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Jan 21

Section 230: What It Is, Why It Matters and How It Works

Virtual

Blog Posts: Filtered

New Role at Stanford

By Riana Pfefferkorn on November 30, 2020 at 9:30 am

"Some personal news," as they say: After five wonderful years at CIS, starting tomorrow (December 1) I'll be transitioning into a new role as a Research Scholar at the Stanford Internet Observatory. I'll continue to be a CIS affiliate (with blogging rights on this blog!), and my work will continue to focus on encryption, surveillance, and cybersecurity issues. 2021 is poised to be a consequential year for encryption policy in the U.S. Read more about New Role at Stanford

House Introduces EARN IT Act Companion Bill, Somehow Manages to Make It Even Worse

By Riana Pfefferkorn on October 5, 2020 at 5:53 pm

On September 30, Representatives Sylvia Garcia (D-TX) and Ann Wagner (R-MO) introduced the House version of the EARN IT Act (H.R.8454), which had previously been introduced in the Senate (S.3398) in March. Read more about House Introduces EARN IT Act Companion Bill, Somehow Manages to Make It Even Worse

The Importance of Protecting Good-Faith Security Research

By Riana Pfefferkorn on September 14, 2020 at 9:38 am

The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act is America's federal anti-hacking statute, but it's been used for purposes well beyond that. Read more about The Importance of Protecting Good-Faith Security Research

EARN IT Act Talk at the DEF CON Crypto & Privacy Village

By Riana Pfefferkorn on August 19, 2020 at 11:00 am

On August 7, I had the pleasure of doing a "fireside chat" with my friend and Section 230 expert Cathy Gellis at this year's virtual DEF CON Crypto & Privacy Village. Cathy gave a primer on Section 230, and then we had a discussion about the EARN IT Act bill, the LAED Act bill, and the threats they pose to online speech, privacy, security, and encryption. You can watch the video here. Read more about EARN IT Act Talk at the DEF CON Crypto & Privacy Village

What Does Retribution Mean Now? Thoughts on COVID-19, Prison, and Schadenfreude

By Riana Pfefferkorn on July 30, 2020 at 3:56 pm

I want to share some musings I had about what criminal punishment means right now in America. I don’t really write about the basics of criminal law and procedure much – it’s not my focus, and I’m not well-read in it, so please excuse my fumbling discussion of the following concepts. Read more about What Does Retribution Mean Now? Thoughts on COVID-19, Prison, and Schadenfreude

We Won't Find Out How the DOJ Tried to Force Facebook to Change Its Encryption

By Riana Pfefferkorn on July 22, 2020 at 2:37 pm

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has rebuffed my attempt to unseal information about the Department of Justice's unsuccessful secret effort to force Facebook to change the encryption of its Messenger app so that it could wiretap criminal suspects' voice calls. Read more about We Won't Find Out How the DOJ Tried to Force Facebook to Change Its Encryption

The EARN IT Act Threatens Our Online Freedoms. New Amendments Don’t Fix It.

By Riana Pfefferkorn on July 6, 2020 at 11:45 am

On July 2, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a full-committee hearing at which it made significant changes to the pending EARN IT Act bill, S.3398, about which I’ve written extensively on the CIS blog. Read more about The EARN IT Act Threatens Our Online Freedoms. New Amendments Don’t Fix It.

There’s Now an Even Worse Anti-Encryption Bill Than EARN IT. That Doesn’t Make the EARN IT Bill OK.

By Riana Pfefferkorn on June 24, 2020 at 4:50 pm

On Tuesday, June 23, Senators Graham (R-SC), Cotton (R-AR), and Blackburn (R-TN) introduced a bill that is a full-frontal nuclear assault on encryption in the United States. You can find the bill text here. Read more about There’s Now an Even Worse Anti-Encryption Bill Than EARN IT. That Doesn’t Make the EARN IT Bill OK.

Client-Side Scanning and Winnie-the-Pooh Redux (Plus Some Thoughts on Zoom)

By Riana Pfefferkorn on May 11, 2020 at 4:16 pm

Return to Pooh Corner Read more about Client-Side Scanning and Winnie-the-Pooh Redux (Plus Some Thoughts on Zoom)

An EARN IT Alternative That Might Actually Help Children

By Riana Pfefferkorn on May 8, 2020 at 11:41 am

Yesterday, a group of Democratic congressmembers, headed by online speech and privacy champion Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), unveiled their answer to the disastrous EARN IT Act bill that I’ve been raising alarms Read more about An EARN IT Alternative That Might Actually Help Children

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