When we use the internet, we're entrusting tech companies with some of our most private information. These companies have promised they'll keep our data safe. But what happens when the government comes knocking at their doors?

In April 2025, ICE sent Google an administrative subpoena requesting the data of Amandla Thomas-Johnson, a Ph.D. candidate studying in the U.S. on a student visa. The next month, Google gave Thomas-Johnson's information to ICE without giving him the chance to challenge the invalid subpoena, breaking a nearly decade-long promise to notify users before handing their data to law enforcement. Read Thomas-Johnson's account of his ordeal: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/04/google-broke-its-promise-me-now-ice-has-my-data.

EFFector is a podcast by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the leading nonprofit defending online civil liberties. Become an EFF member today at https://eff.org/podfan.

00:00 Intro
04:11 Interview with F. Mario Trujillo
18:09 Discussion
21:43 Digital Rights Quiz
33:38 EFF Events and Opportunities

All across the country, police have convinced communities to pay for mass surveillance systems like license plate readers, claiming they will help stop the most serious crimes. But once these ever-watchful electronic eyes are installed in your city, it's not just violent criminals they're recording—it's everyone.

Time and time again, we've seen police surveillance suffer from "mission creep." Technology that was sold as a way to catch killers ends up being used to enforce traffic violations, track protesters, and more. In this episode, we explain what mission creep is—and how it explains the disturbing normalization of mass surveillance technology.

EFFector is a podcast by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the leading nonprofit defending online civil liberties. Become an EFF member today at https://eff.org/podfan.

00:00 Intro
03:17 Interview with Adam Schwartz
26:57 Discussion
33:07 News Quiz
37:20 EFF Events and Opportunities

Thanks to smartphones, almost everybody these days is carrying a little video camera around in their pocket, all the time. But the next time a stranger films you in public, you might not be able to tell they're recording at all. In fact, their camera might look just like an ordinary pair of glasses.

After years of tech industry experiments, smartglasses with embedded cameras and microphones have finally gone mainstream. And, disturbingly, sometimes it's not just their owners who are watching what these devices record. This week, we'll be taking a closer look at the privacy implications of Meta Ray-Bans, the smartglasses from the makers of Facebook designed to be worn everywhere, all the time.

EFFector is a podcast by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the leading nonprofit defending online civil liberties. Become an EFF member today at https://eff.org/podfan.

00:00 Intro
03:47 Interview with Thorin Klosowski
14:58 Discussion
21:40 Smartglasses Quiz
26:28 News Quiz
35:07 EFF Events and Opportunities