EFF action alerts

Two dangerous patent bills—PERA and PREVAIL—are back in Congress. These bills would revive harmful patents and make it harder for the public to fight back.

The Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA) would overturn key Supreme Court decisions that currently protect us from patents on the most basic internet software, and even human genes. This would open the floodgates to vague, overbroad claims on simple, widely used web features—exactly the kind of patents that patent trolls exploit.

The PREVAIL Act would gut the inter partes review (IPR) process, one of the most effective tools for challenging bad patents. It would ban many public interest groups, including EFF, from filing challenges.

Privacy fears should never stand in the way of healthcare. That's why this common-sense bill will require businesses and non-governmental organizations to act responsibly with personal information concerning reproductive health care. Specifically, it restricts them from collecting, using, retaining, or disclosing reproductive health information that isn't essential to providing the service someone asks them for.

AI-generated imitations raise legitimate concerns, and Congress should consider narrowly-targeted and proportionate proposals to deal with them. Instead, some Senators have proposed the broad NO FAKES Act, which would create an expansive and confusing new intellectual property right with few real safeguard against abuse. Tell Congress to throw out the NO FAKES Act and start over.

The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) is back—and it still threatens free expression online. It would let government officials pressure or sue platforms to block or remove lawful content—especially on topics like mental health, sexuality, and drug use.

To avoid liability, platforms will over-censor. When forums or support groups get deleted, it’s not just teens who lose access—we all do. KOSA will also push services to adopt invasive age verification, handing private data to companies like Clear or ID.me.

Lawmakers should reject KOSA. Tell your Senators to vote NO.

California state agencies have standard privacy guardrails around data-sharing. But the cities and counties that collect some of your most personal info? Nope. Zip. Zero. A.B. 1337 would fix that.

S.B. 690 is a corporate cover-up. Tell California lawmakers to reject it.
California’s S.B. 690 would gut long standing privacy protections and give corporations free rein to secretly surveil, record, and profit off Californians’ private moments. If passed, it would:
● Legalize corporate interception of real-time communications, location data, and device activity without consent
● Allow companies to use invasive tools like wiretaps, pen registers, and trap-and-trace devices for any “commercial business purpose”
● Remove accountability by eliminating your right to sue under California’s Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA)
● Create new risks for immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, abortion seekers, and protesters

California state agencies have standard privacy guardrails around data-sharing. But the cities and counties that collect some of your most personal info? Nope. Zip. Zero. A.B. 1337 would fix that.

The House of Representatives just passed a dangerous bill that gives broad and easily abused new powers to the executive branch would allow the Secretary of Treasury to strip a U.S. nonprofit of its tax-exempt status. Nonprofits would not have a meaningful opportunity to defend themselves, and could be targeted without disclosing the reasons or evidence for the decision. Even if they are not targeted, the threat alone could chill the activities of some nonprofit organizations. Over 130 civil liberties, religious, reproductive health, immigrant rights, human rights, racial justice, LGBTQ+, environmental, and educational organizations signed a letter opposing the bill as written. We most tell the Senate not to pass H.R. 9495, the so-called “Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act.”

Two strong right-to-repair bills are sitting on Gov. Ferguson's desk—and he needs to hear from you.

Florida’s SB 868 is a deeply invasive bill that puts the privacy and safety of young people at serious risk.