Notices by Electronic Frontier Foundation (eff@mastodon.social), page 16

If you haven't written to Congress about this, use our action center to do it today! https://act.eff.org/action/tell-congress-we-can-t-afford-more-bad-patents

The U.S. Senate is on the verge of giving a huge gift to patent trolls. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/09/senate-vote-tomorrow-could-give-helping-hand-patent-trolls

Teens have mastered ways of avoiding detection by algorithms, including "algospeak" like writing “unalive” to refer to a death, or “corn” as a way of discussing pornography, EFF's @jgkelley told @NPR. “It will continue to be an endless cat-and-mouse game.” https://www.npr.org/2024/09/17/g-s1-23181/instagram-teen-accounts-private-meta-child-safety

Residents of a wealthy Silicon Valley enclave are being hit with an email scam in which someone knows their name, includes a photo of their home, and claims to have hacked their most personal info. Don’t believe it, EFF’s @cooperq tells The Almanac.
https://www.almanacnews.com/crime/2024/09/17/atherton-police-department-warns-of-email-scams-that-use-photos-of-residents-homes/

A suspect’s arrest in an alleged assassination attempt against Donald Trump “required some old-fashioned police work, securing the perimeter and interviewing witnesses” — not indefinite retention of ALPR data, EFF’s Beryl Lipton told @nytimes. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/17/us/politics/trump-assassination-suspect-technology.html

"Subjecting some of the most vulnerable populations in San Francisco to this dragnet surveillance is a ‘kitchen sink’ approach to public safety that capitalizes on residents’ fear of crime but may be ineffective,” EFF’s Matthew Guariglia told KTVU FOX2. https://www.ktvu.com/news/sf-deploys-new-mobile-surveillance-cameras

KOSA could block youth access to life-saving sexual and reproductive health resources. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/09/kosas-online-censorship-threatens-abortion-access

If parents are abusive or try to keep kids from info about political beliefs, religion or sexual identity, having more options to snoop could cause trouble, EFF's @jgkelley told @NPR. “In already-problematic situations, it could raise the risk for young people.” https://www.npr.org/2024/09/17/g-s1-23181/instagram-teen-accounts-private-meta-child-safety

For only $5 a month you can ensure EFF's lawyers and activists are prepared to defend your right to speak freely online. https://supporters.eff.org/donate/fight-surveillance-and-protect-free-speech--s

Claiming government officials’ texts are unavailable because they’re stored on personal phones is “just a dodge to try to avoid accountability,” EFF’s @aaronmackey told Louisville Public Media. “I think what it says is they don’t actually value transparency.”
https://www.lpm.org/investigate/2024-09-17/jcps-superintendent-goes-under-oath-in-lpm-records-lawsuit

The SFPD has a history of ignoring clear guidelines on surveillance tech use. Now, the department is scrambling to comply with state law by retroactively legalizing the use of drones they knowingly purchased without approval, according to their own emails. https://sfstandard.com/2024/09/16/san-francisco-police-bought-drones-illegally-emails-warned/

Apple’s new password app alerts users to update a weak password or one that’s been used before. “The broader goal is to have more people using unique passwords and having more general online security,” EFF’s @Thorin told CNBC.
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/16/biggest-new-apple-ios-18-iphone-apps-features-to-protect-your-privacy.html

The 900 MHz band supports everything from baby monitors to emergency networks—NextNav wants to claim it for themselves. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/09/nextnavs-callous-band-grab-privatize-900-mhz

The right of adults to read and watch what they want online is settled law. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/09/victory-california-bill-impose-mandatory-internet-id-checks-dead-it-should-stay

Decisions concerning people’s freedom, mobility, and ability to seek safety in the United States should not be made by computers. That's why EFF and over 100 other organizations are calling on the U.S. government to stop this practice. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/09/eff-140-other-organizations-call-end-ai-use-immigration-decisions

NextNav's bid to privatize the 900 MHz band threatens a vital commons used by millions of devices and grassroots innovators. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/09/nextnavs-callous-band-grab-privatize-900-mhz

EFF is deeply concerned about the arrest last month of Alexey Soldatov, “father of the Russian internet,” and call for his immediate release https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/09/eff-calls-release-alexey-soldatov-father-russian-internet

We’re happy to see the Meta Oversight Board uphold Meta’s decision not to ban “from the river to the sea”. Decisions like this one help to uphold our fundamental right to free expression online https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/09/we-called-oversight-board-stop-censoring-river-sea-and-they-listened

September 29 marks five years that Alaa Abd El Fattah has spent in prison. The UK’s new Labour government must put pressure on Egyptian to release him https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/09/britain-must-call-release-british-egyptian-activist-and-coder-alaa-abd-el-fattah #freealaa

San Francisco: On Monday, you have the chance to ask the police your questions about drone surveillance in our city.