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Election Security Remains Just as Vulnerable as in 2016 The ability to vote for local, state, and federal representatives is the cornerstone of democracy in America. With mid-term congressional elections looming in early November, many voices have raised concerns that the voting infrastructure used by states across the Union might be suspect, unreliable, or potentially vulnerable to attacks. As Congress considers measures critical to consumer rights and the functioning of technology (net neutrality, data privacy, biometric identification, and surveillance), ensuring the integrity of elections has emerged as a matter of crucial importance. With mid-term elections in just two months, Secretaries of State should be pressed to do their jobs and increase security before voters cast their ballots. On the one hand, the right to vote may not be guaranteed for many people across the country. Historically, access to the ballot has been hard fought, from the Revolution and the Civil War to

Election Security Remains Just as Vulnerable as in 2016 The ability to vote for local, state, and federal representatives is the cornerstone of democracy in America. With mid-term congressional elections looming in early November, many voices have raised concerns that the voting infrastructure used by states across the Union might be suspect, unreliable, or potentially vulnerable to attacks. As Congress considers measures critical to consumer rights and the functioning of technology (net neutrality, data privacy, biometric identification, and surveillance), ensuring the integrity of elections has emerged as a matter of crucial importance. With mid-term elections in just two months, Secretaries of State should be pressed to do their jobs and increase security before voters cast their ballots. On the one hand, the right to vote may not be guaranteed for many people across the country. Historically, access to the ballot has been hard fought, from the Revolution and the Civil War to

Victory! Gov. Brown Signs Bill Adding Sensible Requirements for DNA Collection From Minors California’s kids now have common-sense protections against unwarranted DNA collection. Gov. Jerry Brown this week signed A.B. 1584 , a new law requiring law enforcement to get either judicial approval or permission from both the minor and a parent, legal guardian, or attorney before collecting a DNA sample from the minor. EFF has supported the bill, introduced earlier this year by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, from the beginning . DNA can reveal an extraordinary amount of private information about a person, from   familial relationships   to   medical history   to   predisposition for disease . Children should not be exposed to this kind of privacy invasion without strict guidelines and the advice and consent of a parent, legal guardian, or attorney. Kids need to have an adult present who represents their interests and can help them understand both their rights and the lifelong

Victory! Gov. Brown Signs Bill Adding Sensible Requirements for DNA Collection From Minors California's kids now have common-sense protections against unwarranted DNA collection. Gov. Jerry Brown this week signed A.B. 1584 , a new law requiring law enforcement to get either judicial approval or permission from both the minor and a parent, legal guardian, or attorney before collecting a DNA sample from the minor. EFF has supported the bill, introduced earlier this year by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, from the beginning . DNA can reveal an extraordinary amount of private information about a person, from   familial relationships   to   medical history   to   predisposition for disease . Children should not be exposed to this kind of privacy invasion without strict guidelines and the advice and consent of a parent, legal guardian, or attorney. Kids need to have an adult present who represents their interests and can help them understand both their rights and the life

Facebook Data Breach Affects At Least 50 Million Users If you found yourself logged out of Facebook this morning, you were in good company. Facebook forced more than 90 million Facebook users to log out and back into their accounts Friday morning in response to a massive data breach . According to Facebook’s announcement , it detected earlier this week that attackers had hacked a feature of Facebook that could allow them to take over at least 50 million user accounts. At this point, information is scant: Facebook does not know who’s behind the attacks or where they are from, and the estimate of compromised accounts could rise as the company’s investigation continues. It is also unclear the extent to which user data was accessed and accounts misused. What is clear is that the attack—like many security exploits—took advantage of the interaction of several parts of Facebook’s code. At the center of this is the “View As” feature, which you can use to see how your profile appears to

Facebook Data Breach Affects At Least 50 Million Users If you found yourself logged out of Facebook this morning, you were in good company. Facebook forced more than 90 million Facebook users to log out and back into their accounts Friday morning in response to a massive data breach . According to Facebook’s announcement , it detected earlier this week that attackers had hacked a feature of Facebook that could allow them to take over at least 50 million user accounts. At this point, information is scant: Facebook does not know who’s behind the attacks or where they are from, and the estimate of compromised accounts could rise as the company’s investigation continues. It is also unclear the extent to which user data was accessed and accounts misused. What is clear is that the attack—like many security exploits—took advantage of the interaction of several parts of Facebook’s code. At the center of this is the “View As” feature, which you can use to see how your profile appears to

Copyright and Speech Should Be Treated Like Traffic Tickets While there may not be consensus on what they are, there is a shared belief that U.S. copyright law has some serious problems. But the CASE Act, which aims to treat copyright claims like traffic tickets, is not the answer. On Thursday, August 27, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the CASE Act (H.R. 3945). The CASE Act would create a “small claims” system for copyright, but not within the courts. Instead, cases would be heard by “Claims Officers” at the Copyright Office in Washington, D.C. And the Copyright Office has a history of presuming the interests of copyright holders are more valid than other legal rights and policy concerns, including the free expression values protected by fair use. Basically every concern we had about the CASE Act last year remains: Turning over quasi-judicial power, which would include issuing damages awards of up to $15,000 per work infringed or $30,000 per proceeding, and agre

A startling fact about climate change is that for every degree of global temperature increase, grain yields fall 5 percent. With temperatures rising by nearly 1% since 1880, the United Nations has called for a renewed push on controlling the chief cause of climate change: carbon dioxide. But how can businesses and  electric utilities  contribute to lowering CO2 — whilst also becoming more efficient and profitable? Here are two bold ideas:  Microgrids  and Grid Automation. Microgrids generate a more sustainable and self-sufficient future Microgrids : These are zones where energy can be managed autonomously. University campuses, industrial plants, and factories, are common examples. A microgrid can manage resources within its perimeter. These might include generation units — such as wind turbines, solar panels, and traditional fossil fuel generators — and  energy storage . The microgrid weaves these power units into a single manageable whole. Power from the outside can be balanced w

Copyright and Speech Should Be Treated Like Traffic Tickets While there may not be consensus on what they are, there is a shared belief that U.S. copyright law has some serious problems. But the CASE Act, which aims to treat copyright claims like traffic tickets, is not the answer. On Thursday, August 27, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the CASE Act (H.R. 3945). The CASE Act would create a “small claims” system for copyright, but not within the courts. Instead, cases would be heard by “Claims Officers” at the Copyright Office in Washington, D.C. And the Copyright Office has a history of presuming the interests of copyright holders are more valid than other legal rights and policy concerns, including the free expression values protected by fair use. Basically every concern we had about the CASE Act last year remains: Turning over quasi-judicial power, which would include issuing damages awards of up to $15,000 per work infringed or $30,000 per proceeding, and agre

Stupid Patent of the Month: Trolling Virtual Reality This month’s stupid patent describes an invention that will be familiar to many readers: a virtual reality (VR) system where participants can interact with a virtual world and each other. US Patent No. 6,409,599 is titled “Interactive virtual reality performance theater entertainment system.” Does the ’599 patent belong to the true inventors of VR? No. The patent itself acknowledges that VR already existed when the application was filed in mid-1999. Rather, it claims minor tweaks to existing VR systems such as having participants see pre-recorded videos. In our view, these tweaks were not new when the patent application was filed. Even if they were, minor additions to existing technology should not be enough for a patent. The ’599 patent is owned by a company called Virtual Immersion Technologies, LLC. This company appears to have no other business except patent assertion. So far, it has filed 21 patent lawsuits, targeting a va

Stupid Patent of the Month: Trolling Virtual Reality This month’s stupid patent describes an invention that will be familiar to many readers: a virtual reality (VR) system where participants can interact with a virtual world and each other. US Patent No. 6,409,599 is titled “Interactive virtual reality performance theater entertainment system.” Does the ’599 patent belong to the true inventors of VR? No. The patent itself acknowledges that VR already existed when the application was filed in mid-1999. Rather, it claims minor tweaks to existing VR systems such as having participants see pre-recorded videos. In our view, these tweaks were not new when the patent application was filed. Even if they were, minor additions to existing technology should not be enough for a patent. The ’599 patent is owned by a company called Virtual Immersion Technologies, LLC. This company appears to have no other business except patent assertion. So far, it has filed 21 patent lawsuits, targeting a va

You Gave Facebook Your Number For Security. They Used It For Ads. Add “a phone number I never gave Facebook for targeted advertising” to the list of deceptive and invasive ways Facebook makes money off your personal information. Contrary to user expectations and Facebook representatives’ own previous statements, the company has been using contact information that users explicitly provided for security purposes—or that users never provided at all —for targeted advertising. A group of academic researchers from Northeastern University and Princeton University , along with Gizmodo reporters , have used real-world tests to demonstrate how Facebook’s latest deceptive practice works. They found that Facebook harvests user phone numbers for targeted advertising in two disturbing ways: two-factor authentication (2FA) phone numbers, and “shadow” contact information. Two-Factor Authentication Is Not The Problem First, when a user gives Facebook their number for security purposes—to set

You Gave Facebook Your Number For Security. They Used It For Ads. Add “a phone number I never gave Facebook for targeted advertising” to the list of deceptive and invasive ways Facebook makes money off your personal information. Contrary to user expectations and Facebook representatives’ own previous statements, the company has been using contact information that users explicitly provided for security purposes—or that users never provided at all —for targeted advertising. A group of academic researchers from Northeastern University and Princeton University , along with Gizmodo reporters , have used real-world tests to demonstrate how Facebook’s latest deceptive practice works. They found that Facebook harvests user phone numbers for targeted advertising in two disturbing ways: two-factor authentication (2FA) phone numbers, and “shadow” contact information. Two-Factor Authentication Is Not The Problem First, when a user gives Facebook their number for security purposes—to set

Vermont’s New Data Privacy Law Data brokers intrude on the privacy of millions of people by harvesting and monetizing their personal information without their knowledge or consent. Worse, many data brokers fail to securely store this sensitive information, predictably leading to data breaches ( like Equifax ) that put millions of people at risk of identity theft, stalking, and other harms for years to come. Earlier this year, Vermont responded with a new law that begins the process of regulating data brokers. It demonstrates the many opportunities for state legislators to take the lead in protecting data privacy. It also shows why Congress must not enact a weak data privacy law that preempts stronger state data privacy laws. What Vermont’s Law Does Vermont’s new data privacy law seeks to protect consumers from data brokers through four important mechanisms. Transparency. Data brokers must annually register with the state. When doing so, they must disclose whether consumers