 Welcome to Effector from the Electronic Frontier Foundation. This is the audio edition of EFF's email newsletter geared towards keeping you on the bleeding edge of your digital rights. This is Effector Volume 35, Issue 14, titled, Digital Rights in Times of War. This issue was published in November 2023 and I'm your host, Membership Advocate, Christian Romero. Let's start with our top feature. Internet access shouldn't be a bargaining chip in geopolitical battles. We at EFF are horrified by the events transpiring in the Middle East, Hamas's deadly attack on southern Israel, and Israel's ongoing retributive military attack on Sejaun Gaza. While we are not experts in military strategy or international diplomacy, we do have expertise with how human rights and civil liberties should be protected on the internet, even in times of conflict and war. Next up, social media platforms must do better when handling misinformation, especially during moments of conflict. In moments of political tension and social conflict, people have turned to social media to share information, speak truth to power, and report uncensored information from their communities. There are steps that social media platforms can take to increase the likelihood that their sites or places where reliable information is available, particularly during moments of conflict. And now, let's go through some EFF updates. First up, the red flag machine, how GoGuardian invades student privacy. GoGuardian is a student monitoring tool that watches over 27 million students across 10,000 schools. But what it does exactly, and how well it works, isn't easy for students to know. To learn more about its functionality, accuracy, and impact on students, we filed dozens of public records requests and analyzed tens of thousands of results from the software. Using data from multiple schools in both red and blue states, what we uncovered was that, by design, GoGuardian is a red flag machine. Its false positives heavily outweigh its ability to accurately determine whether the content of a site is harmful. This results in tens of thousands of students being flagged for viewing content that is not only benign, but often educational or informative. Next up, Victory, California Department of Justice declares out-of-state sharing of license plate data unlawful. California Attorney General Rob Bonta has issued a legal interpretation and guidance for law enforcement agencies around the state that confirms what privacy advocates have been saying for years. It is against the law for police to share data collected from license plate readers without of state or federal agencies. This is an important victory for immigrants, abortion seekers, protesters, and everyone who drives a car. As our movements expose intimate details about where we've been and what we've been doing. Next up, young people may be the biggest target for online censorship and surveillance and the strongest weapon against them. Young people are targeted by schools, governments, and sometimes parents who either don't understand or won't admit the value offered by online spaces and technology in general. No matter your age, EFF wants you to fight back. Here's a toolbox to get you started. Next up, EFF to Copyright Office. Copyright is indeed a hammer, but don't be too hasty to nail generative AI. Generative AI has sparked a great deal of hype, fear, and speculation. Courts are just beginning to analyze how traditional copyright laws apply to the creation and use of these technologies. Into this breach has stepped the United States Copyright Office, with a call for comments on the interplay between copyright law and generative AI. As copyright law carries such draconian penalties and grants the power to swiftly take speech offline without judicial review, it is particularly important not to hastily expand its reach. Next up, access to law should be fully open. Tell Congress not to be fooled by the Pro Codes Act. Having lost in court, standards development organizations are now looking to Congress to shore up their copyright claims via the Pro Codes Act, a deceptive power grab that will help giant industry associations ration access to huge swaths of U.S. law. Tell Congress not to fall for it. And for our last update, what is a passkey? A new login technique is becoming available in 2023. The passkey. The passkey promises to solve phishing and prevent password reuse. But lots of smart security-oriented folks are confused about what exactly a passkey is. There's a good reason for that. A passkey is in some sense one of two or three different things depending on how it's stored. Now it's time to go through some announcements. First up, we want you, U.S. federal employees, to stand for digital freedoms. U.S. federal employees and retirees can support the digital freedom movement through the Combined Federal Campaign, the largest and most successful annual charity campaign for U.S. federal employees and retirees. Last year, 175 members of the CFC community raised over $34,000 for EFF's lawyers, activists and technologists fighting for digital freedoms online. But in a year with many threats popping up to our rights online, we need your support now more than ever. Next up, we have a new organizational member. Welcome and thank you to AtSign, an EFF organizational member supporting our fight for digital security. Next, TOR University Challenge. EFF is conducting the TOR University Challenge, a campaign urging higher education institutions to support free, anonymous speech by running a TOR network relay. Universities answering this call to defend private access to an uncensored web will receive prizes while helping millions of people around the world and providing students and faculty a vital learning experience. Tell your alma mater to join the network today. And for our last announcement, speaking freely is back. EFF's series of interviews with free speech thought leaders has returned. David Green interviewed Nadine Strassan, a constitutional law professor at New York Law School, a senior fellow with FIRE, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, and was the president of the American Civil Liberties Union from 1991 through 2008. And don't miss David's interview with Gracia Masias. Now, let's go through a job opening. EFF Attorney, Intellectual Property. EFF seeks a litigator who is excited about fostering digital creativity, justice, and innovation to join our legal team. Candidates must have some experience with patent litigation, plus experience with copyright issues. EFF will review applications on a rolling basis until the position is filled, but no later than November 22, 2023. And finally, let's go through some mini-links. This first one comes from Vox. Why some Palestinians believe social media companies are suppressing their posts. EFF's Jillian C. York speaks about the mechanics and politics of shadow banning, which some say is skewing social media information about the Israel Hamas War. Next up, from Your Active, UN Cybercrime Treaty, a menace in the making. Governments met again in mid-October in Vienna to negotiate a global treaty on cybercrime, but instead of fostering cooperation in cybercrime, the treaty may end up facilitating cross-border repression and make it more difficult to investigate actual cybercrimes, writes EFF's Catita Rodriguez and Human Rights Watch's Debrora Brown. Next up, from Southern California News Group, Editorial, stop sending licensed data out of state. Great editorial from the Orange County Register, Los Angeles Daily News, and their affiliated publications. Well, this reminder likely would never have happened without the dedicated work of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which in May sent out a reminder of pervasive law breaking by the supposed law enforcers. 71 California police agencies in 22 counties must immediately stop sharing automated license plate reader data with law enforcement agencies in other states because it violates California law and could enable prosecution of abortion seekers and providers elsewhere. The EFF was joined by state chapters of the ACLU in its effort, end quote. Next, from Dweeb Decoded Podcast, Protecting Digital Freedom with Ross Schulman. EFF's Ross Schulman joined former EFFer Danny O'Brien to discuss the complexities and challenges of advocating for adoption of the decentralized web. Last up, from Gray Television Washington News Bureau, is it a First Amendment violation for a politician to block you on social media? Scotis to the side. Public officials' social media accounts must remain open to critics, EFF's David Green says. Social media is taking the place of people writing letters or making phone calls to their public officials. And that's it. Thanks for listening. If you like what you're hearing, be sure to sign up for the email version of Effector, which includes links to in-depth coverage of these stories and more. See past issues and subscribe at EFF.org slash Effector. Before we end this issue of the newsletter, I just want to let you know that EFF is a member supported nonprofit organization, and you can help us support digital privacy, security, and free expression for everyone. Donate to EFF today and even grab a bit of gear by heading over to EFF.org slash Effect. You can become a member for as little as $25 or even sign up as a monthly or annual donor. Thanks for your support, and I hope you'll join us for the next issue of Effector.