Android Police
Prev
Posts in the last
24 Hours
sorted by
Hottest
Next
Articles Tagged:

EFF

66

Nobody wants anything to do with Google's new tracking mechanism FLoC
Almost all browsers and privacy advocates slam the third-party cookie replacement

Manuel Vonau Manuel Vonau
Nobody wants anything to do with Google's new tracking mechanism FLoC

This story was originally published and last updated . 

Google is about to shake up the status quo on tracking with its newly proposed browser-based Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC) tracking mechanism, which it introduced as a replacement for the outgoing third-party cookies the advertisement industry still heavily relies on. But many privacy advocates like the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) and search engine DuckDuckGo think FLoC could turn out to be even worse and more invasive than third-party cookies, and most browser makers were fast to join in on that stance. Almost all of them have vowed or at least hinted that they won't support FLoC in their products, including those based on Google's open-source Chromium rendering engine also used in Chrome.

Read More
77

Federal court ruling ends random searches of phones (and other devices) at U.S. airports and borders

Corbin Davenport Corbin Davenport
Federal court ruling ends random searches of phones (and other devices) at U.S. airports and borders

Random searches of phones, laptops, and other electronic devices at airports (and other ports of entry) in the United States have increased over the past few years. In fact, the practice is so commonplace that some people choose to wipe their phones before traveling. Thankfully, a district court has decided that random searches of devices at ports of entry is unconstitutional, making the searches illegal.

Read More
144

The Secure Data Act would eliminate government-mandated backdoors on encrypted devices and communications

Jordan Palmer Jordan Palmer
The Secure Data Act would eliminate government-mandated backdoors on encrypted devices and communications

Image: EFF

Congress is set to vote on a bill that would prevent any government agency from requiring device manufacturers and software developers to implement backdoors in the encryption models for their products. Dubbed the Secure Data Act, this bipartisan initiative is a surprisingly good step toward keeping our data secure from unauthorized government access.

Read More
225

John Legere Apparently Thinks If He Explains Binge On To You One More Time You'll Agree It's Awesome

Ryan Whitwam Ryan Whitwam
John Legere Apparently Thinks If He Explains Binge On To You One More Time You'll Agree It's Awesome

Okay, dummy. John Legere has been explaining Binge On to you for days, and you still don't agree with him that it's the best thing since sliced bread? Well, he's just going to tell you about Binge On again using the exact same words he's been using so far. These words are available on the T-Mobile newsroom site, where he can carefully craft an expletive-free message and apologize to the EFF.

Read More

Popular

119
The EU is is set to mandate USB-C on all smartphones and Apple is predictably pouting
17
Nokia's latest budget phone has a monstrous screen and two-day battery life
3
Samsung's latest foldables are getting the September 2021 security patch internationally
25
Google boldly decides not to introduce all-new messaging solution, brings Chat to Calendar instead
34
[Oh Snap] The Electronic Frontier Foundation's Alert App Snubs iOS For Android Thanks To Apple's Developer Terms

[Oh Snap] The Electronic Frontier Foundation's Alert App Snubs iOS For Android Thanks To Apple's Developer Terms

Michael Crider Michael Crider

If you haven't heard of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, usually shortened to EFF, it's sort of like the American Civil Liberties Union for the Internet and other digital issues. The non-profit organization's mission statement says that it "champions user privacy, free expression, and innovation through impact litigation, policy analysis, grassroots activism, and technology development." You'll rarely see a headline-grabbing story where tech intersects public policy that the EFF hasn't at least commented on, if not actively campaigned for or against.

unnamed (2) unnamed (3) unnamed (1)

So when these people say they decided to develop an app for Android and specifically not for iOS, there's probably a good reason why.

Read More
14
New Bipartisan Phone Unlocking Bill: DMCA Circumvention Redefined, Permanent Exemption For Carrier Unlock

New Bipartisan Phone Unlocking Bill: DMCA Circumvention Redefined, Permanent Exemption For Carrier Unlock

Jeremiah Rice Jeremiah Rice

The legality of certain phone modifications in the United States, particularly those that allow phones to be used on wireless carriers for which they weren't originally intended, is currently on a congressional see-saw. Every three years, the Librarian of Congress has to approve or extend an exemption of the infamous Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to allow or deny consumers the right to unlock (read: carrier unlock, and in some cases rooting/jailbreaking, but not unlocking bootloaders) their phones by circumventing digital rights management. Congress let the exemption slide earlier this year - read the gory details here.  Now a new bill has been entered that, if passed, would grant a permanent exemption to the DMCA for carrier unlocking, among other things.

Read More
11
Humble Bundle For Android 3 Available Now - 5 Cross-Platform Games For Charity

Humble Bundle For Android 3 Available Now - 5 Cross-Platform Games For Charity

Jeremiah Rice Jeremiah Rice

It's that time again, indie gamers: the much-loved Humble Bundle has returned for a third go-round on Android. As before, you can name your own price for popular Android games Fieldrunners, Bit.Trip Beat, SpaceChem and Uplink, giving the cash to worthy non-profits Child's Play, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, or a combination thereof. If you pay more than the average (currently just below $6) you get a bonus game, Spirits. All games include a free digital soundtrack and desktop versions for PC, Mac and Linux, with Steam integration for those who are so inclined.

humble bundle 3

The games featured have enjoyed some notable success already: Fieldrunners is a staple of the tower defense genre, Bit.Trip

Read More
9
PSA: The DMCA Exemption Allowing Legal Rooting Of Smartphones Expires This Year, And The EFF Wants Your Help To Renew It

PSA: The DMCA Exemption Allowing Legal Rooting Of Smartphones Expires This Year, And The EFF Wants Your Help To Renew It

David Ruddock David Ruddock

This a cause I think we can all get behind. Back in 2010, the Copyright Office in the Library of Congress issued a rulemaking statement exempting smartphones and DVDs from reverse engineering laws under the DMCA. Previously, companies like Apple had used these provisions to threaten criminal prosecution (as well as civil action) against those who "jailbroke" (rooted) devices such as the iPhone (or iPad). The exemption to these penalties put in place by the Copyright Office extended to the "jailbreaking" (or, as we know it in the Android community, rooting) of all smartphones (it also extends to things like bootloader unlocking).

Read More
17
Carrier IQ Drops Legal Threats, Apologizes To Developer Trevor Eckhart

Carrier IQ Drops Legal Threats, Apologizes To Developer Trevor Eckhart

Liam Spradlin Liam Spradlin

Trevor Eckhart, a developer involved in uncovering a huge security vulnerability that affected several HTC devices, was recently threatened by Carrier IQ (CIQ), a company involved in gathering various forms of user data and sending it to carriers or manufacturers for analysis. For those who haven't  been following the story, here's what happened:

Trevor Eckhart found several training manuals on CIQ's website. These were publicly available. Trevor shared them with the community, explaining just how far-reaching CIQ's data collection practices are. At this point, CIQ became aware of the fact that sensitive information had been exposed, and pulled the files from their website.

Read More

What's Hot

Tip Us

Mastodon