Electronic Frontier Foundation
Five regulatory fights facing tech in 2018
Technology firms are facing tough regulatory fights in the coming year after a turbulent 2017.<p>Emerging technologies, such as self-driving cars and …
Net NeutralityThe best podcasts of 2017
Recode Radio Producer Eric Johnson shares his favorite episodes from Recode’s shows — and everyone else — in 2017.<p>As the producer of <b>Recode Radio</b>, I have had the unique privilege of being a fly on the wall for hundreds of riveting interviews on our weekly audio shows: <b>Recode Decode</b>, <b>Recode Media</b> and</b> …
PodcastingPineapple Fund Donates $5 Million in Bitcoin as Seed Capital for the Poor
<b>One of the greatest things about having true wealth is offering a helping hand to those less fortunate. A new venture, Pineapple Fund, is showing the</b> …
EFFLooking back at 2017: A shape-shifting year that promises big change ahead - Salon.com
Ordinarily, a year-end review calls for looking back at individual events and making some sense of them in light of everything that’s transpired. But 2017 has not been an ordinary year. Neither was 2016. And we’re not likely to have an ordinary year again in 2018, 2019 or 2020 either. As explained …
U.S. PoliticsThreat modeling: A critical, yet underused, element of cybersecurity risk analysis
How likely is that a hacker will try to steal your business or personal data? The threat modeling approach to security risk assessment is one way to …
Cybersecurity11 Tech Heroes Of 2017 Who Aren’t CEOs
Meet the plebes among us who did something that changed the tech industry, spoke truth to power in a remarkable way that effected real change, or just made the world a little more interesting.<p>If you want to know which CEOs, founders, or celebrities are the most important people in tech this year, …
EFFIntellectual Freedom News 12/29/17
<i>December 29, 2017 – Collated by OIF Staff and News Editors</i>Intellectual Freedom Highlights• Meet the 2018 Intellectual Freedom Bloggers! | Intellectual …
CensorshipDirt Boxes: The Newest Government Tool for Warrantless Privacy Invasion
That plane flying overhead could very well be scooping up your most intimate data, especially if you live in Texas. The Texas National Guard has …
SurveillanceHow Bitcoin Could Save the Internet Archive
The effort to maintain the history of the online world has gotten a big boost thanks to an anonymous Bitcoin millionaire.<p>The Pineapple Fund, a …
Tech IndustryInternet Archive gets $1 million Bitcoin donation from philanthropic Pineapple Fund
The Internet Archive has received a $1 million donation from the Pineapple Fund, a philanthropic fund set up by an anonymous Bitcoin millionaire.<p>The Bitcoin benefactor announced the Pineapple Fund earlier this month, committing the equivalent of $86 million in Bitcoin to a range of good causes. To …
BusinessWednesday briefing: A bitcoin user has donated millions to charity
Your WIRED daily briefing. Today, an anonymous bitcoin user is donating their wealth to philanthropic causes, Edward Snowden's new app turns your old …
Super MarioThese experts figured out why so many bogus patents get approved | Ars Technica
Empirical research reveals three big problems with how patents are vetted.<p>If you've read our coverage of the Electronic Frontier Foundation's "Stupid …
PatentsThe mysterious bitcoin tycoon who promised to give away their $86 million fortune just made another donation
REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke<p><b>A mysterious bitcoin tycoon called "PineappleFund" made a million-dollar donation to the digital library non-profit the Internet Archive.</b>• <b><br>The donor, whose true identity is unknown, pledged in a Reddit post to give their $86 million fortune in bitcoin to non-profits, in a</b> …
BusinessSome Things About Tech Were Good in 2017. No, Really.
For much of Silicon Valley, 2017 felt like a nonstop parade of scandal and sin.<p>There was the decline of Uber, which blew itself up with missteps that included reports of rampant sexual harassment and executive misbehavior. There were troubles at Facebook, which became a lightning rod for failing to …
EFFMysterious Pineapple Fund dishes out $1 million to Internet Archive
'Tis the season of giving and extensive web vault The Internet Archive is the latest recipient of cash from an anonymous bitcoin benefactor.<p>A few …
TechnologyA grim year for imprisoned technologists: 2017 in review
The world is taking an increasingly dim view of the misuses of technology and those who made their names (and fortunes) from them. In 2017, Silicon …
Conservative ViewEdward Snowden wants you to protect what's precious with Haven
As a tech enthusiast with the brains and taste to prefer Android over the other options, you're probably someone who also appreciates the need for …
Android NewsEdward Snowden created an app to catch hackers
Rather than fill your home with cameras, or motion sensors, or trip wires or booby traps, Edward Snowden has a new way to figure out if your home or laptop has been violated. All it takes is an extra Android phone.<p>The Freedom of the Press Foundation, which counts the NSA whistleblower as a board …
Edward SnowdenPineapple Fund: why is an anonymous Bitcoin millionaire giving away $86m?
Anonymous benefactor known as Pine bucks global wealth trend with million-dollar donation fund for worthy causes<p>What would you do if you had $86m? It’s a welcome dilemma for some of bitcoin’s early adopters thanks to the cryptocurrency’s meteoric rise, from less than $1,000 last year to a peak of …
BitcoinWhat Net Neutrality Really Means For You (And For Us)
We'd like to apologize in advance to HuffPost readers who don't get their internet from Verizon.<p>WASHINGTON ― The repeal of net neutrality isn’t great news for consumers. Giant internet service providers that control their own media empires will be able to push you toward their content while serving …
Net NeutralityTime for Love
This year, to get into the holiday spirit here at the studio, we focused on what we could do for others. 2017 has been a trying year for many, and …
EFFHere are 2017’s breakout acts, shows, social media moments, reality TV stars and even a cat
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times –it was 2017, all year long. But this year was not without its breakout stars and moments from …
EFFSnowden's New App Turns Your Spare Android Phone into a Pocket-Sized Security System
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has helped create a new way to protect you from potential snoops.<p>Snowden joined with the Freedom of the Press …
CybersecuritySnowden’s New App Uses Your Smartphone To Physically Guard Your Laptop
Like many other journalists, activists, and software developers I know, I carry my laptop everywhere while I’m traveling. It contains sensitive …
EFFCongress Is Debating Warrantless Surveillance in the Dark
In 2013, former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden famously brought to light a series of classified US government spying programs. …
SurveillanceFriday Essentials: Become Santa With Cryptocurrency Charities
<i>“When you have more than you need, build a longer table, not a higher fence”- Anonymous</i><p>These chilly winter mornings herald the most eagerly awaited …
NonprofitsOkCupid's New Real Name Policy Is Dumb
OkCupid announced this week that it would scrap all of the usernames on its site and require prospective daters to use their real names instead. …
CybersecurityPrivacy Complaints Mount Over Phone Searches at U.S. Border Since 2011
WASHINGTON — They spoke of being humiliated and shaken. They described being “made to feel like a criminal.” And they maintained that their rights had been violated.<p>Grievances over lost privacy run through a trove of roughly 250 complaints by people whose laptops and phones were searched without a …
TechnologyStupid patent of the month: Motivational texts
Have you ever sent a motivational text to a friend? If you have, perhaps you tailored your message to an activity or location by saying “Good luck in the race!” or “Have fun in New York!” Now, imagine doing this automatically with a compuuuter. What a great invention. Actually, no. That’s not a …
PatentsTake Note of Tech’s Temper Tantrum
December 14, 2017 is increasingly looking like a day that could go down in history for all the right reasons — namely, as the day when the tech …
Conservative View