Tag: Obama

Vietnam has blocked Facebook during U.S. President Obama’s visit to the country and cracked down on human rights activists.

Stakeholders in the U.S. sought consensus on drone privacy, but put forth weak standards riddled with loopholes.

Today, we met with the senior White House staff who set the U.S. technology and cybersecurity agenda.

Access, EFF, and civil society and business groups filed a “We the People” petition asking President Obama to publicly affirm support for strong encryption, and to reject any law, policy, or mandate that would undermine our security.

Today, President Barack Obama issued a presidential memorandum addressing the increased development and use of drones within the United States. Among other things, the memorandum, which has the force of law, requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to develop a multistakeholder process for the creation of non-binding rules governing commercial drone use. The NTIA will collaborate with businesses and civil society organizations to develop the guidelines, which must be drafted to adequately address threats to privacy and free expression posed by the public use of the technology, particularly the unique challenges of drones as mobile internet service platforms.

Today, the White House will hold its Summit on Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection. While improved digital hygiene is critically important, the information-sharing proposals offered by Congress and President Obama so far place user privacy at risk while being of questionable utility for improving digital security.

Access released an infographic detailing our main concerns about the White House’s proposed cyber security reforms.

The Senate will soon vote on whether pass the USA Freedom Act, a bill that would end one of the worst abuses of the NSA’s surveillance authority.