Lisa Femia
@lisafemia.bsky.social
Staff Attorney at EFF • views are my own •
Reposted by Lisa Femia
The U.S. proposes asking foreign tourists for five years of social media history before allowing them into the country. EFF’s Lisa Femia breaks down this breaks down this speech-chilling and privacy-invasive scheme for ABC Australia.
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-1...
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-1...
US to order foreign tourists to disclose social media histories
Follow the latest news headlines from Australia's most trusted source. Read in-depth expert analysis and watch live coverage on ABC News.
www.abc.net.au
December 11, 2025 at 7:34 PM
The U.S. proposes asking foreign tourists for five years of social media history before allowing them into the country. EFF’s Lisa Femia breaks down this breaks down this speech-chilling and privacy-invasive scheme for ABC Australia.
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-1...
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-1...
Reposted by Lisa Femia
Online age verification isn't like showing ID at a bar. It's more invasive, affects far more transactions, and poses serious privacy, security, and free speech risks that in-person checks never do. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
Why Isn’t Online Age Verification Just Like Showing Your ID In Person?
This blog also appears in our Age Verification Resource Hub: our one-stop shop for users seeking to understand what age-gating laws actually do, what’s at stake, how to protect yourself, and why EFF
www.eff.org
December 11, 2025 at 10:56 PM
Online age verification isn't like showing ID at a bar. It's more invasive, affects far more transactions, and poses serious privacy, security, and free speech risks that in-person checks never do. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
Reposted by Lisa Femia
Police surveil everyone driving in San Jose and search that data thousands of times per month without ever seeking a warrant. It’s an unchecked police power, an end run around the courts & a blatant privacy invasion, EFF’s Lisa Femia wrote for @MercuryNews.com. www.mercurynews.com/2025/12/06/...
Opinion: San Jose’s vast surveillance network is watching you. Be afraid.
The city’s license plate cameras are collecting revealing data that police nationwide are searching — all without warrants.
www.mercurynews.com
December 8, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Police surveil everyone driving in San Jose and search that data thousands of times per month without ever seeking a warrant. It’s an unchecked police power, an end run around the courts & a blatant privacy invasion, EFF’s Lisa Femia wrote for @MercuryNews.com. www.mercurynews.com/2025/12/06/...
Reposted by Lisa Femia
Today we’re launching EFF.org/Age, our one-stop shop to answer all your questions about online age verification mandates. What’s at stake for users? How do we push back? What even IS age verification, anyway? Visit EFF.org/Age now to explore our resources and join the fight to protect the internet.
Age Verification and Age Gating: Resource Hub
Age verification (or age-gating) laws generally require online services to check, estimate, or verify all users’ ages—often through invasive tools like ID checks, biometric scans, or other dubious
www.eff.org
December 10, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Today we’re launching EFF.org/Age, our one-stop shop to answer all your questions about online age verification mandates. What’s at stake for users? How do we push back? What even IS age verification, anyway? Visit EFF.org/Age now to explore our resources and join the fight to protect the internet.
Proud to be on this team working to stop this unchecked police power
🚨BREAKING NEWS🚨
We're suing the city of San Jose for its pervasive ALPR surveillance program. With nearly 500 ALPRs, the SJPD allows its officers to search millions of records, all without a warrant. These unconstitutional searches must be stopped. Read the complaint: www.eff.org/cases/siren...
We're suing the city of San Jose for its pervasive ALPR surveillance program. With nearly 500 ALPRs, the SJPD allows its officers to search millions of records, all without a warrant. These unconstitutional searches must be stopped. Read the complaint: www.eff.org/cases/siren...
SIREN and CAIR-CA v. San Jose
The San Jose Police Department has blanketed the city’s roadways with nearly five hundred Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs). The police department uses this unblinking surveillance network to
www.eff.org
November 18, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Proud to be on this team working to stop this unchecked police power
Reposted by Lisa Femia
EFF today sued to stop the Trump administration from targeting visa holders for deportation based on their social media posts. “A lot of this is core political speech that is absolutely protected by the First Amendment,” EFF's Lisa Femia told @nbcnews.com.
www.nbcnews.com
October 16, 2025 at 10:03 PM
EFF today sued to stop the Trump administration from targeting visa holders for deportation based on their social media posts. “A lot of this is core political speech that is absolutely protected by the First Amendment,” EFF's Lisa Femia told @nbcnews.com.
Reposted by Lisa Femia
📢 BREAKING NEWS 📢
EFF and co-counsel have filed a lawsuit against the Departments of State and Homeland Security for their viewpoint-based surveillance and suppression of First Amendment-protected speech online. (1/5)
EFF and co-counsel have filed a lawsuit against the Departments of State and Homeland Security for their viewpoint-based surveillance and suppression of First Amendment-protected speech online. (1/5)
October 16, 2025 at 7:01 PM
📢 BREAKING NEWS 📢
EFF and co-counsel have filed a lawsuit against the Departments of State and Homeland Security for their viewpoint-based surveillance and suppression of First Amendment-protected speech online. (1/5)
EFF and co-counsel have filed a lawsuit against the Departments of State and Homeland Security for their viewpoint-based surveillance and suppression of First Amendment-protected speech online. (1/5)
Proud of my EFF colleagues for not letting up on this and uncovering the real story
Newly obtained documents confirm what law enforcement and Flock Safety tried to deny: A Texas sheriff’s office used license plate readers while investigating a woman’s self-managed abortion, not to find a “missing person." www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
October 7, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Proud of my EFF colleagues for not letting up on this and uncovering the real story
Reposted by Lisa Femia
NEW: In May, a Texas police department said they used the powerful Flock surveillance network against a woman who had an abortion "for her safety"
Newly obtained court records show it was a 'death investigation,' and they considered charging her with a crime
www.404media.co/police-said-...
Newly obtained court records show it was a 'death investigation,' and they considered charging her with a crime
www.404media.co/police-said-...
Police Said They Surveilled Woman Who Had an Abortion for Her 'Safety.' Court Records Show They Considered Charging Her With a Crime
Court records show that the narrative Flock and a Texas Sheriff's Office has told the public isn't the whole story, and that police were conducting a 'death investigation' into the abortion.
www.404media.co
October 7, 2025 at 1:04 PM
NEW: In May, a Texas police department said they used the powerful Flock surveillance network against a woman who had an abortion "for her safety"
Newly obtained court records show it was a 'death investigation,' and they considered charging her with a crime
www.404media.co/police-said-...
Newly obtained court records show it was a 'death investigation,' and they considered charging her with a crime
www.404media.co/police-said-...
Reposted by Lisa Femia
Meta's policies require "repeated" Community Standards violations before Meta will disable an account. But abortion advocates are getting banned after just one post. This completely cuts accounts off from their followers and silences crucial reproductive health information.
Meta is Removing Abortion Advocates' Accounts Without Warning
BY LISA FEMIA | September 24, 2025This is the fifth installment in a blog series documenting EFF's findings from the Stop Censoring Abortion campaign. You can read additional posts here. When the team...
www.eff.org
September 24, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Meta's policies require "repeated" Community Standards violations before Meta will disable an account. But abortion advocates are getting banned after just one post. This completely cuts accounts off from their followers and silences crucial reproductive health information.
Reposted by Lisa Femia
A new report reveals nearly 100 instances of anti-abortion censorship across TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and LinkedIn.
www.jezebel.com/crucial-info...
www.jezebel.com/crucial-info...
Crucial Information About Abortion Access Is Getting Censored on Social Media
A new report reveals nearly 100 instances of anti-abortion censorship across TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and LinkedIn.
www.jezebel.com
September 16, 2025 at 10:55 PM
A new report reveals nearly 100 instances of anti-abortion censorship across TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and LinkedIn.
www.jezebel.com/crucial-info...
www.jezebel.com/crucial-info...
Reposted by Lisa Femia
The State Department recently announced an unprecedented new requirement that applicants for student and exchange visas must set all social media accounts to “public” for government review. This mass surveillance is an outrageous violation of privacy.
You Shouldn’t Have to Make Your Social Media Public to Get a Visa
The Trump administration is continuing its dangerous push to surveil and suppress foreign students’ social media activity. The State Department recently announced an unprecedented new requirement that...
www.eff.org
July 24, 2025 at 4:54 PM
The State Department recently announced an unprecedented new requirement that applicants for student and exchange visas must set all social media accounts to “public” for government review. This mass surveillance is an outrageous violation of privacy.
Reposted by Lisa Femia
In what circumstances can the government regulate speech by imposing conditions on federal funding? Thanks to all of the scholars and litigators who've agreed to participate in this only-too-timely @knightcolumbia.org initiative. knightcolumbia.org/blog/knight-...
Knight Institute Initiative on “Federal Funding and the First Amendment” Draws Leading Scholars and Litigators
knightcolumbia.org
April 29, 2025 at 4:23 PM
In what circumstances can the government regulate speech by imposing conditions on federal funding? Thanks to all of the scholars and litigators who've agreed to participate in this only-too-timely @knightcolumbia.org initiative. knightcolumbia.org/blog/knight-...
Reposted by Lisa Femia
Speaking freely online shouldn’t cost you your visa. But the federal government is using social media surveillance to target student visa holders living in the U.S. for online speech the administration disfavors. This is an alarming attack on digital rights.
Trump Administration’s Targeting of International Students Jeopardizes Free Speech and Privacy Online
The federal government is using social media surveillance to target student visa holders living in the United States for online speech the Trump administration disfavors. This new program, called “Cat...
www.eff.org
April 29, 2025 at 12:29 AM
Speaking freely online shouldn’t cost you your visa. But the federal government is using social media surveillance to target student visa holders living in the U.S. for online speech the administration disfavors. This is an alarming attack on digital rights.
Reposted by Lisa Femia
EFF’s Lisa Femia discusses online age verification and First Amendment rights with Bruce Friedman on the Adult Site Broker Talk podcast.
Adult Site Broker Talk Episode 252 with Lisa Femia of the Electronic Frontier Foundation - Adult Site BrokerAdult Site Broker
Industry Leading Adult Site Broker | Quick and Easy Transactions
adultsitebroker.com
April 23, 2025 at 6:47 PM
EFF’s Lisa Femia discusses online age verification and First Amendment rights with Bruce Friedman on the Adult Site Broker Talk podcast.
Reposted by Lisa Femia
NEW in @51st.news: House Republicans just voted to defund D.C. police and schools. As part of a spending bill to avert a federal government shutdown, they could force D.C. to slash $1.1 billion out of its budget, and no one understands really why. 51st.news/house-republ...
Dollars and nonsense: House Republicans vote to defund D.C. police and schools
Congress could force D.C. to cut $1.1 billion out of its local budget, but no one really understands why.
51st.news
March 11, 2025 at 10:07 PM
NEW in @51st.news: House Republicans just voted to defund D.C. police and schools. As part of a spending bill to avert a federal government shutdown, they could force D.C. to slash $1.1 billion out of its budget, and no one understands really why. 51st.news/house-republ...
Reposted by Lisa Femia
my latest newsletter piece: on how the Democrats' posture toward trans rights signals a fundamental misunderstanding of how politics work
The Tyranny of Public Opinion
The battle over trans rights shows that Democrats have forgotten the fundamentals of politics
stringinamaze.net
March 7, 2025 at 1:24 AM
my latest newsletter piece: on how the Democrats' posture toward trans rights signals a fundamental misunderstanding of how politics work
Reposted by Lisa Femia
I wish this weren't true, but it is: "Parts of the Take It Down Act are more likely to become a sword for a corrupt presidential administration than a shield to protect NCII victims- & supporters of both civil liberties & Big Tech accountability should recognize it." www.theverge.com/policy/62497...
The Take It Down Act isn’t a law, it’s a weapon
It’s not a law, it’s a weapon.
www.theverge.com
March 6, 2025 at 3:22 PM
I wish this weren't true, but it is: "Parts of the Take It Down Act are more likely to become a sword for a corrupt presidential administration than a shield to protect NCII victims- & supporters of both civil liberties & Big Tech accountability should recognize it." www.theverge.com/policy/62497...
Reposted by Lisa Femia
Cell-site simulators (CSS, also known as Stingrays or IMSI catchers) are devices that masquerade as legitimate cell-phone towers, tricking phones within a certain radius into connecting to the device rather than a tower. Our new tool, Rayhunter, can help you find them.
Meet Rayhunter: A New Open Source Tool from EFF to Detect Cellular Spying
Rayhunter is a new open source tool we’ve created that runs off an affordable mobile hotspot that we hope empowers everyone, regardless of technical skill, to help search out cell-site simulators (CSS...
www.eff.org
March 5, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Cell-site simulators (CSS, also known as Stingrays or IMSI catchers) are devices that masquerade as legitimate cell-phone towers, tricking phones within a certain radius into connecting to the device rather than a tower. Our new tool, Rayhunter, can help you find them.
A team of us at EFF have partnered with the amazing folks at Repro Uncensored to hold social media platforms accountable for suppressing and removing vital, sometimes life-saving abortion information. Learn more and share your story at eff.org/censored
#StopCensoringAbortion
#StopCensoringAbortion
February 19, 2025 at 6:31 PM
A team of us at EFF have partnered with the amazing folks at Repro Uncensored to hold social media platforms accountable for suppressing and removing vital, sometimes life-saving abortion information. Learn more and share your story at eff.org/censored
#StopCensoringAbortion
#StopCensoringAbortion
Reposted by Lisa Femia
BREAKING: We are suing DOGE and the Office of Personnel Management to stop the brazen and illegal data sharing of federal employee data with the “government efficiency” group.
EFF Sues DOGE and the Office of Personnel Management to Halt Ransacking of Federal Data
EFF and a coalition of privacy defenders have filed a lawsuit today asking a federal court to block Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing the private information of mil...
www.eff.org
February 11, 2025 at 11:45 PM
BREAKING: We are suing DOGE and the Office of Personnel Management to stop the brazen and illegal data sharing of federal employee data with the “government efficiency” group.
Reposted by Lisa Femia
thinking about roads not taken a lot
The US Is Openly Stockpiling Dirt on All Its Citizens
A newly declassified report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence reveals that the federal government is buying troves of data about Americans.
www.wired.com
February 8, 2025 at 10:45 PM
thinking about roads not taken a lot
Reposted by Lisa Femia
Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, “there’s been a massive uptick in social media platforms removing content related to reproductive health care and specifically abortion pills,” EFF’s Lisa Femia told @nytimes.com. "This is an ongoing, increasing problem.”
Instagram and Facebook Blocked and Hid Abortion Pill Providers’ Posts
Some posts related to obtaining abortion pills were recently hidden on Instagram and Facebook and some accounts were suspended, before being later restored.
www.nytimes.com
January 24, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, “there’s been a massive uptick in social media platforms removing content related to reproductive health care and specifically abortion pills,” EFF’s Lisa Femia told @nytimes.com. "This is an ongoing, increasing problem.”
Reposted by Lisa Femia
"The Texas law robs adult internet users of anonymity, exposes them to serious privacy and security risks, and blocks some adults entirely from accessing sexual content that’s protected under the First Amendment," EFF’s Lisa Femia told @mashablebot.bsky.social.
What the Supreme Court hearing about age verification could mean for you
The court's decision could set a new precedent for free speech online.
mashable.com
January 17, 2025 at 4:34 PM
"The Texas law robs adult internet users of anonymity, exposes them to serious privacy and security risks, and blocks some adults entirely from accessing sexual content that’s protected under the First Amendment," EFF’s Lisa Femia told @mashablebot.bsky.social.