| CARVIEW |
Privacy
New technologies are radically advancing our freedoms, but they are also enabling unparalleled invasions of privacy.
Your cell phone helps you keep in touch with friends and families, but it also makes it easier for the feds to track your location.
Your Web searches about sensitive medical information might seem secret, known only to you and search engines like Google. But by logging your online activities, these companies are creating a honeypot of personal information, potentially available to any party wielding a subpoena.
And the next time you try to board a plane, watch out—you might be turned away after being mistakenly placed on a government watch list based on erroneous data.
Technology isn't the real problem, though; rather, the law has yet to catch up to our evolving expectations of and need for privacy. In fact, new government initiatives and laws have severely undermined our rights in recent years.
Privacy rights are enshrined in our Constitution for a reason — a thriving democracy requires respect for individuals' autonomy as well as anonymous speech and association. These rights must be balanced against legitimate concerns like law enforcement, but checks must be put in place to prevent abuse of government powers.
EFF fights in the courts and Congress to extend your privacy rights into the digital world, and supports the development of privacy-protecting technologies. Donate to EFF to help support our efforts.
Privacy Cases
- NSA Multi-District LitigationDocuments relating to all cases.
- Doe v. Mukasey (Doe v. Gonzalez, Doe v. Ashcroft)
- Internet Archive et al v Mukasey et alIn December 2007, the Internet Archive, along with its counsel the ACLU and EFF, filed a lawsuit challenging a national security letter issued to the Archive.
- Bunnell v. MPAA
- Echostar v. Freetech
- Warshak v. USA
- US v. Ropp
- Burd v. Cole
In The News
- LOS ANGELES TIMES | December 17, 2008 Yahoo rolls out new data-retention policy
- ASSOCIATED PRESS | December 15, 2008 States increasingly put criminal records online
- BERKELEY DAILY PLANET | November 13, 2008 Long Haul Gets Computers Back, Wants UC to Delete Seized Info
Other Resources
- Total Information Awareness (TIA)
- EFF's Case Against AT&T
- June 20, 2008 Tell The Senate to Vote Against Immunity
- May 07, 2008 Don't Let the Justice Department Harvest DNA from Innocents
- May 01, 2008 Protect Digital Privacy at the Border and Beyond
- April 15, 2008 Repeal the REAL ID Act
- Privacy Software: Tor
Related Issues
- Pen Trap
- Real IDThreatening Your Privacy Through an Unfunded Government Mandate
- Cell TrackingCan the government track your cell phone's location without probable cause?
- CALEA
- Travel ScreeningBefore you get on an airplane, the government wants to sift through the personal details of your life. If the data analysis says you're a security risk, too bad -- you may have no way of challenging the error.
- Search EnginesLearn about search engine privacy issues.
- RFIDRadio Frequency Identification
- NSA SpyingCases brought against corporations complicit in the NSA's warrantless surveillance of millions of Americans' private domestic communications.
Whitepapers
Deeplinks Posts
- December 17, 2008 Yahoo To Anonymize Logs After 90 Days, Compared to Google's 9 Months
- November 19, 2008 EFF Joins with Coalition to Provide Policy Roadmap to Next President and Congress
- November 07, 2008 A Privacy Agenda For The New Administration
Press Releases
- August 18, 2008 Innocent Customers Potentially Dragged Into Legal Battle Over Satellite TV
- August 05, 2008 EFF Battles Dangerous Attempts to Circumvent Electronic Privacy Law
- June 12, 2008 Judges Urged to Curtail Random Searches of Travelers' Laptops
