Podcast appearances and mentions of Cindy Cohn

American attorney

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Cindy Cohn

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Best podcasts about Cindy Cohn

Latest podcast episodes about Cindy Cohn

The Privacy Insider Podcast
Signal and Noise: The New Administration, Privacy, and Our Digital Rights with Cindy Cohn of Electronic Frontier Foundation

The Privacy Insider Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 14, 2025 46:08


Digital rights, privacy, and government policies have been a hot topic over the past month as the Trump Administration comes on board. But the truth is, data protection and safeguarding our freedoms are not partisan issues. Regardless of what party is in power, we need to be vigilant about our digital rights and never give up the fight to protect them. Cindy Cohn, Executive Director of The Electronic Frontier Foundation, discusses the evolving landscape of digital rights, privacy, and government policies impacting technology. With a career dedicated to defending civil liberties in the digital age, Cindy shares insights on encryption, AI governance, surveillance capitalism, and the role of regulatory frameworks in shaping the future of the internet.Key Takeaways:(03:16) Cindy's path to digital rights advocacy and the influence of early internet pioneers.(07:08) The Electronic Frontier Foundation's mission to protect civil liberties online.(12:52) The dangers of surveillance capitalism and the need for privacy-first regulations.(19:51) Tensions between big tech CEOs and their workforces over privacy and ethics.(22:23) The implications of government funding cuts on internet privacy tools.(29:58) The challenges of aligning US and international digital policies.(32:29) Continuing privacy challenges regardless of different administrations.(43:21) The need for comprehensive privacy protections so users can enjoy technology without surveillance risks.Resources Mentioned:Cindy Cohn -https://www.linkedin.com/in/cindy-cohn-9325/The Electronic Frontier Foundation | LinkedIn -https://www.linkedin.com/company/eff/The Electronic Frontier Foundation | Website -https://www.eff.orgHow to Fix the Internet: Podcast -https://www.eff.org/how-to-fix-the-internet-podcastHuman Rights Data Analysis Group -https://hrdag.org/Thank you for listening to “The Privacy Insider” podcast. Be sure to leave us a review and subscribe so you don't miss an episode. For more information, visit osano.com.#DataPrivacy #InformationSecurity #GDPRCompliance #CISO

Bioneers: Revolution From the Heart of Nature | Bioneers Radio Series
None of Your Business: Claiming Our Digital Privacy Rights, Reclaiming Democracy

Bioneers: Revolution From the Heart of Nature | Bioneers Radio Series

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 8, 2024 29:15


We plug into the real world Matrix – the digital Wild West of surveillance capitalism that dominates this Age of Information. Behind it is the unholy alliance between Big Tech and Big Brother. Privacy is the first casualty and democracy dies with it. Our guide is Cindy Cohn, director of Electronic Frontier Foundation, with her decades of experience challenging digital authoritarianism. Featuring Cindy Cohn, the Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation since 2015, served as EFF's Legal Director as well as its General Counsel from 2000 to 2015. Among other honors, Ms. Cohn was named to The Non-Profit Times 2020 Power & Influence TOP 50 list, and in 2018, Forbes included Ms. Cohn as one of America's Top 50 Women in Tech. Resources Cindy Cohn – The Climate Fight is Digital | Bioneers 2024 Keynote Tools from Electronic Frontier Foundation Credits Executive Producer: Kenny Ausubel Written by: Kenny Ausubel Additional production and writing: Leo Hornak Senior Producer and Station Relations: Stephanie Welch Program Engineer and Music Supervisor: Emily Harris Producer: Teo Grossman Host and Consulting Producer: Neil Harvey This is an episode of the Bioneers: Revolution from the Heart of Nature series. Visit the radio and podcast homepage to learn more.

Pioneers and Pathfinders
Best of Pioneers and Pathfinders: Cindy Cohn

Pioneers and Pathfinders

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 3, 2024 37:15


In honor of Independence Day, we're revisiting our discussion with Cindy Cohn, executive director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). For many years, Cindy has been a champion for civil liberties in the digital space. In our conversation, she spoke about the EFF's history and mission, as well as the human rights issues she focuses on today. We hope you enjoy the holiday this week. We will return next week with a new episode. As technology has progressed, we have also seen emerging concerns for freedom of speech and privacy. Our guest today has spent the past 30 years defending individual liberties in the digital space. Cindy Cohn is the executive director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the leading nonprofit organization ensuring that technology supports freedom, justice, and innovation for all people. She started her career as a civil litigator in private practice, where she handled various cases related to technology. Then, in 1993, the EFF offered her the opportunity to serve as outside lead attorney in the case Bernstein v. Dept. of Justice, the successful First Amendment challenge to the US export restrictions on cryptography. Today, she handles legal matters involving NSA spying, platform censorship, and surveillance technologies, among other issues. Cindy has received numerous awards and honors for her work. In 2020, she was included in The Nonprofit Times Power and Influence Top 50 list, honoring movers and shakers. In today's discussion, Cindy talks about the fascinating origins of the EFF, how she became involved in human rights work, how her practice has evolved over the years, and her strategies for protecting people's privacy.

Fighting dark patterns - regain your free will online
Dark Patterns and Digital Freedom Today. A conversation with Cindy Cohn.

Fighting dark patterns - regain your free will online

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 14, 2024 26:17


How are dark patterns and deceptive practices impacting fundamental rights such as freedom and privacy? The raise of Ai is exacerbating transparency issues and the potential for AI-powered dark patterns, highlighting the the importance of informed decision-making and the need for individuals to have the ability to enforce their rights.To understand more about it, Marie Potel-Seville sits with Cindy Cohn, Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). From 2000-2015 she served as EFF's Legal Director as well as its General Counsel. Ms. Cohn first became involved with EFF in 1993, when EFF asked her to serve as the outside lead attorney in Bernstein v. Dept. of Justice, the successful First Amendment challenge to the U.S. export restrictions on cryptography.To go further:EFF Podcast:https://feeds.eff.org/howtofixtheinternetHave a question or need some support? Visit us at fairpatterns.com and follow us on LinkedIn: FairPatterns! Hébergé par Acast. Visitez acast.com/privacy pour plus d'informations.

Privacy Files
The Legal Landscape of Internet Privacy

Privacy Files

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 20, 2024 42:56


In this episode of Privacy Files, we talk to Cindy Cohn, an American civil liberties attorney and the Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). In 2018, Forbes named Cindy one of America's Top 50 Women in Tech. Cindy's passion for internet law spans decades and has put her in the middle of landmark legal cases involving privacy, censorship and the Fourth Amendment. We begin the episode by discussing Cindy's lead role in the case of Bernstein vs. Department of Justice, challenging the United States' export restrictions on cryptography. Today, written software code is speech protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. In all, we discuss a variety of topics from Big Tech's surveillance capitalism model to where the privacy legal battlefield is today. It was an honor to interview someone playing such a prominent role in defending Americans' rights to live privately and free from censorship. To donate or to present a case for the EFF to review: https://www.eff.org/ Check out the EFF's podcast How to Fix the Internet: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UAplFpPDqE4hWlwsjplgt OUR SPONSORS: Anonyome Labs - Makers of MySudo and Sudo Platform. Take back control of your personal data. www.anonyome.com MySudo - The world's only all-in-one privacy app. Communicate and transact securely and privately. Talk, text, email, browse, shop and pay, all from one app. Stay private. www.mysudo.com MySudo VPN - No personal information required to sign up. You don't even need a username and password. Finally, a VPN that is actually private. https://mysudo.com/mysudo-vpn/ Sudo Platform - The cloud-based platform companies turn to for seamlessly integrating privacy solutions into their software. Easy-to-use SDKs and APIs for building out your own branded customer apps like password managers, virtual cards, private browsing, identity wallets (decentralized identity), and secure, encrypted communications (e.g., encrypted voice, video, email and messaging). www.sudoplatform.com

Gaslit Nation
Another World is Possible [TEASER]

Gaslit Nation

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 6, 2024 15:00


Dictators want us to think that the future is hopeless, that their cult of personality will last forever. Gaslit Nation exists to remind us that another world is possible. The experts we've brought on the show over the years have shown us how. In this special episode, we're starting 2024 right, with a chorus of voices guiding us to envision the world we want to live in.  To start us off, Andrea is joined by Terrell Starr of the Black Diplomats podcast to share their hopes for 2024, and how they plan to contribute to building the livable future they envision. Share your hopes for 2024 in the comments below or in an email to GaslitNation@gmail.com, and we may read your comments on the show! To our Patreon community at the Truth-teller level and higher, save the date for our January 18th 8 pm ET Quit Twitter Social Media Workshop. If you hate social media, if you miss Old Twitter before Apartheid Barbie Musk deliberately destroyed it, if you want to elevate your voice for those who need your solidarity and support, then this is the workshop for you! We'll be joined by organizer Rachel Brody who helps various campaigns with their social media strategy and helps lead the statewide coalition to replace Jay Jacobs, the useless chair of the New York state Democratic Party who, from George Santos to Republican control of the House running through New York, has cost this country so much. This is an event not to miss! To get access, subscribe to the show at the Truth-teller level or higher on Patreon.com/Gaslit  Thank you to everyone who supports the show – we could not make Gaslit Nation without you!  

Defense One Radio
Year in review

Defense One Radio

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 21, 2023 48:23


We take stock of our last 12 months of interviews, featuring conversations with generals, White House officials, researchers, authors, our own reporters, and many more. Guests include: U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Joel “JB” Vowell, who at the time commanded the United States Army Japan; he is now commander of the ISIS-focused Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (from episode 115); Monica Toft, professor of international politics and the director of the Center for Strategic Studies at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy; and Sidita Kushi, assistant professor of political science at Bridgewater State University (from episode 116); Michael Knights, security analyst with the Washington Institute (from episode 124); Defense One's Sam Skove (from episode 125); Sam Bendett, advisor in Russian studies at CNA (from episode 126); Defense One's Patrick Tucker (from episode 129); Decker Eveleth, graduate research assistant at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, California (from episode 130); Martin Pfeiffer, a PhD candidate in anthropology at the University of New Mexico (from episode 131); Patrick Tucker again (from episode 132); Sam Skove again (from episode 134); Cindy Cohn, Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation; and Joshua Geltzer is Deputy Assistant to President Joe Biden and Deputy Homeland Security Advisor at the National Security Council (from episode 135); And Barak Mendelsohn, Professor of Political Science at Haverford College in Philadelphia (from episode 138).

Pioneers and Pathfinders

As technology has progressed, we have also seen emerging concerns for freedom of speech and privacy. Our guest today has spent the past 30 years defending individual liberties in the digital space. Cindy Cohn is the executive director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the leading nonprofit organization ensuring that technology supports freedom, justice, and innovation for all people. She started her career as a civil litigator in private practice, where she handled various cases related to technology. Then, in 1993, the EFF offered her the opportunity to serve as outside lead attorney in the case Bernstein v. Dept. of Justice, the successful First Amendment challenge to the US export restrictions on cryptography. Today, she handles legal matters involving NSA spying, platform censorship, and surveillance technologies, among other issues. Cindy has received numerous awards and honors for her work. In 2020, she was included in The Nonprofit Times Power and Influence Top 50 list, honoring movers and shakers. In today's discussion, Cindy talks about the fascinating origins of the EFF, how she became involved in human rights work, how her practice has evolved over the years, and her strategies for protecting people's privacy.

Course Correction
State of scrutiny: Is mass surveillance justified?

Course Correction

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 31, 2023 31:54


Facial recognition software. CCTV cameras. License plate readers. Wiretapping. These are all ways that governments employ mass surveillance. Supporters of surveillance technology say these tools are necessary to keep everyone safe. But opponents raise concerns over privacy and human rights abuses. Where do we draw the line? How do we balance individual privacy and collective safety?  Cindy Cohn, executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, says our privacy rights are being violated. She cites mass surveillance as yet another example of government overreach and says that it disproportionately targets vulnerable populations, especially people of color. Jamil Jaffer, executive director of the National Security Institute, says that the great majority of people have nothing to worry about, as just a relative few individuals end up on government watch lists. He argues that government surveillance is crucial to our safety and that, at least in the United States, it is much more targeted than people may realize. Listen to the Doha Debates Podcast as these two experts debate liberty, safety, consent and the limits of the law and anonymity in a world with mass surveillance.  Doha Debates Podcast is a production of Doha Debates and FP Studios. This episode is hosted by Joshua Johnson. Thoughts on this conversation? Let us know! Follow us everywhere @DohaDebates and join the post-episode discussion in our YouTube comments.

Gaslit Nation
Teaser - Cory Doctorow Takes the Self Care Q&A

Gaslit Nation

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 24, 2023 2:40


In our bonus episode, acclaimed science fiction author, activist, and journalist Cory Doctorow takes the Gaslit Nation Self-Care Q&A. To hear the full bonus episode and get access to all bonus shows and more, support our independent journalism by joining our community of listeners at Patreon.com/Gaslit -- thank you to everyone who supports the show!   We invite you to share your own inspiration with our community! Take the Gaslit Nation Self-Care Q&A by leaving your answers in the comments section or send them in an email to GaslitNation@gmail.com. We'll read some of your responses on the show! Gaslit Nation Self-Care Questionnaire What's a book you think everyone should read and why? What's a documentary everyone should watch and why? What's a dramatic film everyone should watch and why? Who are some historical mentors who inspire you? What's the best concert you've ever been to? What are some songs on your playlist for battling the dark forces? Who or what inspires you to stay engaged and stay in the fight? What's the best advice you've ever gotten? What's your favorite place you've ever visited? What's your favorite work of art and why?

Gaslit Nation
Teaser - Cindy Cohn Takes the Self Care Q&A

Gaslit Nation

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 4, 2023 1:27


Cindy Cohn, the Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and host of the podcast How to Fix the Internet, takes the Gaslit Nation Self-Care Q&A. To hear the full bonus episode and get access to all bonus shows and more, support our independent journalism by joining our community of listeners at Patreon.com/Gaslit -- thank you to everyone who supports the show!    We invite you to share your own inspiration with our community! Take the Gaslit Nation Self-Care Q&A by leaving your answers in the comments section or send them in an email to GaslitNation@gmail.com. We'll read some of your responses on the show!   Gaslit Nation Self-Care Questionnaire What's a book you think everyone should read and why? What's a documentary everyone should watch and why? What's a dramatic film everyone should watch and why? Who are some historical mentors who inspire you? What's the best concert you've ever been to? What are some songs on your playlist for battling the dark forces? Who or what inspires you to stay engaged and stay in the fight? What's the best advice you've ever gotten? What's your favorite place you've ever visited? What's your favorite work of art and why?

Gaslit Nation
Cindy Cohn of the Electronic Frontier Foundation on Big Brother

Gaslit Nation

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 2, 2023 50:35


Join Andrea and Kevin Allison of the RISK! Storytelling podcast and an original member of the comedy group The State on Saturday August 5th at 4pm EST at Caveat on the Lower East Side in NYC -- in person or by livestream -- to celebrate the launch of the new Gaslit Nation graphic novel Dictatorship: It's Easier Than You Think! Details here: https://www.caveat.nyc/events/gaslit-nation-presents-dictatorship-its-easier-than-you-think--8-5-2023   Corporate surveillance is its own kind of dictatorship. Big Brother is watching, and trying to harvest as much data as possible about you. In this enlightening discussion, Cindy Cohn, the Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and host of the podcast How to Fix the Internet. shares how corporate surveillance works, what we can do to protect ourselves, how to build a better internet, the overreach of technology used on the U.S. border, the Silicon Valley gold rush of surveillance tech including from Peter Thiel, and more! We may be up against powerful forces, but leaders like Cohn are fighting back.   In our bonus episode, for Patreon supporters who keep our show going, Cohn takes the Gaslit Nation Self-Care Q&A. We invite you to share your own inspiration with our community! Take the Gaslit Nation Self-Care Q&A by leaving your answers in the comments section or send them in an email to GaslitNation@gmail.com. We'll read some of your responses on the show! Gaslit Nation Self-Care Questionnaire What's a book you think everyone should read and why? What's a documentary everyone should watch and why? What's a dramatic film everyone should watch and why? Who are some historical mentors who inspire you? What's the best concert you've ever been to? What are some songs on your playlist for battling the dark forces? Who or what inspires you to stay engaged and stay in the fight? What's the best advice you've ever gotten? What's your favorite place you've ever visited? What's your favorite work of art and why? This conversation was recorded late April 2023. The Supreme Court case referenced ruled that social media companies are not responsible for users' posts.

Fever Dreams
Cindy Cohn On The New Abnormal

Fever Dreams

Play Episode Listen Later May 19, 2023 22:20


The EFF's Cindy Cohn joins The New Abnormal to talk cyber security. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The New Abnormal
If Only Ted Cruz Cared About This Constituent Who Almost Died

The New Abnormal

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 30, 2023 37:04


Texas woman Amanda Zurawski ripped into Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, her state Senators, and other Republicans at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last Wednesday, verbally holding them to account for their role in the abortion policies in the state that almost killed her. Hosts of The New Abnormal politics podcast, Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie, got to unpack her testimony in this bonus episode of the show, and they had a lot to say, too. The hosts also listen to more clips and make fun of other Republicans, including Sen. Ron Johnson who they listen to making the most idiotic case for climate change that they've ever heard. Plus! Cindy Cohn, the Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, chats with Andy about whether or not individual states can really ban TikTok, if a ban would actually protect against China getting Americans' information, and one particular piece of legislation that could turn the private conversations you have online into not-so-private ones. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Endless Thread
'You are powerful': Remembering Aaron Swartz

Endless Thread

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 13, 2023 30:41


Amory and Ben honor the legacy of internet activist Aaron Swartz with two people familiar with his life and work: documentary filmmaker Brian Knappenberger (The Internet's Own Boy) and Cindy Cohn of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Swartz died by suicide ten years ago this week, on January 11, 2013, at the age of 26. 

Follow the White Rabbit
Freedom of Speech, Privacy, and the Great Encryption Debate with EFF's Cindy Cohn

Follow the White Rabbit

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 7, 2022 49:44


The Priv8 Podcast this week welcomes Cindy Cohn, Executive Director of Electronic Frontier Foundation, an international non-profit digital rights group based in San Francisco, California. Join us for a deep dive on ways to fix the Internet, the global encryption debate, defending freedom of speech, and why privacy is a human right.

Digital Planet
Predicting cyclones with mobiles

Digital Planet

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 6, 2022 36:47


Due to climate change cyclones are increasing in frequency and intensity. Data available to study these weather phenomena though is quite scare, so a new project at Imperial College in London, hopes to harness the computing power of people's mobile phones to create a virtual supercomputer and create a massive public database of simulated cyclone models to help predict future events. Professor Ralf Toumi, Co-Director of Grantham Institute, is leading the project and is on the show. Listeners are being invited to take part by downloading the Dreamlab app to help process the billions of calculations needed for the project. What is the Fediverse? If you're on twitter then you've probably heard of Mastodon, you may even have moved onto it. It's the largest service on what is known as the Fediverse. We speak with Cindy Cohn, the Executive Director of the Electronic Freedom Foundation to find out what the Fediverse is and why we should be part of its growth. It's not a single social media platform like Twitter or Facebook. It's an growing network of entwinned social media sites and services that you can interact with even if you don't have an account for each one. The big difference here is that the Fediverse isn't owned by big tech giants or multibillionaires – Cindy Cohn argues “You don't fix a dictatorship by getting a better dictator. You have to get rid of the dictator. This moment offers the promise of moving to a better and more democratic social media landscape.” An app that helps you buy medicines if you're blind The tiny print on medicine packet instructions is hard to read for many people, and for those people with low literacy skills, learning disabilities like dyslexia, impaired sight or who are blind it can be impossible. Now the Seeing AI app – a joint project between Haleon and Microsoft- has been upgraded to be able to read out loud the detailed information on more than 1500 products across the UK and US. Our reporter Fern Lulham has been testing out the new functionality of the app. The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell with expert commentary from Bill Thompson. Studio Manager: Tim Heffer Producer: Ania Lichtarowicz (Image: Getty Images)

Topping the Curve
46: Cindy Cohn, Executive Director, Electronic Frontier Foundation

Topping the Curve

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 29, 2022 32:25


In this episode of Topping the Curve, I interview Cindy Cohn, Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the oldest and biggest organization dedicated to digital rights.In this episode, Cindy discusses  advancements in technology law that affect our privacy rights. Topics include:Navigating top secret surveillance and litigation discovery Companies that collect data through the internet and send it to third partiesHow impact litigation differs from regular litigation The future of technology and the digital worldGetting started in the internet and digital tech law worldJoin other pre-law students in the pre-law school mentorship community and take advantage of courses, guest speakers, freebies, and more! Join here Get your MERCHANDISE HEREClick here to subscribe to the podcast newsletterFollow us on social media:TwitterInstagramFacebookLinkedinWebsiteIntro and Outro Music license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcodeArtist: Mello C,  Title: Pasikolu Support the show

World of DaaS
Cindy Cohn: Who Should Regulate the Internet?

World of DaaS

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 9, 2022 60:19


Cindy Cohn is the executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the largest digital rights organization in the world. In this wide ranging conversation, Cindy and Auren touch on a number of topics across the tech space, including privacy on the Blockchain, interoperability and the politics around regulating big tech. They discuss the unintended consequences of privacy protections and what smart regulation should seek to accomplish. Cindy brings a unique perspective to the debate around open access to data and discusses how to think critically about the power that data can unlock. World of DaaS is brought to you by SafeGraph. For more episodes, visit safegraph.com/podcasts.You can find Auren Hoffman on Twitter at @auren.

2 Girls 1 Podcast
222 The Electronic Frontier Foundation

2 Girls 1 Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 1, 2022 69:41


When the Web was created, it was open, inter-operable, and structured for everyone to participate. Today, most people consume online content through 5 mega-corps that make billions from our data and warp our social discourse. This has had profound effects on privacy and security. But how did we get here? And can we ever get back? Alli and Lindsey talk with Cindy Cohn, the executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Since 1990, the non-profit EFF has been working to protect the civil liberties of Internet users. This ranges from government surveillance to corporate abuse of privacy. As a civil rights attorney, Cindy has fought and won numerous legal battles that protect online speech, privacy, and access. She discusses the origins of the EFF, why law enforcement didn't understand the Internet at first, and the battles ahead regarding decentralization, tech anti-trust, and even abortion access. Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1P Join the 2G1P Discord community: http://discord.gg/2g1p Join the 2G1P Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2girls1podcast/ Email us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.com Call the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This Is Critical
When Our Organs Are Under Surveillance: Privacy After Roe

This Is Critical

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2022 30:02


In the wake of Dobbs, the conversation about digital privacy — and how abortion seekers can protect their data from law enforcement — has exploded. But what's actually important to online security, and what is a red herring? Cindy Cohn, Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, joins Virginia to get to the bottom of what individuals can do to keep their most personal data safe.

How to Fix the Internet
Wordle and the Web We Need

How to Fix the Internet

Play Episode Listen Later May 31, 2022 33:21


Where is the internet we were promised? It feels like we're dominated by megalithic, siloed platforms where users have little or no say over how their data is used and little recourse if they disagree, where direct interaction with users is seen as a bug to be fixed, and where art and creativity are just “content generation.”But take a peek beyond those platforms and you can still find a thriving internet of millions who are empowered to control their own technology, art, and lives. Anil Dash, CEO of Glitch and an EFF board member, says this is where we start reclaiming the internet for individual agency, control, creativity, and connection to culture - especially among society's most vulnerable and marginalized members.Dash speaks with EFF's Cindy Cohn and Danny O'Brien about building more humane and inclusive technology, and leveraging love of art and culture into grassroots movements for an internet that truly belongs to us all.In this episode you'll learn about:What past and current social justice movements can teach us about reclaiming the internetThe importance of clearly understanding and describing what we want—and don't want—from technologyEnergizing people in artistic and fandom communities to become activists for better technologyTech workers' potential power over what their employers doHow Wordle might be a window into a healthier webThis podcast is supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Program in Public Understanding of Science and Technology.Music for How to Fix the Internet was created for us by Reed Mathis and Nat Keefe of BeatMower. This podcast is licensed Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, and includes the following music licensed Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported by their creators: http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/djlang59/61577Get It - pop mix by J.Lang Feat: AnalogByNature & RJay http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/djlang59/59729Probably Shouldn't by J.Lang http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/JeffSpeed68/56377Smokey Eyes by Stefan Kartenberg http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/airtone/58703commonGround by airtone http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/Skill_Borrower/41751Klaus by Skill_Borrower http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/NiGiD/62475Chrome Cactus by Martijn de Boer (NiGiD) 

How to Fix the Internet
Securing the Vote

How to Fix the Internet

Play Episode Listen Later May 24, 2022 30:18


U.S. democracy is at an inflection point, and how we administer and verify our elections is more important than ever. From hanging chads to glitchy touchscreens to partisan disinformation, too many Americans worry that their votes won't count and that election results aren't trustworthy. It's crucial that citizens have well-justified confidence in this pillar of our republic.Technology can provide answers - but that doesn't mean moving elections online. As president and CEO of the nonpartisan nonprofit Verified Voting, Pamela Smith helps lead the national fight to balance ballot accessibility with ballot security by advocating for paper trails, audits, and transparency wherever and however Americans cast votes.On this episode of How to Fix the Internet, Pamela Smith joins EFF's Cindy Cohn and Danny O'Brien to discuss hope for the future of democracy and the technology and best practices that will get us there.In this episode you'll learn about:Why voting online can never be like banking or shopping onlineWhat a “risk-limiting audit” is, and why no election should lack it Whether open-source software could be part of securing our votesWhere to find reliable information about how your elections are conductedPamela Smith, President & CEO of Verified Voting, plays a national leadership role in safeguarding elections and building working alliances between advocates, election officials, and other stakeholders. Pam joined Verified Voting in 2004, and previously served as President from 2007-2017. She is a member of the National Task Force on Election Crises, a diverse cross-partisan group of more than 50 experts whose mission is to prevent and mitigate election crises by urging critical reforms. She provides information and public testimony on election security issues across the nation, including to Congress. Before her work in elections, she was a nonprofit executive for a Hispanic educational organization working on first language literacy and adult learning, and a small business and marketing consultant.This podcast is supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Program in Public Understanding of Science and Technology.Music for How to Fix the Internet was created for us by Reed Mathis and Nat Keefe of BeatMower. This podcast is licensed Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, and includes the following music licensed Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported by their creators: http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/Skill_Borrower/41751Klaus by Skill_Borrower http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/airtone/58703commonGround by airtonehttp://dig.ccmixter.org/files/NiGiD/62475Chrome Cactus by Martijn de Boer (NiGiD)

How to Fix the Internet
An AI Hammer in Search of a Nail

How to Fix the Internet

Play Episode Listen Later May 17, 2022 33:06


It often feels like machine learning experts are running around with a hammer, looking at everything as a potential nail - they have a system that does cool things and is fun to work on, and they go in search of things to use it for. But what if we flip that around and start by working with people in various fields - education, health, or economics, for example - to clearly define societal problems, and then design algorithms providing useful steps to solve them?Rediet Abebe, a researcher and professor of computer science at UC Berkeley, spends a lot of time thinking about how machine learning functions in the real world, and working to make the results of machine learning processes more actionable and more equitable.Abebe joins EFF's Cindy Cohn and Danny O'Brien to discuss how we redefine the machine learning pipeline - from creating a more diverse pool of computer scientists to rethinking how we apply this tech for the betterment of society's most marginalized and vulnerable - to make real, positive change in people's lives.In this episode you'll learn about:The historical problems with the official U.S. poverty measurement How machine learning can (and can't) lead to more just verdicts in our criminal courtsHow equitable data sharing practices could help nations and cultures around the worldReconsidering machine learning's variables to maximize for goals other than commercial profitThis podcast is supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Program in Public Understanding of Science and Technology.Music for How to Fix the Internet was created for us by Reed Mathis and Nat Keefe of BeatMower. This podcast is licensed Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, and includes the following music licensed Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported by their creators: http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/djlang59/59729Probably Shouldn't by J.Langhttp://dig.ccmixter.org/files/Skill_Borrower/41751Klaus by Skill_Borrower http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/airtone/58703commonGround by airtonehttp://dig.ccmixter.org/files/JeffSpeed68/56377Smokey Eyes by Stefan Kartenberg http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/NiGiD/62475Chrome Cactus by Martijn de Boer (NiGiD)

How to Fix the Internet
The Philosopher King

How to Fix the Internet

Play Episode Listen Later May 10, 2022 32:49


Computer scientists often build algorithms with a keen focus on “solving the problem,” without considering the larger implications and potential misuses of the technology they're creating. That's how we wind up with machine learning that prevents qualified job applicants from advancing, or blocks mortgage applicants from buying homes, or creates miscarriages of justice in parole and other aspects of the criminal justice system.James Mickens—a lifelong hacker, perennial wisecracker, and would-be philosopher-king who also happens to be a Harvard University professor of computer science—says we must educate computer scientists to consider the bigger picture early in their creative process. In a world where much of what we do each day involves computers of one sort or another, the process of creating technology must take into account the society it's meant to serve, including the most vulnerable.Mickens speaks with EFF's Cindy Cohn and Danny O'Brien about some of the problems inherent in educating computer scientists, and how fixing those problems might help us fix the internet.In this episode you'll learn about:Why it's important to include non-engineering voices, from historians and sociologists to people from marginalized communities, in the engineering processThe need to balance paying down our “tech debt” —cleaning up the messy, haphazard systems of yesteryear—with innovating new technologiesHow to embed ethics education within computer engineering curricula so students can identify and overcome challenges before they're encoded into new systemsFostering transparency about how and by whom your data is used, and for whose profitWhat we can learn from Søren Kierkegaard and Stan Lee about personal responsibility in technologyThis podcast is supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Program in Public Understanding of Science and Technology.Music for How to Fix the Internet was created for us by Reed Mathis and Nat Keefe of BeatMower. This podcast is licensed Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, and includes the following music licensed Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported by their creators: http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/djlang59/59729Probably Shouldn't by J.Lang (c) copyright 2019 http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/airtone/58703commonGround by airtone (c) copyright 2018 http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/mwic/58883Xena's Kiss / Medea's Kiss by mwic (c) copyright 2018 http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/Skill_Borrower/41751Klaus by Skill_Borrower (c) copyright 2013 http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/NiGiD/62475Chrome Cactus by Martijn de Boer (NiGiD) (c) copyright 2020

How to Fix the Internet
Teaching AI to Its' Targets

How to Fix the Internet

Play Episode Listen Later May 3, 2022 29:19


Too many young people – particularly young people of color – lack enough familiarity or experience with emerging technologies to recognize how artificial intelligence can impact their lives, in either a harmful or an empowering way. Educator Ora Tanner saw this and rededicated her career toward promoting tech literacy and changing how we understand data sharing and surveillance, as well as teaching how AI can be both a dangerous tool and a powerful one for innovation and activism.By now her curricula have touched more than 30,000 students, many of them in her home state of Florida. Tanner also went to bat against the Florida Schools Safety Portal, a project to amass enormous amounts of data about students in an effort to predict and avert school shootings – and a proposal rife with potential biases and abuses.Tanner speaks with EFF's Cindy Cohn and Jason Kelley on teaching young people about the algorithms that surround them, and how they can make themselves heard to build a fairer, brighter tech future.In this episode you'll learn about:Convincing policymakers that AI and other potentially invasive tech isn't always the answer to solving public safety problems.Bringing diverse new voices into the dialogue about how AI is designed and used.Creating a culture of searching for truth rather than just accepting whatever information is put on your plate.Empowering disadvantaged communities not only through tech literacy but by teaching informed activism as well.This podcast is supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Program in Public Understanding of Science and Technology.Music for How to Fix the Internet was created for us by Reed Mathis and Nat Keefe of BeatMower. This podcast is licensed Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, and includes the following music licensed Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported by their creators: Meet Me at Phountain by gaetanh (c) copyright 2022 http://ccmixter.org/files/gaetanh/64711Hoedown at the Roundabout by gaetanh (c) copyright 2022  http://ccmixter.org/files/gaetanh/64711JPEG of a Hotdog by gaetanh (c) copyright 2022 http://ccmixter.org/files/gaetanh/64711reCreation by airtone (c) copyright 2019 http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/airtone/59721    

Decoder with Nilay Patel
The executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation on government surveillance, Elon Musk, and free speech

Decoder with Nilay Patel

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 26, 2022 52:57


Cindy Cohn is the executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, or EFF. If you're an internet user of a certain age like me, you know the EFF as the premiere civil liberties group for the internet. The EFF has fought pitched battles against things like government surveillance, digital rights management for music and movies, and government speech regulations that would violate the First Amendment. These fights were important, and shaped the internet as we know it today. Links Electronic Frontier Foundation How to fix the Internet: Podcast by the EFF How the EU is fighting tech giants with Margrethe Vestager Apple pushes back on iPhone order, says FBI is seeking ‘dangerous power' Here's why Apple's new child safety features are so controversial Viacom vs YouTube Texas passes law that bans kicking people off social media based on ‘viewpoint' Santa Clara Principles Carterfone Decoder interview with YouTube chief product officer Neal Mohan Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Facebook v. Power Ventures Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/22805290 Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge, and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Today's episode was produced by Creighton DeSimone and Jackie McDermott and it was edited by Callie Wright. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Our Sr Audio Director is Andrew Marino and our Executive Producer is Eleanor Donovan.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How to Fix the Internet
Making Hope

How to Fix the Internet

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 12, 2022 36:51


The joy of tinkering, making, and sharing is part of the human condition. In modern times, this creative freedom too often is stifled by secrecy as a means of monetization - from non-compete laws to quashing people's right to repair the products they've already paid for.Adam Savage—the maker extraordinaire best known from the television shows MythBusters and Savage Builds—is an outspoken advocate for the right to repair, to tinker, and to put creativity and innovation to work in your own garage. He says a fear-based approach to invention, in which everyone thinks secrecy is the path to a big payday, is exhausting and counterproductive.Savage speaks with EFF's Cindy Cohn and Danny O'Brien about creating a world in which we incrementally keep building on each others' work, keep iterating the old into new, and keep making things better through collaboration.In this episode you'll learn about:How cosplay symbolizes what's best about the instincts to make and shareWhy it's better to live in the Star Trek universe than the Star Wars universeBalancing the desire for profit with wide dissemination of ideas that benefit society and cultureBuilding a movement to encourage more people to be makers - and getting the law out of the wayThis podcast is supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Program in Public Understanding of Science and Technology.Music for How to Fix the Internet was created for us by Reed Mathis and Nat Keefe of BeatMower. This podcast is licensed Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, and includes the following music licensed Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported by their creators: JPEG of a Hotdog by gaetanh http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/gaetanh/6471Tall Glass of Turnip Juice by gaetanh http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/gaetanh/6471Gone for Smokes by gaetanh http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/gaetanh/6471Declan's Dipsy Doodle by gaetanh http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/gaetanh/6471Whose Hand is That by gaetanh http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/gaetanh/6471

How to Fix the Internet
Your Tax Dollars at Work

How to Fix the Internet

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 5, 2022 29:11


Democracy means allowing everyday people to have their voices heard on public matters involving their communities. One of the goals of civic technology is to allow a more diverse group of people to have input on government affairs through the use of technology and the internet. Beth Noveck, author of Solving Public Problems and Director of the Governance Lab, chats with EFF's Cindy Cohn and Danny O'Brien about how civic technology can enhance people's relationship with the government and help improve their communities.In this episode you'll learn about:What civic technology is and how it can be used to approach and fix public problems while enhancing the relationship between people and their government. The importance of deciding what problem you are trying to solve before working on a solution.Ways that civic technology can ensure that the government is held accountable for its actions. How we can build civic technology tools to increase inclusion, specifically for those who have been marginalized or previously left out of the conversation.Why civic technology allows for more people to get engaged in their democracy.The good and bad that can come with governments increasing their knowledge of technology.If you have any feedback on this episode, please email podcast@eff.org. Please visit the site page at https://eff.org/pod204 where you'll find resources – including links to important legal cases and research discussed in the podcast and a full transcript of the audio. This podcast is supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Program in Public Understanding of Science and Technology.Music for How to Fix the Internet was created for us by Reed Mathis and Nat Keefe of BeatMower. This podcast is licensed Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, and includes the following music licensed Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported by their creators: http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/djlang59/37792Drops of H2O (The Filtered Water Treatment ) by J.Lang Ft: Airtonehttp://dig.ccmixter.org/files/mwic/58883Xena's Kiss / Medea's Kiss by mwic http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/AlexBeroza/59612Kalte Ohren by Alex Ft: starfrosch & Jerry Spoonhttp://dig.ccmixter.org/files/snowflake/59564rr4Come Inside by Snowflake Ft: Starfrosch, Jerry Spoon, Kara Square, spinningmerkabahttp://dig.ccmixter.org/files/zep_hurme/59681Come Inside by Zep Hurme Ft: snowflake

How to Fix the Internet
Securing the Internet of Things

How to Fix the Internet

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 29, 2022 27:31


Today almost everything is connected to the internet - from your coffeemaker to your car to your thermostat. But the “Internet of Things” may not be hardwired for security. Window Snyder, computer security expert and author, joins EFF hosts Cindy Cohn and Danny O'Brien as they delve into the scary insecurities lurking in so many of our modern conveniences—and how we can change policies and tech to improve our security and safety.Window Snyder is the founder and CEO of Thistle Technologies. She's the former Chief Security Officer of Square, Fastly and Mozilla, and she spent five years at Apple focusing on privacy strategy and features for OS X and iOS. Window is also the co-author of Threat Modeling, a manual for security architecture analysis in software.In this episode, Window explains why malicious hackers might be interested in getting access  to your refrigerator, doorbell, or printer. These basic household electronics can be an entry point for attackers to gain access to other sensitive devices on your network.  Some of these devices may themselves store sensitive data, like a printer or the camera in a kid's bedroom. Unfortunately, many internet-connected devices in your home aren't designed to be easily inspected and reviewed for inappropriate access. That means it can be hard for you to know whether they've been compromised.But the answer is not forswearing all connected devices. Window approaches this problem with some optimism for the future. Software companies have learned, after an onslaught of attacks, to  prioritize security. And she covers how we can bring the lessons of software security  into the world of hardware devices. In this episode, we explain:How it was the hard costs of addressing security vulnerabilities, rather than the sharp stick of regulation, that pushed many tech companies to start prioritizing cybersecurity. The particular threat of devices that are no longer being updated by the companies that originally deployed them, perhaps because that product is no longer produced, or because the company has folded or been sold.Why we should adapt our best current systems for software security, like our processes for updating browsers and operating systems, for securing newly networked devices, like doorbells and refrigerators.Why committing to a year or two of security updates isn't good enough when it comes to consumer goods like cars and medical technology. Why it's important for hardware creators to build devices so that they will be able to reliably update the software without “bricking” the device.The challenge of covering the cost of security updates when a user only pays once for the device – and how  bundling security updates with new features can entice users to stay updated.This podcast is supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Program in Public Understanding of Science and Technology.If you have any feedback on this episode, please email podcast@eff.org. Please visit the site page at eff.org/pod203 where you'll find resources – including links to important legal cases and research discussed in the podcast and a full transcript of the audio. Music for How to Fix the Internet was created for us by Reed Mathis and Nat Keefe of BeatMower. This podcast is licensed Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, and includes the following music licensed Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported by their creators: http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/djlang59/37792Drops of H2O (The Filtered Water Treatment ) by J.Lang Ft: Airtonehttp://dig.ccmixter.org/files/admiralbob77/59533Warm Vacuum Tube  by Admiral Bob Ft: starfroschhttp://dig.ccmixter.org/files/mwic/58883Xena's Kiss / Medea's Kiss by mwichttp://dig.ccmixter.org/files/airtone/59721reCreation by airtone 

Reimagining the Internet
How to Fix the Internet with EFF

Reimagining the Internet

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 16, 2022 37:50


this week to share an episode from our friends' podcast. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has an excellent show hosted by Cindy Cohn and Danny O'Brien called How to Fix the Internet. Our show has a lot in common with theirs – in fact it has so much in common that they had Ethan on their show back in January. We're that interview today, and if you enjoy it, be sure to subscribe to How to Fix the Internet for more.

How to Fix the Internet
Watching the Watchers

How to Fix the Internet

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 15, 2022 31:17


Imagine being detained by armed agents whenever you returned from traveling outside the country. That's what life became like for Academy Award-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras, who was placed on a terrorist watch-list after she made a documentary critical of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. Poitras was detained close to 100 times between 2006 and 2012, and border agents routinely copied her notebooks and threatened to take her electronics. It was only after Poitras teamed up with EFF to sue the government that she was able to see evidence of the government's six-year campaign of spying on her. This week on our podcast, Poitras joins EFF's Cindy Cohn and Danny O'Brien to talk about her continuing work to uncover spying on journalists, and what we can do to fight back against mass surveillance. In this episode you'll learn about: What life was like for Poitras when she was placed on a terror watch list and put under FBI surveillanceWhy security is a “team sport,” and what we can all do to protect ourselves as well as more vulnerable people  Poitras' new work about the NSO Group, an Israeli spyware company that has been accused of facilitating human rights abuses worldwideWhat legal strategies can be used to push back on mass surveillanceThe role of whistleblowers like Edward Snowden and human rights activists in uncovering spying abuses, and how they can be better protectedThe laws that we need to protect professional journalists and citizen journalists in an age where anyone can record the news If you have any feedback on this episode, please email podcast@eff.org. Please visit the site page at https://eff.org/podcast where you'll find resources – including links to important legal cases and research discussed in the podcast and a full transcript of the audio. This podcast is supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Program in Public Understanding of Science and Technology.Music for How to Fix the Internet was created for us by Reed Mathis and Nat Keefe of BeatMower. This podcast is licensed Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, and includes the following music licensed Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported by their creators: Come Inside by Snowflake (c) copyright 2019 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/snowflake/59564 Ft: Starfrosch, Jerry Spoon, Kara Square, spinningmerkaba_____http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/AlexBeroza/59612Kalte Ohren by Alex (c) copyright 2019 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/AlexBeroza/59612 Ft: starfrosch & Jerry Spoon_____http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/zep_hurme/59681Come Inside by Zep Hurme (c) copyright 2019 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/zep_hurme/59681 Ft: snowflake_____http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/djlang59/37792Drops of H2O ( The Filtered Water Treatment ) by J.Lang (c) copyright 2012 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/djlang59/37792 Ft: Airtone  

How to Fix the Internet
Data Doppelgängers

How to Fix the Internet

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 25, 2022 36:39


What if we re-imagined the internet to be built by more people, in new ways, that actually worked for us as a public good instead of a public harm? Join Ethan Zuckerman in conversation with Cindy Cohn and Danny O'Brien as they fix and reimagine the internet. They'll talk about what the internet could look like if a diversity of people built their own tools, how advertising could be less creepy, but still work, and how hope in the future will light the way to a better internet. In this episode you'll learn about:The challenges researchers face when gathering information and data about our relationship with social media platforms.Different ways to communicate with groups online and how these alternatives would improve online speech.Ways that third parties have tried to give more user control in social media platforms.How censorship, and who we worry about censoring speech, has changed as the internet has evolved.The problems with surveillance advertising and alternative ideas for advertisements on the internet.How the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act blocks research and innovation, and how we can fix it.How communication on the internet has changed over time, why social media giants aren't getting it right, and how to move forward.This podcast is supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Program in Public Understanding of Science and Technology.This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Additional music is used under creative commons license from CCMixter includes: http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/zep_hurme/59681Come Inside by Zep Hurme (c) copyright 2019 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/zep_hurme/59681 Ft: snowflakehttp://dig.ccmixter.org/files/djlang59/60335Perspectives *** by J.Lang (c) copyright 2019 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/djlang59/60335 Ft: Sackjo22 and Admiral Bobhttp://dig.ccmixter.org/files/mwic/58883Xena's Kiss / Medea's Kiss by mwic (c) copyright 2018 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/mwic/58883 http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/djlang59/37792Drops of H2O ( The Filtered Water Treatment ) by J.Lang (c) copyright 2012 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/djlang59/37792 Ft: Airtonehttp://dig.ccmixter.org/files/airtone/59721reCreation by airtone (c) copyright 2019 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/airtone/59721 

How to Fix the Internet
How Private is Your Bank Account?

How to Fix the Internet

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 18, 2022 29:32


Financial transactions reveal so much about us: the causes we support, where we go, what we buy, who we spend time with. Somehow, the mass surveillance of financial transactions has been normalized in the United States, despite the fourth amendment protection in the constitution. But it doesn't have to be that way, as explained by Marta Belcher, a lawyer and activist in the financial privacy world. Marta offers a deep dive into financial surveillance and censorship. In this episode, you'll learn about: The concept of the third party doctrine, a court-created idea that law enforcement doesn't need to get a warrant to access metadata shared with third parties (such as companies that manage communications and banking services);How financial surveillance can have a chilling effect on activist communities, including pro-democracy activists fighting against authoritarian regimes in Hong Kong and elsewhere;How the Bank Secrecy Act means that your bank services are sharing sensitive banking details on customers with the government by default, without any request from law enforcement to prompt it;Why the Bank Secrecy Act as it's currently interpreted violates the Fourth Amendment; The potential role of blockchain technologies to import some of the privacy-protective features of cash into the digital world;How one recent case missed an opportunity to better protect the data of cryptocurrency users;How financial surveillance is a precursor to financial censorship, in which banking services are restricted for people who haven't violated the law. This podcast is supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Program in Public Understanding of Science and Technology.This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Additional music is used under creative commons license from CCMixter includes: http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/zep_hurme/59681Come Inside by Zep Hurme (c) copyright 2019 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/zep_hurme/59681 Ft: snowflakehttp://dig.ccmixter.org/files/djlang59/60335Perspectives *** by J.Lang (c) copyright 2019 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/djlang59/60335 Ft: Sackjo22 and Admiral Bobhttp://dig.ccmixter.org/files/AlexBeroza/59612Kalte Ohren by Alex (c) copyright 2019 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/AlexBeroza/59612 Ft: starfrosch & Jerry Spoonhttp://dig.ccmixter.org/files/admiralbob77/59533Warm Vacuum Tube  by Admiral Bob (c) copyright 2019 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/admiralbob77/59533 Ft: starfroschhttp://dig.ccmixter.org/files/djlang59/37792Drops of H2O ( The Filtered Water Treatment ) by J.Lang (c) copyright 2012 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/djlang59/37792 Ft: Airtone

How to Fix the Internet
A Better Future With Secret Codes

How to Fix the Internet

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 14, 2021 31:05


We don't always think about what it means to have the information on our devices stay secure, and it may seem like the locks on our phones are enough to keep our private lives private. But there is increasing pressure from law enforcement to leave a back door open on our encrypted devices. Meanwhile, other government agencies, including consumer protection agencies, want more secure devices. We dive into the nuances of the battle to secure our data and our lives, and consider what the future would be like if we can finally end the “crypto wars” and tackle other problems in society. On this episode, hosts Cindy Cohn and Danny O'Brien are joined by Riana Pfeffercorn from Stanford's Centre for Internet and Society to talk about device encryption and why it's important. This podcast is supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Program in Public Understanding of Science and Technology.This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Additional music is used under creative commons licence from CCMixter includes: http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/AlexBeroza/59612Kalte Ohren by Alex (c) copyright 2019 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/AlexBeroza/59612 Ft: starfrosch & Jerry Spoonhttp://dig.ccmixter.org/files/djlang59/37792Drops of H2O ( The Filtered Water Treatment ) by J.Lang (c) copyright 2012 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/djlang59/37792 Ft: Airtonehttp://dig.ccmixter.org/files/mwic/58883Xena's Kiss / Medea's Kiss by mwic (c) copyright 2018 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/mwic/58883  

How to Fix the Internet
Pay a Hacker, Save a Life

How to Fix the Internet

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 7, 2021 28:22


Join us for a live chat as hosts Cindy and Danny speak with cybersecurity expert Tarah Wheeler on Thursday Dec 9th at 2pm PT. They will continue the conversation that started on this episode of the podcast, exploring how we can incentivize computer security and fix computer crime laws: https://www.eff.org/tarahchat======================There are flaws in the tech we use everyday- from little software glitches to big data breaches, and security researchers often know about them before we do. Getting those issues fixed is not always as straightforward as it should be. It's not always easy to bend a corporation's ear, and companies may ignore the threat for liability reasons putting us all at risk. Technology and cybersecurity expert Tarah Wheeler joins Cindy Cohn and Danny O'Brien to explain how she thinks security experts can help build a more secure internet. On this episode, you'll learn:About the human impact of security vulnerabilities—and how unpatched flaws can change or even end lives;How to reconsider the popular conception of hackers, and understand their role in helping build a more secure digital world;How the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), a law that is supposed to punish computer intrusion, has been written so broadly that it now stifles security researchers;What we can learn from the culture around airplane safety regulation—including transparency and blameless post-mortems;How we can align incentives, including financial incentives, to improve vulnerability reporting and response;How the Supreme Court case Van Buren helped security researchers by ensuring that the CFAA couldn't be used to prosecute someone for merely violating the terms of service of a website or application;How a better future would involve more collaboration and transparency among both companies and security researchers.This podcast is supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Program in Public Understanding of Science and Technology.Resources: ResourcesConsumer Data Privacy:Equifax Data Breach Update: Backsliding (EFF)EFF's Recommendations for Consumer Data Privacy Laws (EFF)Strengthen California's Next Consumer Data Privacy Initiative (EFF)Ransomware:A Hospital Hit by Hackers, a Baby in Distress: The Case of the First Alleged Ransomware Death (WSJ)FAQ: DarkSide Ransomware Group and Colonial Pipeline (EFF)Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA):CFAA and Security Researchers (EFF)Van Buren is a Victory Against Overbroad Interpretations of the CFAA, and Protects Security Researchers (EFF)Van Buren v. United States (SCOTUS)EFF CFAA Revisions – Penalties and Access (EFF)Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and Reform (EFF)Electoral Security:Election Security (EFF)This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Additional music is used under creative commons licence from CCMixter includes: http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/admiralbob77/59533Warm Vacuum Tube  by Admiral Bob (c) copyright 2019 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/admiralbob77/59533 Ft: starfroschhttp://dig.ccmixter.org/files/snowflake/59564rr4Come Inside by Snowflake (c) copyright 2019 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/snowflake/59564 Ft: Starfrosch, Jerry Spoon, Kara Square, spinningmerkabahttp://dig.ccmixter.org/files/djlang59/37792Drops of H2O ( The Filtered Water Treatment ) by J.Lang (c) copyright 2012 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/djlang59/37792 Ft: Airtonehttp://dig.ccmixter.org/files/airtone/59721reCreation by airtone (c) copyright 2019 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/airtone/59721

How to Fix the Internet
Who Controls Online Speech?

How to Fix the Internet

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 30, 2021 35:38


The bots that try to moderate speech online are doing a terrible job, and the humans in charge of the biggest tech companies aren't doing any better. The internet's promise was as a space where everyone could have their say. But today, just a few platforms get to decide what billions of people see and say online. What's a better way forward? How can we get back to a world where communities and people decide what's best for content moderation, rather than tech billionaires or government dictates?  Join Daphne Keller, from Stanford's Centre for the Internet and Society, in conversation with  EFF's Cindy Cohn and Danny O'Brien about a better way to moderate speech online. In this episode you'll learn about: — Why giant platforms do a poor job of moderating content—What competitive compatibility (ComCom) is, and how it's a vital part of the solution to our content moderation puzzle— Why machine learning algorithms won't be able to figure out who or what a “terrorist” is, and who it's likely to catch instead— What is the debate over “amplification” of speech, and is it any different than our debate over speech itself? —Why international voices need to be included in discussion about content moderation—and the problems that occur when they're not—How we could shift towards “bottom-up” content moderation rather than a concentration of power  

How to Fix the Internet
The Revolution Will Be Open Source

How to Fix the Internet

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 23, 2021 31:13


Open source software touches every piece of technology that touches our lives- in other words, it's everywhere. Free software and collaboration is at the heart of every device we rely on, and much of the internet is built from the hard work of people dedicated to the open source dream: ideals that all software should be licenced to be free, modified, distributed and copied without penalty. The movement is growing, and that growth is creating pressure: from too many projects, and not enough resources. The culture is shifting, too, as new people around the world join in and bring different ideas and different dreams for an open source future. James Vasile has been working in open source software for decades, and he joins Cindy Cohn and Danny O'Brien to talk about the challenges that growth is creating, and the opportunities it presents to make open source, and the Internet, even better. If you have any feedback on this episode, please email podcast@eff.org. Please visit the site page at https://eff.org/pod102 where you'll find resources – including links to important legal cases and research discussed in the podcast and a full transcript of the audio, at This podcast is supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Program in Public Understanding of Science and Technology.This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Fix the Internet
What Police Get When They Get Your Phone

How to Fix the Internet

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 16, 2021 30:49


Your phone is a window to your soul - and that window has been left open to law enforcement. Today, even small-town police departments have powerful tools that can easily access the most intimate information on your cell phone. Upturn's Executive Director Harlan Yu joins EFF hosts Cindy Cohn and Danny O'Brien to talk about a better way for law enforcement to treat our data. When Upturn researchers surveyed police departments on the mobile device forensic tools they were using on mobile phones, they discovered that the tools are being used by police departments large and small across America. There are few rules on what law enforcement can do with the data they download, and not very many policies on how the information should be stored, shared, or destroyed.In this episode you'll learn about:Mobile device forensic tools (MDFTs) that are used by police to download data from your phone, even when it's lockedHow court cases such as Riley v. California powerfully protect our digital privacy-- but those protections are evaded when police get verbal consent to search a phoneHow widespread the use of MDFTs are by law enforcement departments across the country, including small-town police departments investigating minor infractions The roles that phone manufacturers and mobile device forensic tool vendors can play in protecting user data How re-envisioning our approaches to phone surveillance helps address issues of systemic targeting of marginalized communities by police agenciesThe role of warrants in protecting our digital data. If you have any feedback on this episode, please email podcast@eff.org. Please visit the site page at https://eff.org/pod101 where you'll find resources – including links to important legal cases and research discussed in the podcast and a full transcript of the audio. This podcast is supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Program in Public Understanding of Science and Technology.This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The Blockchain.com Podcast
Episode 41: ‘Code as speech' - Bernstein vs. The Department of Justice with Cindy Cohn

The Blockchain.com Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 16, 2021 54:12


Regulatory scrutiny will always be part of the bargain when it comes to the mass adoption of cryptocurrency. To talk about some of the current policy issues surrounding crypto, we spoke with Cindy Cohn, Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). 25 years ago, Cindy helped lead the Bernstein vs. The Department of Justice court case, which established software code as protected speech under the US civil rights first amendment. If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to subscribe and leave a review. Start your crypto journey with Blockchain.com today. Sign up for a Wallet: blockchain.com/wallet Trade on the Exchange: exchange.blockchain.com

The Transnational
Cindy Cohn: ‘Governments Are Spying on the People Who Bring Us the News'

The Transnational

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 4, 2021 22:34


By Cindy Cohn This episode is also available as a blog post: https://transnational.live/2021/10/04/cindy-cohn-governments-are-spying-on-the-people-who-bring-us-the-news/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/transnational-foundation/message

California Groundbreakers
This Changes Everything #19: How Technology Is Getting Better, Worse & More Dominant In Our Lives

California Groundbreakers

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 1, 2021 55:43


Silicon Valley has always been the global hub of technology, and in the past 18 months, it has made the tools that allowed Americans -- and the American economy -- to survive the pandemic. Right now, California's tech industry is triumphant, and flush with profits. What will it do with all that money and power? And who, if anyone, can restrain tech, and its potential to dominate the way we live our lives? We talk with Cindy Cohn, executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, about what Big Tech and Silicon Valley are doing – and should be doing – when it comes to misinformation, consumer data, cyberattacks, dealing with Congress and the FBI, and more (https://www.eff.org/about/staff/cindy-cohn). PODCAST PLAY-BY-PLAY * 0 to 4:40 min - Intro to California Groundbreakers, and to this episode * 4:40 min - How Cohn has personally experienced the boons and the banes of pandemic-time technology * 7:40 min - With the Delta variant of the coronavirus on the rise, should tech be used to create vaccine passports and immunity passports, and for public health monitoring in general? * 14 min - How privacy and security of our consumer data gathered online has changed during the pandemic * 18:05 min - How the battle of the Feds vs. Big Tech will affect us * 25 min - "This is an example of everyone agreeing on a problem and rushing to a really awful solution" * 28:10 min - What the tech industry should do (or not) about the issue of misinformation vs. freedom of expression * 33:30 min - Can Silicon Valley protect us from ransomware, spyware and cyberattacks? * 41:30 min - Why California's "broadband destiny" now has a bright future * 46 min - Because we're more online now, how can we better protect our digital privacy and freedoms? * 50:30 min - Silicon Valley is always rising and falling -- how will it do this time post-pandemic? RESOURCE GUIDE * Electronic Frontier Foundation's tools for web privacy and security - https://www.eff.org/pages/tools * EFF's "How to Fix the Internet" Podcast - https://www.eff.org/how-to-fix-the-internet-podcast

CounterSpin
Luke Harris on Critical Race Theory, Cindy Cohn on Pegasus Spyware

CounterSpin

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2021 27:52


Media have misinformed the public about a campaign whose own architects say is about disinforming, confusing and inflaming people. The post Luke Harris on Critical Race Theory, Cindy Cohn on Pegasus Spyware appeared first on FAIR.

Audio Signals
30 Years Of Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Protecting The Users, The Creators, And Your Online Freedom | An Audio Signals Conversation With EFF Executive Director Cindy Cohn

Audio Signals

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 5, 2021 35:20


If you were on the internet back in the day, you might remember the excitement that came with it. The technology, the opportunities, the democratization of knowledge, and a new way to freely communicate with everyone and about everything. Well, not quite so.“When EFF was founded on July 10, 1990, it was revolutionary to imagine ordinary people possessing technology that could instantly erase distance, create connection, and access much of the world's knowledge. The early Internet was an extraordinary place burgeoning with possibilities, and while the early users of digital world didn't necessarily reflect the wider world or always get things right, they could see that this “new home of Mind” would change everything.But EFF wasn't founded on a naïve belief that the coming change would create a digital utopia. Quite the contrary. For all the joy, creativity, and togetherness that technology can help bring, EFF took root because even from those early days it was clear that powerful new digital tools could be used to hurt as well as to heal. Censorship, corporate and government surveillance, and efforts to lock down and control innovation and innovators were all present from the beginning, too. EFF was created to fight against injustice and stand for freedom.Thirty years later we're still standing, and taller than ever before.”— Cindy Cohn | EFF Executive Director *Read the full piece EFF's 30th Anniversary: https://www.eff.org/tags/eff30_______________________GuestCindy Cohn | Executive Director at Electronic Frontier FoundationOn Linkedin

ITSPmagazine | Technology. Cybersecurity. Society
30 Years Of Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Protecting The Users, The Creators, And Your Online Freedom | An Audio Signals Conversation With EFF Executive Director Cindy Cohn

ITSPmagazine | Technology. Cybersecurity. Society

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 4, 2021 35:20


If you were on the internet back in the day, you might remember the excitement that came with it. The technology, the opportunities, the democratization of knowledge, and a new way to freely communicate with everyone and about everything. Well, not quite so.“When EFF was founded on July 10, 1990, it was revolutionary to imagine ordinary people possessing technology that could instantly erase distance, create connection, and access much of the world's knowledge. The early Internet was an extraordinary place burgeoning with possibilities, and while the early users of digital world didn't necessarily reflect the wider world or always get things right, they could see that this “new home of Mind” would change everything.But EFF wasn't founded on a naïve belief that the coming change would create a digital utopia. Quite the contrary. For all the joy, creativity, and togetherness that technology can help bring, EFF took root because even from those early days it was clear that powerful new digital tools could be used to hurt as well as to heal. Censorship, corporate and government surveillance, and efforts to lock down and control innovation and innovators were all present from the beginning, too. EFF was created to fight against injustice and stand for freedom.Thirty years later we're still standing, and taller than ever before.”— Cindy Cohn | EFF Executive Director *Read the full piece EFF's 30th Anniversary: https://www.eff.org/tags/eff30_______________________GuestCindy Cohn | Executive Director at Electronic Frontier FoundationOn Linkedin

The Omni Show
Privacy Special - Part 2 with Cindy Cohn and Ken Case

The Omni Show

Play Episode Listen Later May 3, 2021 32:56


In today’s Omni Show episode, we conclude our two-part privacy special b...

Engage: A Genetec podcast
Engage - Episode 5 - "Eyes Wired Open": Constrasting Strategies: Surveilance Technologies in Britain and the US

Engage: A Genetec podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 25, 2021 35:09


Eyes Wired Open: Constrasting Strategies: Surveilance Technologies in Britain and the US From pervasive video cameras to facial recognition and privacy issues surrounding personal information prompted by the pandemic, government and civil liberty organizations on both sides of the Atlantic are responding with very different strategies to balance the need for security and the privacy of citizens. In this Episode of Engage, “Eyes Wired Open” we speak with former UK Surveillance Camera Commissioner, Tony Porter, and Cindy Cohn, executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation to get their thoughts on the UK and the US’s video surveillance strategies. 

Quick News Daily Podcast
Biden/Harris: People of the Year - 12/11/20

Quick News Daily Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 11, 2020 13:06


On today's Quick News Daily, we discuss the latest news about the FDA pre-approving the Pfizer COVID vaccine, as well as the news from the UK about 2 people who had serious allergic reactions to it. Then, I talk about the potentially game-changing antitrust lawsuit against Facebook, as well as an update on the Rebekah Jones raid in Florida.----more----Find Quick News on your favorite podcast platform: rebrand.ly/QuickNewsSources:Lawyers' group calls for disciplining Trump legal team over 'dangerous' fraud allegations Facebook antitrust case: FTC and several states launch lawsuits The antitrust case against Facebook: Here's what you need to know Florida state police release body cam video of raid on ex-Covid data's scientist home Evidence to justify raid on home of Rebekah Jones weak, experts say Pfizer Faces Enormous Task Of Covid Vaccine Distribution After FDA Panel Recommends Urgent Use FDA advisers recommend authorization of Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccinehttps://www.cnn.com/2020/12/09/health/covid-vaccine-allergies-health-workers-uk-intl-gbr/index.html   (Mostly Accurate) Transcript:COVID The big news from yesterday (that I think we all expected) was that vaccine advisers to the FDA voted to recommend emergency use authorization for the Pfizer vaccine. On this panel, the vote was 17-4-1.  I thought that this was like the final say, but now the FDA has to decide whether to accept the recommendation, but has signaled that it will issue the EUA for the vaccine. Then, after that, there’s still another step where the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices must meet to decide whether it recommends that the vaccine be deployed for use. That group has a meeting scheduled for today, and expects to vote during a meeting scheduled for Sunday.Operation Warp Speed officials say they will start shipping the vaccine within 24 hours of FDA authorization.  The FDA group is scheduled to meet again December 17 to discuss Moderna's EUA application.  This is all good news, and I think when you weigh the amount of testing that has happened with this, I think it’s safe. At the same time, there is some unsettling news about a couple of allergic reactions that happened in the UK.  The UK regulators issued new advice to healthcare professionals stating that any person with a significant allergic reaction to a vaccine, medicine or food -- such as previous history of anaphylactoid reaction, or those who have been advised to carry an adrenaline autoinjector -- should not receive the Pfizer vaccine. The two staff members who had that reaction both carried an Epipen and had a history of allergic reactions, and they developed symptoms of anaphylactoid reaction after receiving the vaccine on Tuesday. I think the scariest wording was that this advice also states that vaccines "should only be carried out in facilities where resuscitation measures are available."  Finally, this advice recommends that people who carry an EpiPen to delay having a vaccination until the reason for the allergic reaction has been clarified.  Again, I want to be careful on this because I think the benefits greatly outweigh the alternatives, and I don’t want to start any unnecessary vaccine panic because these were just two people, and the study alone was 44,000, but it’s definitely something to know. I also read that Pfizer’s trial protocols said that to be in that study, you couldn’t have a history of severe allergic reaction “to any component of the study intervention”. That might explain why this didn’t happen in the trial. Another expert in this CNN article said that until we know what part of the vaccine actually caused these reactions, the general public shouldn’t be worried, which makes sense; maybe it was something that was very rare. Just something to keep in mind though as we get closer and closer to this. FACEBOOK Some other news that I was happy to hear is that both the government and regulators want Facebook to be broken up because they’re a monopoly.  Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, Ian Conner, said "Facebook's actions to entrench and maintain its monopoly deny consumers the benefits of competition. Our aim is to roll back Facebook's anticompetitive conduct and restore competition so that innovation and free competition can thrive." The government and regulators are saying Facebook should have to sell off Instagram and WhatsApp.  Facebook’s latest argument is that people choose its services not because they have to, but because they want to, which is pretty much a flat out lie. I wouldn’t be on there for this show unless it was absolutely necessary to build a community. For millions of small businesses, Facebook advertising is pretty much their main marketing strategy. You can’t go over to Twitter and get the same visibility. Facebook’s PR narrative is that they welcome regulation, but that cracking down too hard could risk giving other countries like China a competitive edge in the fast-moving technology sector. I’m glad that years and years of having to defend themselves for being a monopoly let them try out a bunch of defenses, and good for them for settling on the one that sounds like it hints at racism. I also don’t think it’s a coincidence that Trump brainwashed his followers into thinking that Biden loves China and calls the coronavirus the “China Plague” and all that, and then suddenly, Facebook uses this to defend itself when they know full well that they survive by letting white supremacist groups thrive on their platform.   This all got started when New York Attorney General Letitia James announced in September 2019 that she was leading an investigation into Facebook for anticompetitive practices, which 47 state attorneys general signed on a month later. These types of lawsuits understandably usually take a lot of time to play out. One of the most high-profile cases, a landmark lawsuit against Microsoft in 1998, took almost two years to come to a conclusion (actually, that seems pretty quick to me. When you take on a huge company who likes money and doesn’t like you stepping on their toes, 2 years seems pretty quick). I guess we should temper our expectations a bit, but the fact that this happened while Trump is in office is encouraging, because it’s usually Republicans who are all for business rights and that sort of thing. You know, the crooked capitalism that’s more of an oligopoly.  REBEKAH JONESIn our third update of the week on this story, two videos of the raid on Rebekah Jones’ house were released by the FDLE. The videos show that Jones didn't exit her home until about 23 minutes after officers first rang the doorbell, and 15 minutes after they first announced themselves as police. Jones has claimed authorities waited 13 minutes while she got dressed."Police search warrant, open the door!" officers yell several times. "Make sure the whole block hears us," one agent tells his colleagues. Jones has said that officers in the house pointed guns at her 2- and 11-year-old children and her husband, which the department has denied. She released her own video of the raid showing officers inside with guns drawn, but it’s unclear whether those officers were also wearing body cameras. I’m just going to go out on a limb here, but we all know how these stories go: they’re going to find that these super reliable cameras mysteriously turned off on their own or malfunctioned or something, but just on the officers that went inside the home and allegedly pointed guns at her kids. The authorities also said that they seized three computers, two phones, and several memory cards and thumb drives. I hate to say I told you so, but I was kind of right: she wasn’t totally honest, but that doesn’t mean that ol’ Ronny DeSantis is in the clear either. There’s also some crazy stuff in her past with getting arrested 3 times in relation to an affair she was having where she was stalking the guy she was having it with. It’s all true, it’s in court documents she filed. These documents included 342 pages, so basically a full novel, about their affair, which is like the nerd version of 50 Shades. So yeah, maybe she’s not the perfect messenger, but there is some controversy over the actual affidavit that they used to get the search warrant.  The FDLE claims to have traced "through the use of investigative resources" the origin of the message to an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with Jones' Comcast account for her Tallahassee home."It is well known that IP addresses can be spoofed. In other words, I can make an IP or I can make it look as though Internet traffic is coming from somewhere else," said Kevin Butler, associate director of the Florida Institute for Cybersecurity Research and a professor of computer science at the University of Florida.The Electronic Frontier Foundation, the country's leading internet civil liberties and data privacy advocacy group, in 2016 published a 22-page white paper laying out why IP addresses on their own are unreliable personal identifiers, and are commonly misused or misunderstood by police and the courts. A key reason is that information can often relay through multiple IP addresses. "It's a thin read to just use the IP address, and it's one that we really, really discourage," said Cindy Cohn, the EFF's executive director. "An IP address is nothing, is not even remotely like a fingerprint... the reason that we worry about IP addresses is the cops will often pretend like they're a fingerprint."Jason Lewis, an assistant professor of computer science who heads the cyber security program at Florida Southern College and a former law enforcement agent who served as an investigator for the United States Secret Service's Colorado Electronic Crimes Task Force, said the affidavit to his eyes did not sufficiently establish probable cause. Lewis Another professor in this field says that "the use of investigative resources: now, I've used that phrase before, but never like this, that is a jump”, referring to the language in the affidavit that ties the IP address to Jones. "To say that I have an IP address, and then through use of investigative resources, it belongs to Rebekah I would dare say that to me doesn't scream probable cause. I really don't see how, that they're showing to a reasonable person, that the facts support a crime and tying it to her." "It would be like saying 'I found a bullet and through investigative resources Jason shot it'," he said.Lewis  said there's no reason for records that would link the IP address to Jones' Comcast account to be confidential. Furthermore, IP addresses change over time and the affidavit does not demonstrate that FDLE proved that it corresponded to Jones at the time the message was sent, Lewis said. "​​​​​​There's no technique or source you need to protect when you say you're tying an IP address to a subscriber, so why not tell me that? To me that's really fishy."Cybersecurity and digital rights experts also said the fact that the emergency system in question relied on a shared username and password further complicates the case. The username and password was shared among "multiple" users, past and present, according to the FDLE affidavit which did not specify the number of users with access. That’s just like rule number one: never share your password. That’s rule 1, and rule 2 is don’t make your password “password”.  It was also revealed Wednesday that the username and password for the system are on a document that was publicly available on a Department of Health site, as first reported by Ars Technica. As of Thursday morning that document was still online. That’s wild! How can they claim only she could have hacked in when they had this stuff on the open internet? What’s up with that?"Normally you don't see prosecutors prosecuting for computer crimes something that didn't cause any harm... it seems to be a very sketchy use of discretion to try to use this very serious statute against somebody who didn't cause any harm to your systems." - CohnThe prosecutor that I mentioned a couple of days ago who resigned over this said "I have handled a lot of these kinds of cases in my career, and generally, the way that this statute is used, is to prosecute people who are hacking into other people's systems to steal their identity, to steal their money, to crash their servers, to cause some sort of harm to that person or entity, which is not present here,.”Filipkowski, in his resignation letter, said he reviewed the warrant, and said the raid was "unconscionable." "It's broadened out to allow them to basically seize any of her devices including zip drives, including things that really are wholly unrelated to that criminal statute," he said. "There's no minimization." "I think they intentionally worded it that broadly because they are on a fishing expedition, because they're not just looking at violations of that statute. They're looking for communications that are between state employees and Rebekah," he said.Lewis, the former cybercrimes investigator, also questioned why authorities seized thumb drives and memory cards to investigate accessing an online messaging system. "The only things I think that you would have had probable causes to seize would be the router and the computers" as well as the modem. Jones' router and modem weren't seized.Cohn said the FDLE's actions and the information in the affidavit don't help dispel that perception the raid was politically motivated. "This is way out of proportion, and I think it feeds the argument that this is political and not about law enforcement."Something is very fishy here, and of course it got found out this quickly: if something malicious did happen, Ron DeSantis is no genius. I will keep following this story and updating you. For this info today, it was from a great story in the Florida Today newspaper, which is like the Florida division of USA Today, so go check out that link and give them some traffic; this article was fantastic.  

How to Fix the Internet
Pilot Part 6: You Bought It, But Do You Own It?

How to Fix the Internet

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 8, 2020 59:04


Chris Lewis joins EFF hosts Cindy Cohn and Danny O'Brien as they discuss how our access to knowledge is increasingly governed by "click-wrap" agreements that prevent users from ever owning things like books and music, and how this undermines the legal doctrine of “first sale” – which states that once you buy a copyrighted work, it's yours to resell or give it away as you choose. They talk through the ramifications of this shift on society, and also start to paint a brighter future for how the digital world would thrive if we safeguard digital first sale. In this episode you'll learn about: The legal doctrine of first sale—in which owners of a copyrighted work can resell it or give it away as they choose—and why copyright maximalists have fought it for so long; The Redigi case, in which a federal court held that the Redigi music service, which allows music fans to store and resell music they buy from iTunes, violated copyright law—and why that set us down the wrong path; The need for a movement that can help champion digital first sale and access to knowledge more generally; How digital first sale connects to issues of access to knowledge, and how this provides a nexus to issues of societal equity; Why the shift to using terms of service to govern access to content such as music and books has meant that our access to knowledge is intermediated by contract law, which is often impenetrable to average users; How not having a strong right of digital first sale undermines libraries, which have long benefited from bequests and donations; How getting first sale right in the digital world will help to promote equitable access to knowledge and create a more accessible digital world. Christopher Lewis is President and CEO at Public Knowledge. Prior to being elevated to President and CEO, Chris served for as PK's Vice President from 2012 to 2019 where he led the organization's day-to-day advocacy and political strategy on Capitol Hill and at government agencies. During that time he also served as a local elected official, serving two terms on the Alexandria City Public School Board. Chris serves on the Board of Directors for the Institute for Local Self Reliance and represents Public Knowledge on the Board of the Broadband Internet Technical Advisory Group (BITAG). Before joining Public Knowledge, Chris worked in the Federal Communications Commission Office of Legislative Affairs, including as its Deputy Director. He is a former U.S. Senate staffer for the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy and has over 18 years of political organizing and advocacy experience, including serving as Virginia State Director at GenerationEngage, and working as the North Carolina Field Director for Barack Obama's 2008 Presidential Campaign and other roles throughout the campaign. Chris graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelors degree in Government and lives in Alexandria, VA where he continues to volunteer and advocate on local civic issues. You can find Chris on Twitter at @ChrisJ_Lewis Please subscribe to How to Fix the Internet via RSS, Stitcher, TuneIn, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or your podcast player of choice. You can also find the Mp3 of this episode on the Internet Archive.  If you have any feedback on this episode, please email podcast@eff.org. You'll find legal resources – including links to important cases, books, and briefs discussed in the podcast – as well a full transcript of the audio at https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/12/podcast-episode-you-bought-it-do-you-own-it. Audio editing for this episode by Stuga Studios: https://www.stugastudios.com. Music by Nat Keefe: https://natkeefe.com/   This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Fix the Internet
Pilot Part 5: From Your Face to Their Database

How to Fix the Internet

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 1, 2020 63:07


Abi Hassen joins EFF hosts Cindy Cohn and Danny O'Brien as they discuss the rise of facial recognition technology, how this increasingly powerful identification tool is ending up in the hands of law enforcement, and what that means for the future of public protest and the right to assemble and associate in public places. In this episode you'll learn about: The Black Movement Law Project, which Abi co-founded, and how it has evolved over time to meet the needs of protesters; Why the presumption that people don't have any right to privacy in public spaces is challenged by increasingly powerful identification technologies; Why we may need to think big when it comes to updating the U.S. law to protect privacy; How face recognition technology can have a chilling effect on public participation, even when the technology isn't  accurate; How face recognition technology is already leading to the wrongful arrest of innocent people, as seen in a recent case of a man in Detroit; How gang laws and anti-terrorism laws have been the foundation of a legal tools that can now be deployed against political activists; Understanding face recognition technology within the context of a range of powerful surveillance tools in the hands of law enforcement; How we can start to fix the problems caused by facial recognition through increased transparency, community control, and hard limits on law enforcement use of face recognition technology, How Abi sees the further goal is to move beyond restricting or regulating specific technologies to a world where public protests are not so necessary, as part of reimagining the role of law enforcement. Abi is a political philosophy student, attorney, technologist, co-founder of the Black Movement-Law Project, a legal support rapid response group that grew out of the uprisings in Ferguson, Baltimore, and elsewhere. He is also a partner (currently on leave) at O'Neill and Hassen LLP, a law practice focused on indigent criminal defense. Prior to this current positions, he was the Mass Defense Coordinator at the National Lawyers Guild. Abi has also worked as a political campaign manager and strategist, union organizer, and community organizer. He conducts trainings, speaks, and writes on topics of race, technology, (in)justice, and the law. Abi is particularly interested in exploring the dynamic nature of institutions, political movements, and their interactions from the perspective of complex systems theory. You can find Abi on Twitter at @AbiHassen, and his website is https://AbiHassen.com Please subscribe to How to Fix the Internet via RSS, Stitcher, TuneIn, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or your podcast player of choice. You can also find the Mp3 of this episode on the Internet Archive.  If you have any feedback on this episode, please email podcast@eff.org. You'll find legal resources – including links to important cases, books, and briefs discussed in the podcast – as well a full transcript of the audio at https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/11/podcast-episode-your-face-their-database. Audio editing for this episode by Stuga Studios: https://www.stugastudios.com. Music by Nat Keefe: https://natkeefe.com/   This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Podcast – Cory Doctorow's craphound.com
Talking interop on EFF’s podcast

Podcast – Cory Doctorow's craphound.com

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 24, 2020


How to Fix the Internet is EFF’s amazing new podcast: nuanced discussions of tech law and ethics with incredible experts, interviewed and contextualized by EFF executive director Cindy Cohn and strategy director Danny O’Brien. https://pluralistic.net/2020/11/13/said-no-one-ever/#fix-it I devoured the first three episodes. I mean, I started working with EFF nearly 19 years ago (!) but I... more

How to Fix the Internet
Pilot Part 4: Control Over Users, Competitors, and Critics

How to Fix the Internet

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 24, 2020 51:43


Cory Doctorow joins EFF hosts Cindy Cohn and Danny O'Brien as they discuss how large, established tech companies like Apple, Google, and Facebook can block interoperability in order to squelch competition and control their users, and how we can fix this by taking away big companies' legal right to block new tools that connect to their platforms – tools that would let users control their digital lives. In this episode you'll learn about: How the power to leave a platform is one of the most fundamental checks users have on abusive practices by tech companies—and how tech companies have made it harder for their users to leave their services while still participating in our increasingly digital society; How the lack of interoperability in modern tech platforms is often a set of technical choices that are backed by a legal infrastructure for enforcement, including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). This means that attempting to overcome interoperability barriers can come with legal risks as well as financial risks, making it especially unlikely for new entrants to attempt interoperating with existing technology; How online platforms block interoperability in order to silence their critics, which can have real free speech implications; The “kill zone” that exists around existing tech products, where investors will not back tech startups challenging existing tech monopolies, and even startups that can get a foothold may find themselves bought out by companies like Facebook and Google; How we can fix it: The role of “competitive compatibility,” also known as “adversarial interoperability”  in reviving stagnant tech marketplaces; How we can fix it by amending or interpreting the DMCA, CFAA and contract law to support interoperability rather than threaten it. How we can fix it by supporting the role of free and open source communities as champions of interoperability and offering alternatives to existing technical giants. Cory Doctorow (craphound.com) is a science fiction author, activist and journalist. He is the author of many books, most recently ATTACK SURFACE, RADICALIZED and WALKAWAY, science fiction for adults, IN REAL LIFE, a graphic novel; INFORMATION DOESN'T WANT TO BE FREE, a book about earning a living in the Internet age, and HOMELAND, a YA sequel to LITTLE BROTHER. His latest book is POESY THE MONSTER SLAYER, a picture book for young readers. Cory maintains a daily blog at Pluralistic.net. He works for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, is a MIT Media Lab Research Affiliate, is a Visiting Professor of Computer Science at Open University, a Visiting Professor of Practice at the University of North Carolina's School of Library and Information Science and co-founded the UK Open Rights Group. Born in Toronto, Canada, he now lives in Los Angeles. You can find Cory on Twitter at @doctorow. Please subscribe to How to Fix the Internet via RSS, Stitcher, TuneIn, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or your podcast player of choice. You can also find the Mp3 of this episode on the Internet Archive.  If you have any feedback on this episode, please email podcast@eff.org. A transcript of the episode, as well as legal resources – including links to important cases, books, and briefs discussed in the podcast – is available at https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/11/podcast-episode-control-over-users-competitors-and-critics.   Audio editing for this episode by Stuga Studios: https://www.stugastudios.com. Music by Nat Keefe: https://natkeefe.com/   This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Fix the Internet
Pilot Part 3: Closing a Loophole in the 4th Amendment

How to Fix the Internet

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 17, 2020 36:23


Jumana Musa joins EFF hosts Cindy Cohn and Danny O'Brien as they discuss how the third-party doctrine is undermining our Fourth Amendment right to privacy when we use digital services, and how recent court victories are a hopeful sign that we may reclaim these privacy rights in the future. In this episode you'll learn about: How the third-party doctrine is a judge-created legal doctrine that impacts your business records held by companies, including metadata such as what websites you visit, who you talk to, your location information, and much more; The Jones case, a vital Supreme Court case that found that law enforcement can't use continuous location tracking with a GPS device without a warrant; The Carpenter case, which found that the police must get a warrant before accessing cell site location information from a cell phone company over time; How law enforcement uses geofence warrants to scoop up the location data collected by companies from every device that happens to be in a geographic area during a specific period of time in the past; How getting the Fourth Amendment right is especially important because it is part of combatting racism: communities of color are more frequently surveilled and targeted by law enforcement, and thus slipshod legal standards for accessing data has a disproportionate impact on communities of color; Why even a warrant may not be an adequate legal standard sometimes, and that there are circumstances in which accessing business records should require a “super warrant” – meaning law enforcement could only access the data for investigating a limited number of crimes, and only if the data would be important for the crime.  Jumana Musa is a human rights attorney and racial justice activist. She is currently the Director of the Fourth Amendment Center at the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. As director, Ms. Musa oversees NACDL's initiative to build a new, more durable Fourth Amendment legal doctrine for the digital age. The Fourth Amendment Center educates the defense bar on privacy challenges in the digital age, provides a dynamic toolkit of resources to help lawyers identify opportunities to challenge government surveillance, and establishes a tactical litigation support network to assist in key cases. Ms. Musa previously served as NACDL's Sr. Privacy and National Security Counsel. Prior to joining NACDL, Ms. Musa served as a policy consultant for the Southern Border Communities Coalition, a coalition of over 60 groups across the southwest that address militarization and brutality by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in border communities. Previously, she served as Deputy Director for the Rights Working Group, a national coalition of civil rights, civil liberties, human rights, and immigrant rights advocates where she coordinated the “Face the Truth” campaign against racial profiling. She was also the Advocacy Director for Domestic Human Rights and International Justice at Amnesty International USA, where she addressed the domestic and international impact of U.S. counterterrorism efforts on human rights. She was one of the first human rights attorneys allowed to travel to the naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and served as Amnesty International's legal observer at military commission proceedings on the base. You can find Jumana on Twitter at @musajumana. Please subscribe to How to Fix the Internet via RSS, Stitcher, TuneIn, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or your podcast player of choice. You can also find this episode on the Internet Archive. If you have any feedback on this episode, please email podcast@eff.org. A transcript of the episode, as well as legal resources – including links to important cases, books, and briefs discussed in the podcast – is available at https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/11/podcast-episode-fixing-digital-loophole-fourth-amendment. Audio editing for this episode by Stuga Studios: https://www.stugastudios.com. Music by Nat Keefe: https://natkeefe.com/   This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Fix the Internet
Pilot Part 1: The Secret Court Approving Secret Surveillance

How to Fix the Internet

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 6, 2020 75:13


In the inaugural episode of EFF's "How to Fix the Internet" podcast, the Cato Institute's specialist in surveillance legal policy, Julian Sanchez, joins EFF hosts Cindy Cohn and Danny O'Brien as they delve into the problems with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, also known as the FISC or the FISA Court. Sanchez explains how the FISA Court signs off on surveillance of huge swaths of our digital lives, and how the format and structure of the FISA Court is inherently flawed. In this episode, you'll learn about: How the FISA Court impacts your digital privacy The makeup of the FISA Court and how judges are chosen How almost all of the key decisions about the legality of America's mass Internet spying projects have been made by the FISC How the current system promotes ideological hegemony within the FISA court How the FISC's endless-secrecy-by-default system insulates it from the ecosystem of jurisprudence that could act as a guardrail against poor decisions as well as accountability for them How the FISC's remit has ballooned from approving individual surveillance orders to signing off on broad programmatic types of surveillance Why we need a stronger amicus role in the FISC, and especially a bigger role for technical experts to advise the court Specific reforms that could be enacted to address these systemic issues and ensure a more fair review of surveillance systems Julian is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and studies issues at the intersection of technology, privacy, and civil liberties, with a particular focus on national security and intelligence surveillance. Before joining Cato, Julian served as the Washington editor for the technology news site Ars Technica, where he covered surveillance, intellectual property, and telecom policy. He has also worked as a writer for The Economist's blog Democracy in America and as an editor for Reason magazine, where he remains a contributing editor. Sanchez has written on privacy and technology for a wide array of national publications, ranging from the National Review to The Nation, and is a founding editor of the policy blog Just Security. He studied philosophy and political science at New York University. Find him on Twitter at @Normative. A transcript of the episode, as well as legal resources – including links to important cases, books, and briefs discussed in the podcast – is available at https://eff.org/deeplinks/2020/11/secret-court-approving-secret-surveillance. Please subscribe to How to Fix the Internet using your podcast player of choice. If you have any feedback on this episode, please email podcast@eff.org. Audio editing for this episode by Stuga Studios: https://www.stugastudios.com. Music by Nat Keefe: https://natkeefe.com/   This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Fix the Internet
Pilot Part 2: Why Does My Internet Suck

How to Fix the Internet

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 6, 2020 43:45


Gigi Sohn joins EFF hosts Cindy Cohn and Danny O'Brien as they discuss broadband access in the United States – or the lack thereof. Gigi explains the choices American policymakers and tech companies made to create a country where there are millions of Americans who lack access to reliable broadband, and what steps we need to take to fix the problem now. In this episode you'll learn: How does the FCC define broadband Internet and why that definition makes no sense in 2020; How many other countries adopted policies that either incentivized competition among Internet providers or invested in government infrastructure for Internet services, while the United States did neither, leading to a much of the country having only one or two Internet service providers, high costs, and poor quality Internet service; Why companies like AT&T and Verizon aren't investing in fiber; How the FCC uses a law about telephone regulation to assert authority over regulating broadband access, and how the 1996 Telecommunication Act granted the FCC permission to forbear – or not apply – certain parts of that law; How 19 states in the U.S. have bans or limitations on municipal broadband, and why repealing those bans is key to increasing broadband access How Internet access is connected to issues of equity, upward mobility, and job accessibility, as well as related issues of racial justice, citizen journalism and police accountability; Specific suggestions and reforms, including emergency subsidies and a major investment in infrastructure, that could help turn this situation around. Gigi is a Distinguished Fellow at the Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy and a Benton Senior Fellow and Public Advocate.  She is one of the nation's leading public advocates for open, affordable and democratic communications networks. From 2013-2016, Gigi was Counselor to the former Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Tom Wheeler. She advised the Chairman on a wide range of Internet, telecommunications and media issues, representing him and the FCC in a variety of public forums around the country as well as serving as the primary liaison between the Chairman's office and outside stakeholders. From 2001-2013, Gigi served as the Co-Founder and CEO of Public Knowledge, a leading telecommunications, media and technology policy advocacy organization. She was previously a Project Specialist in the Ford Foundation's Media, Arts and Culture unit and Executive Director of the Media Access Project, a public interest law firm. You can find Gigi on her own podcast, Tech on the Rocks, or you can find her on Twitter at @GigiBSohn. A transcript of the episode, as well as legal resources – including links to important cases, books, and briefs discussed in the podcast – is available at https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/11/podcast-episode-why-does-my-internet-suck.  Please subscribe to How to Fix the Internet using your podcast player of choice. If you have any feedback on this episode, please email podcast@eff.org. Audio editing for this episode by Stuga Studios: https://www.stugastudios.com. Music by Nat Keefe: https://natkeefe.com/ This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Follow the White Rabbit
NSA and Protecting our 4th Amendment Rights with Cindy Cohn

Follow the White Rabbit

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 29, 2020 48:29


Go down the rabbit hole with Cindy Cohn, Executive Director for EFF, an organization that advocates for our civil liberties and freedom online. A fascinating conversation on the encryption wars, NSA, protecting our 4th amendment rights, and EFF’s battle against the dragnet policy.

Business of Giving
Electronic Frontier Foundation Executive Director on Protecting Digital Rights in Pandemic

Business of Giving

Play Episode Listen Later May 19, 2020 20:04


The following is a conversation between Cindy Cohn, the Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Denver Frederick, the host of the Business of Giving. In this interview, Cindy Cohn, the Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, shares the following: • Dangers of surveillance and facial recognition • Issues of data privacy, free speech, and government transparency • Winning the .ORG legal battle

Daily Tech News Show
Civil Liberties in the Age of COVID - DTNS

Daily Tech News Show

Play Episode Listen Later May 16, 2020 30:36


In this special Politics Politics Politics! snippet, Justin talks to Electronic Frontier Foundation's Cindy Cohn about ways our digital civil liberties could be affected during the Covid19 crisis.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Politics Politics Politics
Does the GOP win in CA25 matter? Pandemic President got sick! Civil Liberties in the age of COVID

Politics Politics Politics

Play Episode Listen Later May 13, 2020 53:49


- Actual politics! HOORAY! An election happened and we debate if it means anything or not- If Trump got sick from the Vid, he wouldn't be the first president felled by a pandemic. In fact, he would certainly be able to recover with less pressure on him. The story you will be pissed you didn't know before you heard it here!- Interview with Cindy Cohn of the Electronic Frontier Foundation about the dangers of technical solutions to COVID and her organizations work to help protect digital rights.

The Disruptors
157. Why Freedom of Speech isn’t Free and Apple’s Helping China Crackdown on Hong Kong Protesters in the Name of Profit | Cindy Cohn

The Disruptors

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 5, 2019 54:25


Cindy Cohn is the Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (@eff) and was the Outside Lead Attorney in Bernstein v. Dept. of Justice, the successful First Amendment challenge to the US export restrictions on cryptography. [spreaker type=player resource="episode_id=19871915" width="100%" height="80px" theme="light" playlist="false" playlist-continuous="false" autoplay="false" live-autoplay="false" chapters-image="true" episode-image-position="right" hide-logo="true" hide-likes="false" hide-comments="false" hide-sharing="false" hide-download="true"]

The Webby Podcast
S6 EP 8: Decentralizing the Internet with the EFF's Cindy Cohn

The Webby Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 5, 2019 53:44


Data privacy has become hot button issue for anyone using the Internet. Cindy Cohn, Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, is a key figure in protecting the digital civil liberties of millions of people around the world. She joins The Webby Podcast to discuss her first case at the EFF, against leaving encryption capabilities in government hands, to the EFF's current work to decentralize social networks, and more.Keep up with David-Michel @dmdlikes Our Producer is Terence BrosnanOur Editorial Lead is Jordana JarrettMusic is Podington Bear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Disruptors
157. Why Freedom of Speech isn’t Free and Apple’s Helping China Crackdown on Hong Kong Protesters in the Name of Profit | Cindy Cohn

The Disruptors

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 5, 2019 53:10


Cindy Cohn is the Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (@eff) and was the Outside Lead Attorney in Bernstein v. Dept. of Justice, the successful First Amendment challenge to the US export restrictions on cryptography.The National Law Journal named Cohn one of 100 most influential lawyers in America in 2013, noting: “If Big Brother is watching, he better look out for Cindy Cohn.” She was also named in 2006 for “rushing to the barricades wherever freedom and civil liberties are at stake online.” In 2007 the National Law Journal named her one of the 50 most influential women lawyers in America. In 2018 Forbes included her as one of America’s Top 50 Women in Tech.In today’s episode we discuss:- How censorship leads to authoritarianism- Why freedom of speech is such a tricky tight rope- What Apple’s doing to help China crackdown on Hong Kong protesters- How algorithms and content curation are ruining our lives, and society- Why tech monopolies and failing markets make privacy so pathetic- The realistic issues with breaking up big tech and better solutions to tech monopolies- Why encryption is critical to the future of democracy- The impossible problem of backdoors and security- How the US government seeks to Chinese surveillance- What to do about the Trump Twitter problem- Why privacy is the big issue going forward- Which tech giants worry Cindy most- What to do about the collective action problem- Why the implications of brain-machine interfaces terrify Cindy

IRL - Online Life Is Real Life
The Tech Worker Resistance

IRL - Online Life Is Real Life

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 29, 2019 22:37


There's a movement building within tech. Workers are demanding higher standards from their companies — and because of their unique skills and talent, they have the leverage to get attention. Walkouts and sit-ins. Picket protests and petitions. Shareholder resolutions, and open letters. These are the new tools of tech workers, increasingly emboldened to speak out. And, as they do that, they expose the underbellies of their companies' ethics and values or perceived lack of them. In this episode of IRL, host Manoush Zomorodi meets with Rebecca Stack-Martinez, an Uber driver fed up with being treated like an extension of the app; Jack Poulson, who left Google over ethical concerns with a secret search engine being built for China; and Rebecca Sheppard, who works at Amazon and pushes for innovation on climate change from within. EFF Executive Director Cindy Cohn explains why this movement is happening now, and why it matters for all of us. IRL is an original podcast from Firefox. For more on the series go to irlpodcast.org Rebecca Stack-Martinez is a committee member for Gig Workers Rising. Here is Jack Poulson's resignation letter to Google. For more, read Google employees' open letter against Project Dragonfly. Check out Amazon employees' open letter to Jeff Bezos and Board of Directors asking for a better plan to address climate change. Cindy Cohn is the Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. EFF is a nonprofit that defends civil liberties in the digital world. They champion user privacy, free expression, and innovation through impact litigation, policy analysis, grassroots activism, and technology development.

Jointly Venturing - Let's Talk World Citizenship
Episode 9 - A Conversation with Cindy Cohn, Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation

Jointly Venturing - Let's Talk World Citizenship

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 12, 2019 48:07


In Episode 9 Scott and Cindy Cohn of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (www.eff.org, the world's first and still largest NGO fighting for internet freedom, discuss the ups and downs of the digital age, where it has been and where it is likely to go.

Decoder with Nilay Patel
EFF boss Cindy Cohn and McSweeney's editor Claire Boyle on digital privacy and "the end of trust"

Decoder with Nilay Patel

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 18, 2019 62:48


Cindy Cohn, the executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Claire Boyle, the managing editor of McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, talk with Recode's Kara Swisher about a special nonfiction issue the two organizations teamed up to produce, "The End of Trust." In this episode: Why the EFF and McSweeney's decided to work together; have consumers given up on having privacy?; why "Facebook doesn't really have users or customers, they have hostages"; the current copyright battles in Europe; why the ability of AI to play chess says little about the usefulness of AI in general; surveillance that doesn't seem malevolent and the privilege of "I have nothing to hide"; China's "bonkers" social scoring system; the history of the internet and how things got screwed up; how to unscrew it; will Congress make a move on tech when the shutdown ends?; the importance of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Connected & Disaffected
S3E02: Architecture is Policy with Cindy Cohn

Connected & Disaffected

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 24, 2018 43:02


In this slightly depressing pre-Christmas episode we talk to Cindy Cohn of the Electronic Frontier Foundation about her work in digital rights, how we can build a more free digital realm, and the EFF's issue of McSweeneys, "The End of Trust". We then talk about homelessness and how it's been made much, much worse by the Tories. We promise to have a more cheerful episode next week. Merry Christmas! Check out the Electronic Frontier Foundation and their book "The End of Trust" here: https://www.eff.org/the-end-of-trust Letter from a homeless woman to Housing Secretary James Brokenshire MP https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/20/homeless-james-brokenshire-housing-minister Follow us on twitter: twitter.com/CandDPodcast

The Lawfare Podcast
Global Developments in Encryption and Surveillance Law

The Lawfare Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 5, 2018 76:35


In August, legal and technical experts gathered in Santa Barbara for the Crypto 2018 Workshop on Encryption and Surveillance to further the ongoing debate over the impact of strong encryption and law enforcement surveillance capabilities. Over the past several days, Lawfare has published a series of reflections that capture some of the views presented at the conference. On this episode of the Lawfare Podcast, we’ve brought you one of the conversations from the event itself, in which Jim Baker of Brookings and Lawfare, Cindy Cohn of the EFF, Sven Herpig of the New Responsibilities Foundation, Adam Ingle of Australia’s Department of Home Affairs, and Ian Levy of the U.K.’s GCHQ discussed recent developments in the laws and policy governing encryption and surveillance around the world.

Legal Wars
Electronic Frontier - Interview: Freedom on the Internet | 3

Legal Wars

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 15, 2018 46:10


Electronic Freedom Foundation lawyer Cindy Cohn discusses dangers and current day legal battles to keep the internet free.Support us by supporting our sponsors!Brooklinen - Get $20 and free shipping when you use promo code Legal Wars at Brooklinen.com

internet freedom brooklinen cindy cohn brooklinen get electronic frontier legal wars electronic freedom foundation
Speaking Freely with Sanford Ungar
Episode 7: Speaking Freely with Cindy Cohn

Speaking Freely with Sanford Ungar

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 30, 2018 21:18


Sanford Ungar, director of the Free Speech Project at Georgetown University, discusses issues of Free Speech and privacy in the internet age, with Cindy Cohn of the Electric Frontier Foundation. This interview was recorded on February 22, 2018.

The After On Podcast
3: Privacy + Govt Intrusion | Cindy Cohn (EFF)

The After On Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 17, 2017 76:45


In this episode, we discuss patent trolls, government hacking, privacy in the digital age, and other vital issues with Cindy Cohn, who runs the Electronic Frontier Foundation. For those who are reading the novel After On, Tom Merritt and I discuss pages 110-180 in the very last section of the podcast.

We The People
The future of digital free speech

We The People

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 6, 2017 58:49


At a live event in Los Angeles, CA, Cindy Cohn of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Judge Alex Kozinski of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and Eugene Volokh of UCLA discuss current debates about speech online. Continue today’s conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. We want to know what you think of the podcast! Email us at editor@constitutioncenter.org. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Please subscribe to We the People and our companion podcast, Live at America’s Town Hall, on iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. We the People is a member of Slate’s Panoply network. Check out the full roster of podcasts at Panoply.fm. Despite our congressional charter, the National Constitution Center is a private nonprofit; we receive little government support, and we rely on the generosity of people around the country who are inspired by our nonpartisan mission of constitutional debate and education. Please consider becoming a member to support our work, including this podcast. Visit constitutioncenter.org to learn more. Today’s show was edited by Jason Gregory and produced by Nicandro Iannacci. Research was provided by Lana Ulrich and Tom Donnelly. The host of We the People is Jeffrey Rosen.

We the People
The future of digital free speech

We the People

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 6, 2017 58:49


At a live event in Los Angeles, CA, Cindy Cohn of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Judge Alex Kozinski of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and Eugene Volokh of UCLA discuss current debates about speech online. Continue today’s conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. We want to know what you think of the podcast! Email us at editor@constitutioncenter.org. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Please subscribe to We the People and our companion podcast, Live at America’s Town Hall, on iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. We the People is a member of Slate’s Panoply network. Check out the full roster of podcasts at Panoply.fm. Despite our congressional charter, the National Constitution Center is a private nonprofit; we receive little government support, and we rely on the generosity of people around the country who are inspired by our nonpartisan mission of constitutional debate and education. Please consider becoming a member to support our work, including this podcast. Visit constitutioncenter.org to learn more. Today’s show was edited by Jason Gregory and produced by Nicandro Iannacci. Research was provided by Lana Ulrich and Tom Donnelly. The host of We the People is Jeffrey Rosen.

This Golden State with Randy Shandobil
The Resistance: Digital Security Tips For Activists

This Golden State with Randy Shandobil

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 23, 2017 13:54


Something anti-Trump protesters should be aware of: President Trump has inherited the most potent surveillance apparatus in history. Cindy Cohn, Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation tells This Golden State’s Randy Shandobil that she fears Trump may use those tools to spy on Muslims and his political opponents. Cohn also gives tips on how to protect your digital privacy.

Digital Detectives
Encryption, Cyber Security, and Domestic Surveillance

Digital Detectives

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 15, 2016 32:36


In the wake of the Panama Papers breach, securing law firm and client data has been a huge concern for many practitioners in the legal space. Similarly, other information leaks like the Edward Snowden revelations have made the general public more aware of government surveillance than ever before. In this episode of Digital Detectives, hosts Sharon Nelson and John Simek sit down with executive director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation Cindy Cohn to discuss domestic surveillance concerns, encryption technology, and how lawyers and law firms can protect themselves and their clients from cyber attacks. Cindy Cohn is the executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. From 2000-2015 she served as EFF’s Legal Director as well as its General Counsel. Ms. Cohn first became involved with EFF in 1993, when EFF asked her to serve as the outside lead attorney in Bernstein v. Dept. of Justice, the successful First Amendment challenge to the U.S. export restrictions on cryptography. Special thanks to our sponsors, PInow and SiteLock.

On the Road with Legal Talk Network
ABA Annual Meeting 2016: Predicting and Preventing Terrorist Attacks

On the Road with Legal Talk Network

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 6, 2016 12:28


This time On the Road at the 2016 ABA Annual Meeting, hosts Sharon Nelson and John Simek speak with Electronic Frontier Foundation Executive Director Cindy Cohn, United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Federal Judge James Jones, and Chairman and Associate Professor in the Department of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School Mohammed Hafez about the ongoing quest to prevent terrorism. Mohammad mentions that the increased visibility of global terrorist attacks has given rise to a discourse about how we should best deal with this issue, by understanding the nature of terrorism and how it has evolved over the years. Judge Jones gives a brief background on the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA Court), which was established in 1978. Each judge serves as a duty judge in the court’s secure location in Washington D.C. for a week at a time to receive applications from the Department of Justice for surveillance of individuals suspected of terrorists activities. Cindy provides her thoughts on the concept of using the mechanisms of big data to predict who is going to engage in terrorist activity and the extent to which the FISA Court has approved mass surveillance procedures and programs that involve collection and/or analysis of large swathes of information. They close the interview by further investigating the versatility of terrorist organizations and how terrorism has transformed over time.e. Cindy Cohn is the executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). From 2000-2015 she served as EFF’s legal director as well as its general counsel. Ms. Cohn first became involved with EFF in 1993, when the EFF asked her to serve as the outside lead attorney in Bernstein v. Dept. of Justice, the successful First Amendment challenge to the U.S. export restrictions on cryptography. James Parker Jones is a United States federal judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia and the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. He is a 1962 graduate of Duke University and a 1965 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law. Mohammed M. Hafez earned his Ph.D. from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2000. He is now an associate professor in the Department of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. Previously, he served as a counterterrorism consultant to the U.S. government and visiting assistant professor of political science at the University of Missouri, Kansas City.

On the Road with Legal Talk Network
ABA TECHSHOW 2016: Keynote Speaker Cindy Cohn on NSA Mass Surveillance

On the Road with Legal Talk Network

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 23, 2016 22:17


At the ABA TECHSHOW, Cindy Cohn gave a keynote speech discussing the NSA, the fourth amendment, the Apple vs. FBI case, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). Afterwards, she stopped by to discuss these very relevant topics with Legal Talk Network hosts Bob Ambrogi and Dennis Kennedy. They talk about how the NSA is gathering and filtering our online communications, why Cohn believes this mass data diversion doesn’t meet the Constitution’s definition of a warrant, and why average (non-terrorist) citizens should care. The keynote speaker then touches on the currently pending Apple vs. FBI case and the long-term security risks of being required to have backdoors in our devices. They end the interview with a quick discussion about how lawyers can provide assistance, if they are interested. Cindy Cohn is the executive director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit working across the board to bring American’s constitutional and legal rights into the digital age. The National Law Journal named Ms. Cohn one of 100 most influential lawyers in America in 2003, noting, “[I]f Big Brother is watching, he better look out for Cindy Cohn.”

WorldAffairs
Our Lives Online: US vs EU

WorldAffairs

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 1, 2016 59:01


In today’s digital world, more and more of our lives are moving online, raising concerns about the privacy of the vast quantities of information that now exist in cyberspace. In recent years, much debate has emerged about the tradeoff between individual privacy and national security, and the US and EU provide an interesting comparison of how governments have balanced these aims. In the European Union, privacy is protected as a fundamental right, contributing to much stricter regulations on data collection than seen in the US. Last spring, the European Court of Justice ruled that EU citizens have the ‘right to be forgotten’ online, a regulation that would quickly run up against first amendment arguments in the United States. The US lacks similar overarching laws for data protection, as has become very apparent as vast government surveillance has been brought to light. How do policies differ in America and Europe, and what can the two countries learn from each other? How can individuals better understand their rights and limit the amount of personal data being collected? And how much privacy are we willing to give up in exchange for national security? Giovanni Buttarelli, European Data Protection Supervisor, and Cindy Cohn, Executive Director, Electronic Frontier Foundation, are in discussion. The conversation is moderated by Paul Schwartz, Jefferson E. Peyser Professor, UC Berkeley School of Law; Senior Advisor, Paul Hastings LLP. For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1506

The Why Factor
Encryption

The Why Factor

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2015 17:53


We use encryption every day - in our bank transfers, on our mobile phones and whenever we buy anything online. Yet what is it and why is it so important? Mike Williams explores cryptography from the Roman Caesar Cipher to modern day computer encryption. Classified as a munition in the USA until the late 90s, lawyer Cindy Cohn recounts the court case she fought which helped put computer encryption into the public's hands. Science writer Simon Singh talks us through some the mathematics behind the ciphers and Andrew Clark, a specialist in Information Forensics details the darker side of encryption, through its uses in crime. Encryption also plays into our obsession with secrets, puzzles and hidden messages. We hear from a fan of the electronic duo, Boards of Canada, who obsessively followed a trail of encrypted clues left by the band in 2013. Finally, encryption lies at the heart of the debate about national security and individual privacy. We hear from an anonymous contributor from Pakistan where the use of encryption is restricted. (Photo: Encrypted icon of a padlock and its keyhole. Credit: Shutterstock)

On the Road with Legal Talk Network
Clio Cloud Conference: Cindy Cohn on the NSA and Data Collection

On the Road with Legal Talk Network

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 22, 2014 17:51


Lawyer 2 Lawyer host Bob Ambrogi interviews Cindy Cohn about her keynote address speech at the 2014 Clio Cloud Conference. Cohn discusses how government data collection is all encompassing, why it goes against the First and Fourth Amendments, and security implications for lawyers using cloud computing and communicating with their clients. In order to combat the NSA, Cohn explains, we need to build a movement of corporations and individuals fighting for a world in which we can have a private conversation. Cindy Cohn is the Legal Director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit working across the board to bring American's constitutional and legal rights into the digital age.

UC Berkeley School of Information
NSA Spying, Snowden, and Sparking Change

UC Berkeley School of Information

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 3, 2014 75:52


A timely and engaging conversation with Cindy Cohn, legal director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Nicole Ozer, technology and civil liberties director at the ACLU of Northern California. We will be exploring the latest updates related to NSA spying — what we now know, what we still don’t know, and opportunities in Congress, the courts, companies, and in communities to rein in warrantless surveillance and better safeguard privacy and free speech.

KPFA - Terra Verde
Terra Verde – August 22, 2008

KPFA - Terra Verde

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 22, 2008 4:29


Chevron on Trial: Bowoto v. Chevron The environmental damage caused by the oil industry in the Niger Delta is well documented as are the heavy-handed tactics used by the Nigerian military to suppress people's demands for the oil companies to clean up their legacy of pollution and also share the oil revenues. San Ramon-based Chevron is being sued in a US court for its alleged role in the suppression of human rights in Nigeria. Host Karolo Aparicio speaks with Sarah Dotlich, coordinator with Justice in Nigeria Now, Nigerian singer and activist Ayo Ajishebutu, and attorney Cindy Cohn about the pending litigation against Chevron. The post Terra Verde – August 22, 2008 appeared first on KPFA.

Center for Internet and Society
Suing the Spooks: NSA Litigation and the Future of Privacy

Center for Internet and Society

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 18, 2006 58:08


The Stanford Law School Center for Internet and Society (CIS) and the Stanford Law and Technology Association (SLATA) presents "Suing the Spooks: NSA Litigation and the Future of Privacy" with Cindy Cohn and Kevin Bankston of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and Ann Brick of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).