Toronto Electricians and Electrical Contractors

Verily's COVID-19 Screening Website Leaves Privacy Questions Unanswered One week after Alphabet’s Verily launched its COVID-19 screening website , several unanswered questions remain about how exactly the project will collect, use, and retain people’s medical information. Verily, a healthcare data subsidiary of Google's parent company Alphabet, has until now operated its Project Baseline as a way to connect potential participants with clinical research. Now, after a confused roll-out , Verily’s Baseline COVID-19 Pilot Program screening and testing website allows users to fill out a multi-question survey about their symptoms and, if they are eligible, directs them to testing locations in a few counties in California. After a letter from Congress and multiple blog posts, press statements, and not one but two FAQs from Verily, users still do not have enough information about how using this service will affect their medical privacy. So, we have a few questions of ...

Speaking Freely: An Interview with Cristian León Cristian León, based in Buenos Aires, works for Asuntos del Sur , a “think/do tank” that works to strengthen democracy and participation. Originally from Bolivia, Cristian works on open government and democracy across several countries in Latin America, including conducting digital security trainings. He is also one of the founders and current advisors to the Internet Bolivia Foundation. Over Zoom a couple of months ago, we discussed the current threats to free expression in Latin America, the connection between digital security and expression, and the increasing culture of surveillance he sees in the region. Jillian C. York : What does free expression mean to you? For me, it’s the ability for someone to express their mind, their thoughts as they are, without pressure. It’s the ability to say anything you want. York: I love hearing the different answers to this! And what brought you to your work? I’ve had many cases where I fe...

The Right to Anonymity is Vital to Free Expression: Now and Always “ There are myriad reasons why individuals may wish to use a name other than the one they were born with. They may be concerned about threats to their lives or livelihoods, or they may risk political or economic retribution. They may wish to prevent discrimination or they may use a name that’s easier to pronounce or spell in a given culture .” These words, from a blog post we published nine years ago during my first year at EFF, remain as true as ever. Whether we’re talking about whistleblowers, victims of domestic violence, queer and trans youth who aren’t out to their local communities, or human rights workers, secure anonymity is critical for these individuals, even life-saving. And yet, our right to anonymity online remains at risk. Just last month, British television presenter Caroline Flack’s death by suicide prompted calls for more regulation of social media , with some pundits suggesting platforms requi...

Social Distancing, The Digital Divide, and Fixing This Going Forward Social distancing, work from home, shelter in place—these are all strategies employed in response to the COVID-19 epidemic. Americans who have jobs allowing them to engage in social distancing are very dependent on their Internet connection. That dependence is only going to grow as time goes on. As parents depend on the Internet for homeschooling, as businesses depend on employees being able to work from home, and as everyone depends on the Internet for public safety information, we need to recognize that our current Internet ecosystem is failing many Americans. And any infrastructure recovery effort that comes out of this situation should address the digital divide at its source: policy decisions that have left us at the mercy of a few, giant companies whose business concerns don’t include all Americans. For however long this emergency lasts, an untold number of us will be forced to deal with the failure of our...

User Privacy Champion Ashkan Soltani Joins EFF Advisory Board EFF is proud to announce that independent researcher and technologist Ashkan Soltani has joined our advisory board , where he will share his expertise in privacy and security. Ashkan is a long-time EFF friend and collaborator whose research has informed our efforts to protect users from NSA backdoors, shine a light on third-party tracking , and hold the government accountable for unconstitutional mass surveillance. Ashkan is a career advocate for user rights in the digital world, and his commitment to protecting consumer privacy will be vital to the work we do at EFF. Ashkan is one of the architects of the California Consumer Privacy Act , the nation’s strongest digital privacy law protecting private information and providing users more control over their data. His work looking under the hood of tracking technology and practices used by companies to collect user data— years before the Cambridge Analytica scandal—ha...

The California Public Records Act Is an Essential Right, Even During a State of Emergency As Californians shelter-at-home up and down the state, the journalists and citizen watchdogs who file California Public Records Act (CPRA) requests know that trade-offs must be made. We know that local agencies may be understaffed at this time and that they may be slow to respond to our letters. They may need to restrict our ability to inspect records in person at City Hall, and public records lawsuits may stall as courts restrict hearing dates.  But where we draw the line is when government agencies announce they will suspend the public records request process altogether, a move telegraphed by several agencies in a recent Los Angeles Times story. The right to access information is enshrined in the California Constitution, and this right is never more important than during an international crisis . That’s why EFF has joined the First Amendment Coalition and other public records ad...

EFF and COVID-19: Protecting Openness, Security, and Civil Liberties EFF and its members work to ensure that technology supports freedom, justice, and innovation for all the people of the world. The COVID-19 pandemic has made obvious how important the Internet and digital tools are to our lives and how vital it is that we maintain an open and secure approach to them.  Online Creativity Is A Bright Spot In The Darkness For those of us living under quarantine, shelter in place orders, or just staying home to voluntarily help protect our communities, we now rely on the Internet and digital tools more than ever to share information and advice , create art and memes , listen to our favorite musicians perform “live,” or just to feel less alone. We see how technology is helping us cope , hopefully temporarily, with the loss of in-person contact. Many others are using digital tools and services to organize mutual aid for their neighborhoods and communities in this time of crisis. ...