Privacy

New technologies are radically advancing our freedoms, but they are also enabling unparalleled invasions of privacy. National and international laws have yet to catch up with the evolving need for privacy that comes with new digital technologies. Respect for individuals' autonomy, anonymous speech, and the right to free association must be balanced against legitimate concerns like law enforcement. EFF fights in the courts and Congress to maintain your privacy rights in the digital world, and works with partners around the globe to support the development of privacy-protecting technologies. Your cell phone helps you keep in touch with friends and family, but it also makes it easier for the government to track your location. Your Web searches about sensitive medical information might seem a secret between you and your search engine, but companies like Google are creating a treasure trove of personal information by logging your online activities, and making it potentially available to any party wielding enough cash or a subpoena. And the next time you try to board a plane, watch out—you might be turned away after being mistakenly placed on a government watch list, or be forced to open your email in the security line. Several governments have also chosen to use malware to engage in extra-legal spying or system sabotage for dissidents or non-citizens, all in the name of “national security.” As privacy needs evolve, so too should our regulatory regimes. National governments must put legal checks in place to prevent abuse of state powers, and international bodies need to consider how a changing technological environment shapes security agencies’ best practices. Above all, we need to respect the rights of autonomy, anonymity, association, and expression that privacy makes possible, while also taking into account legitimate law enforcement concerns. Read our work on privacy issues below, and join EFF to help support our efforts. For information about the law and technology of government surveillance in the United States check out EFF's Surveillance Self-Defense project.

Privacy Topics

●Biometrics ●Know Your Rights ●International Privacy Standards ●Mandatory Data Retention ●Anonymity ●Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning ●Border Searches ●CALEA ●Cell Tracking ●Community Control of Police Surveillance (CCOPS) ●COVID-19 and Digital Rights ●Cyber Security Legislation ●Decoding 702: What is Section 702? ●Digital Books ●Do Not Track ●Do Not Track (Archived) ●Electronic Frontier Alliance ●Encrypting the Web ●End-to-End Encryption ●Extended Reality (XR) ●Face Surveillance ●Locational Privacy ●Medical Privacy ●Mobile devices ●National Security Letters ●NSA Spying ●NSL ●Online Behavioral Tracking ●Open Wireless ●PATRIOT Act ●Pen Trap ●Physical Trackers ●Printer Tracking ●Real ID ●Reproductive Justice ●RFID ●Search Engines ●Search Incident to Arrest ●Social Networks ●Street-Level Surveillance ●Student Privacy ●Surveillance Drones ●Travel Screening ●Surveillance Technologies

Privacy Highlights

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Whitepaper

Digital Privacy at the U.S. Border: Protecting the Data On Your Devices

●العربية ●Español by Sophia Cope, Amul Kalia, Seth Schoen, and Adam SchwartzDownload the report as a PDF.EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThe U.S. government reported a five-fold increase in the number of electronic media searches at the border in a single year, from 4,764 in 2015 to 23,877 in 2016.... Banner Graphic:

Penguin and cat sitting at the Digitial Rights Bytes diner bar being served by a dog

Resource

Digital Rights Bytes

Description: Get honest answers to the questions that have been bugging you about technology.

Issues

NSA Spying

The US government, with assistance from major telecommunications carriers including AT&T, has engaged in massive, illegal dragnet surveillance of the domestic communications and communications records of millions of ordinary Americans since at least 2001. Since this was first reported on by the press and discovered by the public in late...

Privacy Updates

animated image of the text "encrypt it already" turning from text into circles

Press Release | January 29, 2026

EFF Calls on Tech Companies to 'Encrypt It Already!'

SAN FRANCISCO – Today, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) launched "Encrypt It Already," a campaign pushing six tech companies to better protect their users’ privacy through end-to-end encryption.The privacy-defending nonprofit recently contacted Meta, Apple, Google, Bluesky, Telegram, and Ring, imploring them to implement long-requested encryption features to secure their...

Deeplinks Blog byThorin Klosowski | January 29, 2026

Introducing Encrypt It Already

Today, we’re launching Encrypt It Already, our push to get companies to offer stronger privacy protections to our data and communications by implementing end-to-end encryption. If that name sounds a little familiar, it’s because this is a spiritual successor to our 2019 campaign, Fix It Already, a campaign...

Deeplinks Blog byLena Cohen | January 29, 2026

Google Settlement May Bring New Privacy Controls for Real-Time Bidding

EFF has long warned about the dangers of the “real-time bidding” (RTB) system powering nearly every ad you see online. A proposed class-action settlement with Google over their RTB system is a step in the right direction towards giving people more control over their data. Truly curbing the harms of...

Deeplinks Blog byCindy Cohn | January 26, 2026

EFF Statement on ICE and CBP Violence

In the past year, ICE and CBP have descended into utter lawlessness, repeatedly refusing to exercise or submit to the democratic accountability required by the Constitution and our system of laws. These violations must stop now.

4 volume controls for fair use on purple background

Deeplinks Blog byJoe Mullin | January 23, 2026

Search Engines, AI, And The Long Fight Over Fair Use

Long before generative AI, copyright holders warned that new technologies for reading and analyzing information would destroy creativity. Internet search engines, they argued, were infringement machines—tools that copied copyrighted works at scale without permission. As they had with earlier information technologies like the photocopier and the VCR, copyright owners sued.

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