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EFFector Vol. 38, No. 9 Wednesday, May 6 2026 [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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👎 California's Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Social Media Ban

Welcome to an all-new EFFector, your regular digest on everything digital rights from the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

In our 844th issue: An attack on VPNs in Utah, a livestream on how to disenshittify the internet, and California's proposed social media ban that could set a dangerous new precedent for online censorship.

When you lose your rights online, you lose them in real life. Become an EFF member today!

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Featured Story: California’s Paternalistic and Privacy-Destroying Social Media Ban

California lawmakers are fast-tracking A.B. 1709—a sweeping bill that would ban anyone under 16 from using social media and force every user, regardless of age, to verify their identity before accessing social platforms.

That means that under this bill, all Californians would be required to submit highly sensitive government-issued ID or biometric information to private companies simply to participate in the modern public square. In the name of “safety,” this bill would destroy online anonymity, expose sensitive personal data to breach and abuse, and replace parental decision-making with state-mandated censorship.

A.B. 1709 has already passed out of the Assembly Privacy and Judiciary Committees with nearly unanimous support. Its next stop is the Assembly Appropriations Committee, followed by a floor vote—likely within the next week.

By banning access to social media platforms for young people under 16, California is emulating Australia, where early results show exactly what EFF and other critics predicted: overblocking by platforms, leaving youth without support and even adults barred from access, major spikes in VPN use and other workarounds ranging from clever to desperate, and smaller platforms shutting down rather than attempting costly compliance with these sweeping bills.

California should not be racing to replicate those failures. After all, when California leads—especially on tech—other states follow. There is no reason for California to lead the nation into an unconstitutional social media ban that destroys privacy and harms youth.

Your representatives could vote on A.B. 1709 as soon as next week. If you’re a Californian, email your legislators now and tell them to vote NO on A.B. 1709. [1]

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‌EFF Updates

🛡 UTAH VS. VPNS: This week, Utah became the first state in the nation to target the use of VPNs to avoid legally mandated age-verification gates. Attacks on VPNs are, at their core, attacks on the tools that enable digital privacy. Lawmakers who can’t distinguish between a security tool and a "loophole" are now writing the rules for one of the most complex infrastructures on Earth. And we can assure that the result won't be a safer internet, only an increasingly less private one.

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💩 ENSHITTIFICATION LIVESTREAM: The internet didn’t get worse by accident; it’s been systematically molded into what we have today. Join our livestream on Thursday, May 14, to hear Wendy Liu live in conversation with Cory Doctorow about his latest book, Enshittification. Cory makes it clear: platforms are not as promised, Big Tech is profiting, and you should be frustrated. We're not just talking about what has happened, we're sending out a call to disenshittify the internet.

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🔦 ALPR TRANSPARENCY: Reporters, community advocates, EFF, and others have used public records laws to reveal and counteract abuse, misuse, and fraudulent narratives around how law enforcement agencies across the country use and share data collected by automated license plate readers (ALPRs). EFF is alarmed by recent laws in several states that have blocked public access to data collected by ALPRs, including, in some cases, information derived from ALPR data. We do not support pending bills in Arizona and Connecticut that would block the public oversight capabilities that ALPR information offers.

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👀 SPOTTING BORDER SURVEILLANCE: Hot off the press: a major update to our zine, "Surveillance Technology at the U.S.-Mexico Border." This is the first update since the second Trump administration began. To help people identify the machinery of homeland security, we've added more models of surveillance towers, newly deployed military tech, and a gallery of disguised trail cams and automated license plate readers. You can get this 40-page, full-color guide through EFF's Shop or download a Creative-Commons licensed version here.

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Shut Down Turnkey Totalitarianism

William Binney, the NSA surveillance architect-turned-whistleblower, called it the "turnkey totalitarian state." Whoever sits in power gains access to a boundless surveillance empire that scorns privacy and crushes dissent.

Right now, U.S. Congress is on the edge of renewing the international mass spying program known as Section 702, affecting millions. EFF is rallying to cut through the politics and give ordinary people a chance to stop this oppressive surveillance. ​It's only possible with help from supporters like you.​

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"There's no kid exception to the First Amendment"

EFF's Molly Buckley on why social media bans can't sidestep the U.S. Constitution. Hear our conversation with Molly on the latest episode of the EFFector podcast:

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MiniLinks

🔒 Privacy

- "Congress Kicks FISA Debate Down the Road" (NOTUS)

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- "You can get dragged into a police investigation by proximity alone — for now" (The Verge)

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- "‘A betrayal:’ California to share data on immigrant drivers nationally" (CalMatters)

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- "DHS is buying access to real-time location data—the latest expansion of its “invasive” surveillance technology" (Prism)

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💡 Creativity and Innovation

- "SXSW Used AI-Powered Trademark Tool To Censor Dissent on Instagram" (404 Media)

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- "Children are drawing moustaches on their faces to fool online age checks - and it's working" (Euronews)

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🔍 Transparency

- "The Whistleblower Who Uncovered the NSA’s ‘Big Brother Machine’" (The MIT Press Reader)

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🌎 International

- "Scotland Yard can keep using live facial recognition on people in London, say judges" (The Register)

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🗝️ Security

- "Bad Connection: Uncovering Global Telecom Exploitation by Covert Surveillance Actors" (Citizen Lab)

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Announcements

* EFF Events

- Cindy Cohn with Adam Savage at The Commonwealth Club 🤖 in San Francisco, CA | May 13

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- EFFecting Change: "How to Disenshittify the Internet" 💩 Livestream | May 14

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- Privacy's Defender With EFF's Cindy Cohn at UC Santa Cruz 🍌 in Santa Cruz, CA | May 19

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- Bay Area Members' Speakeasy with WISP 🍸 in Santa Clara, CA | May 26

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* Corporate Giving and Sponsorships

- EFF thanks the organizations that support our work. To learn more about how your team can make an impact, visit [link removed].

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Fresh EFF Gear Is Here

Show off your support for EFF with hot digital rights merch from ​our online store​. Just in: emoji-inspired pins and stickers illustrating EFF activist Cory Doctorow’s concept of “enshittification.”

In addition to EFF shirts and hoodies, we have a wide variety of freedom-supporting swag in stock, including (extremely popular) ​liquid core gaming dice​​, ​HTTP playing cards​​, and a ​​tactile Lady Justice braille sticker​.

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Administrivia

Editor:
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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 the views of EFF.

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