Hacker Summer Camp is almost here... and with it comes the Third Annual EFF Benefit Poker Tournament at DEF CON 32 hosted by security expert Tarah Wheeler.

Please join us at the same place and time as last year: Friday, August 9th, at high noon at the Horseshoe Poker Room. The fees haven’t changed; it’s still $250 to register plus $100 the day of the tournament with unlimited rebuys.

Tarah Wheeler—EFF board member and resident poker expert—has been working hard on the tournament since last year! Not only has she created a custom EFF playing card deck as a gift for each player, but she also recruited Cory Doctorow to emcee this year. Be sure to register today and see Cory in action!

Did we mention there will be Celebrity Bounties? Knock out Jake “MalwareJake” Williams, Deviant Ollam, or Runa Sandvik and get neat EFF swag plus the respect of your peers! As always, knock out Tarah’s dad, Mike, and she will donate $250 to the EFF in your name!

Find Full Event Details and Registration

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Anyone who pre-registers and plays will receive a custom EFF playing card deck (if you don’t show up to the tournament by 30 minutes after the start time your deck may be given away).

The winner will receive a treasure chest curated from Tarah’s own collection. The chest is filled with real gems, including emeralds, black pearls, amethysts, diamonds, and more! The winner will also receive our now traditional Jellybean Trophy! 

Have you played some poker before but could use a refresher on rules, strategy, table behavior, and general Vegas slang at the poker table? Tarah will run a poker clinic from 11 am-11:45 am just before the tournament. Even if you know poker pretty well, come a bit early and help out. Just show up and donate anything to EFF. Make it over $50 and Tarah will teach you chip riffling, the three biggest tells, and how to stare blankly and intimidatingly through someone’s soul while they’re trying to decide if you’re bluffing.

Register today and reserve your deck. Be sure to invite your friends to join you!

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EFF is excited to kick off a new series of livestream events this summer! Please join EFF staff and fellow digital freedom supporters as we dive into three topics near and dear to our hearts.

July 18: The U.S. Supreme Court Takes on the Internet

In the first segment of EFF's livestream series, we'll dive into the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent opinions on technology and civil liberties. Get an expert's look at the court cases making the biggest waves for tech users with our panel featuring EFF Civil Liberties Director David Greene.

August 28: Reproductive Justice in the Digital Age

This summer marks the two-year anniversary of the Dobbs decision overturning Roe vs Wade. Join EFF for a livestream discussion about restrictions to reproductive healthcare and the choices people seeking an abortion must face in the digital age where everything is connected, and surveillance is rampant. Learn what’s happening across the United States and how you can get involved.

October 17: How to Protest with Privacy in Mind

Do you know what to do if you’re subjected to a search or arrest at a protest? Join EFF for a livestream discussion about how to protect your electronic devices and digital assets before, during, and after a demonstration. Learn how you can avoid confiscation or forced deletion of media, and keep your movements and associations private.

We hope you can join for all three events! Be sure to share this post with any interested friends and tell them to join us! Thank you for helping EFF spread the word about privacy and free expression online.

We encourage everyone to join us live for these discussions. Please note that they will be recorded. Recordings will be available following each event.

Nominations are now open for the 2024 EFF Awards! The nomination window will be open until May 31st at 2:00 PM Pacific time. You could nominate the next winner today!

For over thirty years, the Electronic Frontier Foundation presented awards to key leaders and organizations in the fight for freedom and innovation online. The EFF Awards celebrate the longtime stalwarts working on behalf of technology users, both in the public eye and behind the scenes. Past Honorees include visionary activist Aaron Swartz, human rights and security researchers The Citizen Lab, media activist Malkia Devich-Cyril, cyberpunk author William Gibson, and whistle-blower Chelsea Manning.

The internet is a necessity in modern life and a continually evolving tool for communication, creativity, and human potential. Together we carry—and must always steward—the movement to protect civil liberties and human rights online. Will you help us spotlight some of the latest and most impactful work towards a better digital future?

Remember, nominations close on May 31st at 2:00 PM Pacific time!

GO TO NOMINATION PAGE

Nominate your favorite digital rights Heroes now!

After you nominate your favorite contenders, we hope you will consider joining us on September 12 to celebrate the work of the 2024 winners. If you have any questions or if you'd like to receive updates about the event, please email events@eff.org.

The EFF Awards depend on the generous support of individuals and companies with passion for digital civil liberties. To learn about how you can sponsor the EFF Awards, please email tierney@eff.org. 

Being well into spring, with the weather getting warmer, we knew it was only a matter of time till the Cybertiger awoke from his slumber. But we were prepared. Prepared to quench the Cybertiger's thirst for tech nerds to answer his obscure and fascinating minutiae of tech-related questions.

But how did we prepare for the Cybertiger's quiz? Well, with our 8th Annual Tech Trivia Night of course! We gathered fellow digital freedom supporters to test their tech-know how, and to eat delicious tacos, churros, and special tech-themed drinks, including LimeWire, Moderated Content, and Zero Cool.

Nine teams gathered before the Cybertiger, ready to battle for the *new* wearable first, second, and third place prizes:

But this year, the Cybertiger had a surprise up his sleeve! A new way to secure points had been added: bribes. Now, teams could donate to EFF to sway the judges and increase their total points to secure their lead. Still, the winner of the first-place prize was the Honesty Winner, so participants needed to be on their A-game to win!

At the end of round two of six, team Bad @ Names and 0x41434142 were tied for first place, making a tense game! It wasn’t until the bonus question after round two, where the Cybertiger asked each team, “What prompt would you use to jailbreak the Cybertiger AI?” where the team Bad @ Names came in first place with their answer.

By the end of round 4, Bad @ Names was still in first place, only in the lead by three points! Could they win the bonus question again? This time, each team was asked to create a ridiculous company elevator pitch that would be on the RSA expo floor. (Spoiler alert: these company ideas were indeed ridiculous!)

After the sixth round of questions, the Cybertiger gave one last chance for teams to scheme their way to victory! The suspense built, but after some time, we got our winners... 

In third place, AI Hallucinations with 60 total points! 

In second place, and also winning the bribery award, 0x41434142, with 145 total points!

In first place... Bad @ Names with 68 total points!

EFF’s sincere appreciation goes out to the many participants who joined us for a great quiz over tacos and drinks while never losing sight of EFF’s mission to drive the world towards a better digital future. Thank you to the digital freedom supporters around the world helping to ensure that EFF can continue working in the courts and on the streets to protect online privacy and free expression.

Thanks to EFF's Luminary Organizational Members DuckDuckGo, No Starch Press, and the Hering Foundation for their year-round support of EFF's mission. If you or your company are interested in supporting a future EFF event, or would like to learn more about Organizational Membership, please contact Tierney Hamilton.

Learn about upcoming EFF events when you sign up for our email list, or just check out our event calendar. We hope to see you soon!

At least twice each year, we invite current EFF members to gather with fellow internet freedom supporters and to meet the people behind your favorite digital civil liberties organization. For this year’s Bay Area based members, we had the opportunity to take over Babylon Burning’s screen printing shop in San Francisco, where Mike Lynch and his team bring EFF art(work) to life.

To kick off the evening we had EFF’s Director of Member Engagement Aaron Jue, talk about the near-20-year friendship between EFF and Babylon Burning, the shop that has printed everything from t-shirts to hoodies to hats, and now tote bags. At EFF, we love the opportunity to support a local business and have a great partnership at the same time. When we send our artwork to Mike and his staff, we know it is in good hands.

Following Aaron, EFF’s Creative Director Hugh D’Andrade dived into some of EFF’s most popular works such as the NSA Spying Eagle and the many versions of the EFF Liberty Mecha. The EFF NSA Spying Eagle focuses on mass surveillance found in the Hepting and Jewel cases. The EFF Liberty Mecha has been featured on four different occasions, most recently on a shirt for DEF CON 29, and highlights freedom, empowerment through technology, interoperability, and teamwork. More information about EFF’s member shirts can be found in our blog and in our shop.

Mike jumped in after Hugh to walk members though a hands-on demonstration of traditional screen printing. Members printed tote bags, toured the Babylon Burning print shop, and mingled with EFF staff and local supporters.

Thank you to everyone that attended this year’s Spring Members’ Speakeasy and continue to support EFF as a member. Your support allows our engineers, lawyers, and skilled advocates to tend the path for technology users, and to nurture your rights to privacy, expression, and innovation online.

Thanks to all of the EFF members who participated at our annual Bay Area meetup. If you're not a member of EFF yet, join us today. See you at the next event!

Join us in San Francisco on May 9th for EFF's 8th annual Tech Trivia Night! Explore the obscure minutiae of digital security, online rights, and internet culture.

Enjoy delicious tacos, churros, and complimentary adult beverages and soft drinks as you and your team battle through rounds of questions—and cutthroat live judging!—to see who will take home the coveted 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place trophies and EFF swag!

Thursday, May 9th, 2024 at Public Works from 6 PM to 10 PM
This event is 21+. Please remember to bring ID and a mask.

Thanks to EFF's Luminary Organizational Members DuckDuckGo, No Starch Press, and the Hering Foundation for their year-round support of EFF's mission.

Fighting for first place at EFF’s Tech Trivia Night helps us fight for your rights online! Sponsor one of our annual events and join the movement for digital privacy, free speech, and innovation. Please contact tierney@eff.org for more information.

EFF is dedicated to a harassment-free experience for everyone, and all participants are encouraged to view our full Event Expectations.