression: People should be able to speak their minds to whomever will listen.

- Security: Technology should be trustworthy and answer to its users.

- Privacy: Technology should allow private and anonymous speech, and let users set their own parameters about what to share with whom.

- Creativity: Technology should promote progress by allowing people to build on the ideas, creations, and inventions of others.

- Access to knowledge: Curiosity should be rewarded, not stifled.

How EFF Supports EFA Members

EFF is committed to building and strengthening the EFA network. EFF doesn’t bottleneck on-the-ground activists, or parachute into local communities with marching orders. Instead, we aim to build the network in autonomous and decentralized ways, helping build local power through base-building, and fostering more connections between aligned groups.

That’s not to say we stay on the sidelines: EFF’s organizers respond to requests from community groups with hands-on support. This includes helping to create an effective local campaign, host successful events, write a local op-ed, or tackle the administrative headaches faced by new and growing groups. We also lend EFF’s platform by promoting local work. In short, membership comes with an EFF support-line which, pending capacity, can help make local work more impactful.

EFF’s organizing team also brings groups together with a number of member-only convenings. Exclusive EFA videoconferences are hosted every month, with talks and workshops from digital rights and organizing experts, as well as an opportunity to brainstorm or workshop work with other organizers in the network. Organizers also regularly host in-person EFA meetups and socials, and will leverage EFF’s network to assist with local networking necessary for coalition work. EFF also hosts multiple socials and in-person EFA meetups exclusive to members across the country throughout the year.

As an added bonus, EFA groups also get discounts on EFF annual memberships, unlocking additional exclusive events, mailings, and member gifts. 

New Look, Site, and Resources

Bringing a new look to the EFA site (and new swag) was the perfect excuse to also extend and update our resources for organizers.

Allies Directory

EFF staff meet an endless stream of people frustrated with constant infringements of our rights, especially when these intrusions start hitting us at home. There are sometimes clear ways to take action when congress or big tech are making bad decisions. But what about when it’s in your own backyard?

That’s where the EFA allies directory (https://efa.eff.org/allies) comes in. Finding a local group can turn that pent up frustration into action. Even if your nearest group has a different focus, they’ll be like-minded digital right defenders familiar with other local resources and organizations. Our site offers an easy way to filter by state, and get a quick introduction to each group and how to best contact them.

Organizer Toolkits

While EFF’s organizing team is always eager to help groups grow, many groups run into the same hurdles. That’s why we’ve prepared several organizer toolkits with evergreen advice for starting and growing a group. These include:

• Organizing events: Every event, from a regular meeting to hosting a conference, requires clear planning and many logistical considerations.

• Social media advocacy: It can be challenging to make an impact online, but with some consistency and helpful tips it can be an effective tool for rallying support.

• Building coalitions with sign-on letters: Approaching decision-makers with a host of groups supporting or opposing a policy in a sign-on letter is a powerful advocacy tool. If approached carefully, it can also serve as a starting point for continued coalition work and support across issues.
• Traditional media tips: Talking to a reporter about your work can be stressful, but with the right preparation it helps spread your message and raise your group’s prestige.
• Student organizing: Students have to navigate a lot of unique and difficult dynamics starting a group, maintaining a group, and even protesting on campus.
• Community agreements: Local groups benefit from consensus, from event expectations to community guidelines, making it clear what behavior is encouraged and what is off-limits. This helps groups grow and keep everyone safe.

These toolkits are designed to be easily printed and shared, and are available at launch in both English and Spanish.

Building a Movement Together

The relaunch of the EFA is not just a cosmetic change; it represents our renewed commitment to supporting grassroots digital rights advocacy. The strength of the EFA network lies in its diversity and the dedication of its members. In an era where civil liberties and digital rights are under constant threat, a coordinated and well-supported grassroots movement is essential for addressing the digital rights challenges of today, and tomorrow.

So EFF calls on you to get involved. Find a local group, discuss joining the EFA with your group, or even get some friends together to start a new group. We need people from all walks of life, with a range of experience and expertise, to be a part of the work which will shape the future.

JOIN EFA

Defend Digital Rights Locally

For more information on how the EFA works and to join the fight, please check out our FAQ page or reach out to EFF’s organizing team at organizing[at]eff.org. Join us in building a future where digital rights are upheld and respected.

Police use of face recognition technology (FRT) poses a particularly massive risk to our civil liberties, particularly for Black men and women and other marginalized communities. That's why EFF supports a ban on government FRT use. Half-measures aren't up to the task.

However, even as half-measures go, California's legislature is currently considering a particularly weak proposal in the form of A.B. 1814, authored by Asm. Phil Ting (San Francisco). It would introduce paltry limits that will do nothing to address the many problems that police use of face recognition raises. In fact, the bill's language could make things worse in California.

This something? It's worse than nothing—by a long shot.

For example, major police departments in California have pledged not to use Clearview AI, a company that's been sued repeatedly for building its database from scraped social media posts, in light of public pressure. But A.B. 1814 expressly gives police departments the right to access "third-party databases," including Clearview AI. This could give law enforcement agencies cover to use databases that they have previously distanced themselves from and will erode progress civil liberties advocates have already made. The bill also states police have access to any state database, even if the images were not collected for law enforcement purposes.

California should not give law enforcement the green light to mine databases, particularly those built for completely different reasons. This goes against what people are expecting when they give their information to one database, only to learn later that information has been informing police face surveillance.

Finally, A.B. 1814 fails to even meet the bar of restrictions other police departments have agreed to adopt. As we have previously written, the Detroit Police Department agreed to limits on its use of face recognition technology after it falsely arrested Robert Williams as a result of a incorrect face recognition "match." As part of these limits, the Detroit police have agreed to "bar arrests based solely on face recognition results, or the results of the ensuing photo lineup." Their agreement also affirms that prosecutors and defense attorneys will have access to information about any uses of FRT in cases where law enforcement files charges.

The California bill does not even include these safeguards. It says that police can not use a database match as the sole basis for an arrest, but it would allow a photo lineup based on a match to be considered a second technique. This puts people who look like the suspect in front of witnesses who may be likely to pick that person—even if it is an entirely different person. That lets law enforcement agencies easily clear the low bar the bill sets.

A.B. 1814 is sitting in the Senate Appropriations Committee. EFF has joined with dozens of civil liberties organizations to urge the committee not to advance the bill. If it does move forward, we'll be asking you to help us fight it on the Senate floor.

Proponents of the bill have argued that, essentially, it is better to do something than have no guardrails in place. But this something? It's worse than nothing—by a long shot.

宮崎県日向灘を震源とする地震に関する被害状況等について（第6報）

情報通信審議会　電気通信事業政策部会　通信政策特別委員会（第15回）配布資料・議事概要

労働力調査（詳細集計）2024年（令和6年）4〜6月期平均

我が国のインターネットにおけるトラヒックの集計・試算

デジタル時代における放送制度の在り方に関する検討会（第29回）の開催

「石油コンビナート等防災体制検討会（石油コンビナートにおける事故に関する検討）報告書」の公表

石油コンビナート等における特定防災施設等及び防災組織等に関す る省令の一部を改正する省令（案）に対する意見公募の結果及び改正省令の公布

コスタリカ共和国科学技術・電気通信省との情報通信分野における協力覚書の署名

宮崎県日向灘を震源とする地震に関する被害状況等について（第5報）

競争ルールの検証に関するWG（第59回）

令和6年7月25日からの大雨に関する被害状況等について（第24報）

Bumble markets itself as a safe dating app, but it may be selling your deeply personal data unless you opt-out—risking your privacy for their profit. Despite repeated requests, Bumble hasn’t confirmed if they sell or share user data, and its policy is also unclear about whether all users can delete their data, regardless of where they live. The company had previously struggled with security vulnerabilities. 

So EFF has joined Mozilla Foundation and 11 other organizations urging Bumble to do a better job protecting user privacy.

Bumble needs to respect the privacy of its users and ensure that the company does not disclose a user’s data unless that user opts-in to such disclosure. This privacy threat should not be something users have to opt-out of. Protecting personal data should be effortless, especially from a company that markets itself as a safe and ethical alternative.

Dating apps collect vast amounts of intimate details about their customers—everything from sexual preferences to precise location—who are often just searching for compatibility and love. This data falling into the wrong hands can come with unacceptable consequences, especially for those seeking reproductive health care, survivors of intimate partner violence, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. For this reason, the threshold for a company collecting, selling, and transferring such personal data—and providing transparency about privacy practices—is high.

The letter urges Bumble to:

1. Clarify in unambiguous terms whether or not Bumble sells customer data. 
2. If the answer is yes, identify what data or personal information Bumble sells, and to which partners, identifying particularly if any companies would be considered data brokers. 
3. Strengthen customers’ consent mechanism to opt-in to the sharing or sale of data, rather than opt-out.”

Read the full letter here.

　自民党の裏金問題が、最大の焦点となった通常国会が閉会したが、これほど国民を愚弄した国会も珍しい。ザル法の改正政治資金規正法について、自民党議員からは「政治にはカネがかかる」と開き直ったような言い訳が出る始末。岸田首相も党首討論で「政治にはコストがかかる」と発言。朝日6月22日社説は「信を失う国民感覚とのずれ」と深まる政治の危機に警鐘を鳴らす。　国民を愚弄する自民党とも手を組んだ小池氏が、都知事選で3選を果たした。都民が小池都政をなぜ支持したのか、巧みなネット戦略で大量得票し..