Menu
Privacy
Politicians, pundits and populists across the political spectrum are blaming tech companies for undermining democracy, invading privacy, facilitating various other ills, from sex trafficking to the opioid crisis, and concentrating power over both markets and speech too narrowly. Taken together, these arguments would fundamentally transform the approach that has allowed the Internet to flourish. We proudly defend the freedoms that make technological progress both possible and beneficial
Select Publication Type
Latest Articles
Article
Judge Orders Dreamhost to Turn Over Entire Domain of Anti-Trump Website
Despite “Efforts” to Minimize Chilling Effect, DoJ’s Warrant Remains Hugely Problematic by Graham Owens If you’ve spoken out against Trump — or if you spoke out against “Emperor” Obama — would you think twice about keeping it up if you knew the White House was building an enemies’ list? Would you feel any more comfortable attending a rally, or organizing behind the scenes, if a judge allowed federal agents access to information about critics of the administration ...
Graham Owens
September 15, 2017
Article
CA Broadband Privacy Bill Would Needlessly Fracture Consumer Protection
WASHINGTON D.C. — Today, the California legislature is expected to vote on a bill that would enact the same privacy regulations on Internet service providers that the FCC had attempted to impose under the previous administration. Like the FCC’s rules, which were repealed early this year by Congress using the Congressional Review Act, the California Broadband Internet Privacy Act would create sweeping requirements for users to opt-in to allow the sharing of data that falls under a broad ...
September 15, 2017
Article
DOJ’s Dreamhost Warrant Violates Fourth Amendment
WASHINGTON D.C. — Web hosting provider Dreamhost is challenging a search warrant obtained by the Department of Justice compelling the disclosure of all “information associated with www.disruptj20.org,” an anti-Trump website that the DOJ claims organized a riot in Washington DC on Inauguration Day. Dreamhost argues the warrant fails the Fourth Amendment’s requirement to “particularly describe the person or place to be searched or seized” because ...
August 17, 2017
Article
Bipartisan Bill Would Protect Americans From Warrantless Searches
WASHINGTON, DC — Today Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced the ECPA Modernization Act of 2017. This bipartisan bill protects electronic communications and geolocation information stored in the “cloud” or otherwise held by third parties from being accessed by law enforcement without a warrant. It also requires law enforcement to notify users within ten days of obtaining their communications or/and location data. These two reforms have been the top priorities of ...
July 27, 2017
Article
Tech Companies Propose Compromise on Section 702 Surveillance
Today, a coalition of more than 30 technology companies and trade associations urged Congress to reform the National Security Agency’s surveillance practices under Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (50 U.S.C. § 1881a). In a letter to Bob Goodlatte, Chairman of House Judiciary Committee, the companies outlined five key reforms: Codify the NSA’s recent decision to end “about” collection, which swept up communications of Americans merely speaking “about” ...
May 26, 2017
Article
Senate Votes to Restore Consistency in Online Privacy Regulation
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Senate voted 50-48 to repeal the Federal Communications Commission’s broadband privacy rules, passed on a 3-2 vote in October of 2016 under the previous FCC Chairman, Tom Wheeler. The Congressional Review Act (CRA) allows Congress 60 legislative days to repeal regulations enacted by agencies with simple majority votes in the House and Senate and the President’s signature. Agencies are then prohibited from issuing rules substantially similar to those repealed under ...
March 23, 2017
12