The Electronic Frontier Foundation EEF published its Who Has Your Back 2014 report, giving gold stars to companies that stand with their users, embracing transparency around government data requests, resisted improper government demands by fighting for user privacy in the courts and on Capitol Hill. In short, which companies have your back.
The report examines the privacy policies, terms of service, public statements, and courtroom track records of major technology companies, including Internet service providers, email providers, social networking sites, and mobile services.
"Our report charts objectively verifiable categories of how tech companies react when the government seeks user data, so users can make informed decisions about which companies they should trust with their information."
Apple made a remarkable progress in every category, since it only scored one star last year. Yahoo also deserves special recognition because it fought a many-year battle with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, defending user privacy in a secret court battle that it was forbidden from discussing publicly until July of 2013, but it also made great strides in other areas.
"We saw two companies make enormous improvements in the last year: Apple and Yahoo.
In 2013, Apple earned only one star in our Who Has Your Back report. This year, Apple earns 6 out of 6 stars, making remarkable progress in every category. Similarly, Yahoo jumped to earning credit in all 6 categories this year. Yahoo deserves special recognition because it fought a many-year battle with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, defending user privacy in a secret court battle that it was forbidden from discussing publicly until July of 2013, but it also made great strides in other areas."
