EFF Campaigns

Tell Congress: We Don’t Need More Bad Patents

Right now, Senators are working to remove key legal protections that protect people from patent trolls and other abusers of the patent system.

Senators Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) have published a “framework” for a bill that will undermine protections of Section 101 of the U.S. Patent Act.

Section 101 puts important limits on what can be patented. For instance, it bans patents on abstract ideas, natural phenomena, and laws of nature. Our patent laws are supposed to keep those basic ideas unpatented—they are the building blocks of scientific progress, available to all.

Minnesota: Demand Your Right to Repair

There is something all Minnesotans can do to expand their own digital rights. Tell your lawmakers to support H.F. 1138, a right to repair bill that would help the state‘s residents by making the repair of phones, tablets and other digital electronic equipment easier and more accessible.

H.F. 1138 has the support of leading national proponents of the right to repair. It requires manufacturers of digital electronic equipment to make documentation, parts, and tools available to independent repair providers. Failing to do so opens companies to enforcement from the Attorney General.

End the NSA's Call Detail Records Program Once and for All

Over nearly two decades, the NSA has searched millions of Americans’ telephone call records—all without a warrant or, for the vast majority of these calls, any suspicion of wrongdoing.

It’s time to end the mass telephone Call Detail Records (CDR) program once and for all. Tell your members of Congress to support the Ending Mass Collection of Americans’ Phone Records Act (S. 936, H.R. 1942).

Tell the Senate to Restore Full Net Neutrality Protections

In December 2017, the FCC voted to roll back the 2015 Open Internet Order, giving Internet service providers (ISPs) free reign to engage in unfair and discriminatory data practices. This year, the House of Representatives voted in favor of the Save the Internet Act, which would restore the 2015 net neutrality protections and make them permanent. Tell the Senate to do the same and stand up for real net neutrality!

California: Tell Your Legislator Not to Abandon Oversight of the Broadband Monopolies

At a time when we are fighting to keep the future of broadband access from reverting back towards a monopoly, the recently introduced A.B. 1366 mirrors the FCC’s abandonment of consumers.

Tell California's lawmakers to oppose A.B. 1366, and instead promote competition and access—not abandon Californians to their broadband monopoly.

Prevent Copyright Trolling: Tell Congress that Copyright Claims Can’t Be Treated Like Traffic Tickets

The way copyright works in the United States does need changing. But the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act (CASE Act), which will treat certain copyright claims like traffic tickets, does nothing to make any useful changes. Instead, it would invite abuse, magnify the existing problem of copyright’s unpredictable damages, and would give a lot of authority to a new, quasi-judicial body in the Copyright Office, not the actual courts.

In other words, if you’re looking for an answer to the problem of people improperly using copyrighted material online, this ain’t it, chief.

California: Let’s Get Police Policies and Training Materials Online

Californians have a fundamental right to understand the operations of the law enforcement agencies that they pay for.

One of the best ways to reach that understanding is to be able to review the policies, protocols, and training materials that officers must follow, whether it’s about the deployment of surveillance, or the use of deadly force.

Tell California Gov. Jerry Brown to sign S.B. 978 to require transparency by default for law enforcement rules and training materials across the state.

Tell the Senate to Pass a Strong Election Security Bill

The Senate is considering legislation meant to protect free and fair elections in the U.S. But one of the current proposals doesn’t include the two most important elements: universal paper ballots, and automatic “risk-limiting” audits.

Let’s tell the Senate: if it doesn't include these essential features, it's not a real election security bill.

California: Demand Community Control of Police Surveillance

SB 1186 is a proposed law that would subject the acquisition of police surveillance technology across California to public oversight. Modeled on successful local laws in Oakland, Santa Clara County, and elsewhere across the country, it would end an era of secrecy and expand democratic transparency. EFF supports SB 1186 and encourages the legislature to reject further changes and enact the law as currently drafted.