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EFFector Vol. 36, No. 1 Monday, January 22, 2024 [email protected]

A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
ISSN 1062-9424

effector: n, Computer Sci. A device for producing a
desired change.

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In our 803rd issue:

* EFF Unveils Its New Street Level Surveillance Hub
The expanded and updated hub—a sort of “Field Guide to Police
Surveillance”—has new or updated pages on automated license plate
readers, biometric surveillance, body-worn cameras, camera networks,
cell-site simulators, drones and robots, face recognition, electronic
monitoring, gunshot detection, forensic extraction tools, police access to
the Internet of Things, predictive policing, community surveillance apps,
real-time location tracking, social media monitoring, and police databases.

Read more: [link removed]

* Privacy Badger Puts You in Control of Widgets
If you see a widget, the widget sees you back. Privacy Badger now replaces
embedded tweets, video/audio players, and comments sections with "click to
activate" placeholders to protect your privacy.

Read more: [link removed]

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EFF Updates

* EFF’s 2024 In/Out List
Since EFF was formed in 1990, we’ve been working hard to protect digital
rights for all. And as each year passes, we’ve come to understand the
challenges and opportunities a little better, as well as what we’re not
willing to accept. Accordingly, here’s what we’d like to see a lot more
of, and a lot less of, in 2024.

[link removed]

* EFF Urges Pennsylvania Supreme Court to Find Keyword Search Warrant Unconstitutional
Keyword warrants that let police indiscriminately sift through search engine
databases are unconstitutional dragnets that target free speech, lack
particularity and probable cause, and violate the privacy of countless
innocent people, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and other
organizations argued in a brief filed to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
Everyone deserves to search online without police looking over their
shoulder, yet millions of innocent Americans’ privacy rights are at risk in
/Commonwealth v. Kurtz/—only the second case of its kind to reach a
state’s highest court.

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* AI Watermarking Won't Curb Disinformation
Generative AI lets people produce piles upon piles of images and words very
quickly, and it would be nice if there were some way to reliably distinguish
AI-generated content from human-generated content. One common proposal is
that big companies should incorporate watermarks into the outputs of their
AIs; unfortunately, watermarking schemes are unlikely to work. So far most
have proven easy to remove, and it’s likely that future schemes will have
similar problems.

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* EFF Asks Court to Uphold Federal Law That Protects Online Video Viewers’ Privacy and Free Expression
As millions of internet users watch videos online for news and entertainment,
it is essential to uphold a federal privacy law that protects against the
disclosure of everyone’s viewing history, EFF argued in court last month.

[link removed]

* Victory! Police Drone Footage is Not Categorically Exempt From California’s Public Records Law
Video footage captured by police drones sent in response to 911 calls cannot
be kept entirely secret from the public, a California appellate court has
ruled. EFF, along with the First Amendment Coalition and the Reporters
Committee for Freedom of the Press, had filed a friend-of-the-court brief
arguing that categorically excluding all drone footage from public disclosure
could have troubling consequences on the public’s ability to understand and
oversee the police drone program.

[link removed]

* Audio Version of EFFector Newsletter
Here’s an audio version of EFFector. We hope you enjoy it!

[link removed]

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Announcements

* Craig Newmark Philanthropies – Celebrating 30 Years of Support for Digital Rights
EFF has been awarded a new $200,000 grant from Craig Newmark Philanthropies
[1] to strengthen our cybersecurity work in 2024. We are especially grateful
this year, as it marks 30 years of donations from Craig Newmark, who joined
as an EFF member just three years after our founding and four years before he
launched the popular website craigslist. 


[1] [link removed]
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* Shoutout to an Organizational Member!
Thank you and welcome to Grist Labs [1]—an open-source spreadsheet for
collaborating on sensitive data—for their support of EFF as a new Leader
Organizational Member!


[1] [link removed]
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* "Speaking Freely" Continues
EFF's series of interviews with free-speech thought leaders continues.
Jillian York interviewed Dr. Caroline Are, an Innovation Fellow at
Northumbria University’s Centre for Digital Citizens [1]. Her research
primarily focuses on the intersection between online abuse and censorship.
Her current research project investigates Instagram and TikTok’s approach
to malicious flagging against ‘grey area’ content, or content that toes
the line of compliance with social media’s community guidelines. They
discussed the impact of platform censorship on sex workers and activist
communities, the need for systemic change around content moderation, and how
there’s hope to be found in the younger generations.


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Job Openings

* No available positions at this time.
Bookmark our opportunities page [1] for future options!


[1] [link removed]
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MiniLinks

- How Tech Automated the January 6 Investigations (IEEE Spectrum)
The increasing reach of cameras and sophistication of algorithms worries
EFF’s Jennifer Lynch. “We suddenly seem to have this web of face
recognition,” she says. “It’s been building for years, but it now seems
to be much easier for the FBI and other police departments to hold onto
images for a long time and just run these automated searches whenever they
feel like it.”

[link removed]

- Modern cars are being used by abusive partners to track locations (KCBS Radio)
EFF’s Eva Galperin spoke with KCBS Radio hosts Bret Burkhart and Patti
Reising about how the data that modern cars collect and the access they give
to their drivers’ lives can be weaponized in abusive relationships.

[link removed]

- A.I.’s Groundhog Day (Slate/Future Tense)
To EFF’s Corynne McSherry, the panic over A.I. feels like Groundhog Day.
“It replicates the anxieties we’ve seen around social media for a long
time,” she says. And, so far, it seems like we’re taking the same tack we
did around social media regulation. “Someone in Congress hauls a bunch of
CEOs to D.C. to testify about how they should be regulated.”

[link removed]

- Is Your Local Police Department Using Fusus AI-Enabled Cameras? Find Out Here (404 Media)
More than a hundred local police departments, sheriff’s offices, and cities
have set up an AI-powered camera system, with nearly 200,000 connected
cameras belonging to residents and businesses around the country able to
provide “direct access” to law enforcement, according to a 404 Media
analysis of a set of scraped data. EFF’s Beryl Lipton, who has researched
Fusus [1], said “This dataset is the most detailed record of
Fusus-integrated cameras I’ve seen. It makes clear that these systems are
using hundreds of thousands of public and private cameras to blanket huge
swaths of our cities, particularly those in the Southeast, with the capacity
for constant surveillance.”


[1]
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- How Watermelon Imagery, a Symbol of Solidarity with Palestinians, Spread Around the Planet (Associated Press)
“With the watermelon (emoji), I think this is actually really the first
time where I’ve seen it widely used as a stand-in. And that to me marks a
notable uptick in censorship of Palestinian content,” EFF’s Jillian York
said about how the symbol is being used to confuse algorithms.

[link removed]

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-------- SUPPORTED BY DONORS
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Our members make 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. Every donation gives technology users who
value freedom online a stronger voice and more formidable advocate. Check out
our FAQ for information on memberships, donations, shop orders, corporate
giving, matching gifts, and other ways to give.
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If you aren't already, please consider becoming an EFF member today.


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* Administrivia

Editor:
[email protected]

EFFector is published by:
The Electronic Frontier Foundation
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Membership & donation queries:
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General EFF, legal, policy, or online resources queries:
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Reproduction of this publication in electronic media is
encouraged. MiniLinks do not necessarily represent
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