From Speakeasies to DEF CON—Celebrating With EFF Members: 2025 Year In Review

It’s been a great year to be on EFF’s membership team. There’s no better feeling than hanging out with your fellow digital freedom supporters and being able to say, “Oh yeah, and we’re suing the government!” We’ve done that a lot this year—and that’s all thanks to people like you. 

As a token of appreciation for supporting EFF’s mission to protect privacy and free expression online for all people, we put a lot of care into meeting the members who make our work possible. Whether it’s hosting meetups, traveling to conferences, or finding new and fun ways to explain what we’re fighting for, connecting with you is always a highlight of the job.

EFF Speakeasy Meet Ups

One of my favorite perks we offer for EFF members is exclusive invites for Speakeasy meet ups. It’s a chance for us to meet the very passionate members who fuel our work! 

This year, we hosted Speakeasies across the country while making the rounds at conferences. We met supporters in Mesa, AZ during CactusCon; Pasadena, CA during SCALE; Portland, OR during BSidesPDX; New York, NY during HOPE and BSidesNYC; and Seattle, WA during our panel at the University of Washington. 

Of course, we also had to host a Speakeasy in our home court—and for the first time it took place in the South Bay Area in Mountain View, CA at Hacker Dojo! There, members of EFF’s D.C. Legislative team spoke about EFF’s legislative efforts and how they’ll shape digital rights for all. We even recorded that conversation for you to watch on YouTube or the Internet Archive. 

And we can’t forget about our global community! Our annual online Speakeasy brought together members around the world for a conversation and Q&A with our friends at Women in Security and Privacy (WISP) about online behavioral tracking and the data broker industry. We heard and answered great questions about pushing back on online tracking and what legislative steps we can take to strengthen privacy. 

Summer Security Conferences

Say what you will about Vegas—nothing compares to the energy of seeing thousands of EFF supporters during the summer security conferences: BSidesLV, Black Hat USA, and DEF CON. This year over one thousand people signed up to support the digital freedom movement in just that one week.  

If you’ve ever seen us at a conference, you know the drill: a table full of EFF staff frantically handing out swag, answering questions, and excitedly saying hi to everyone that stops by and supports our work. This year it was especially fun to see how many people brought their Rayhunter devices. 

And of course, it wouldn’t be a trip to Vegas without EFF’s annual DEF CON Poker Tournament. This year 48 supporters and friends played for money, glory, and the future of the web—all with EFF’s very own playing cards. For the first time ever, the jellybean trophy went to the same winner two years in a row! 

EFFecting Change Livestream Series

We ramped up our livestream series, EFFecting Change, this year with a total of six livestreams covering topics including the future of social media with guests from Mastodon, Bluesky, and Spill; EFF’s 35th Anniversary and what’s next in the fight for privacy and free speech online; and generative AI, including how to address the risks of the technology while protecting civil liberties and human rights online. 

We’ve got more in store for EFFecting Change in 2026, so be sure to stay up-to-date by signing up for updates! 

EFF Awards Ceremony

EFF is at the forefront of protecting users from dystopian surveillance and unjust censorship online. But we’re not the only one doing this work, and we couldn’t do it without other organizations in the space. So, every year we like to award those who are courageously championing the digital rights movement. 

This year we gave out three awards: the EFF Award for Defending Digital Freedoms went to Software Freedom Law Center, India, the EFF Award for Protecting Americans’ Data went to Erie Meyer, and the EFF Award for Leading Immigration and Surveillance Litigation went to Just Futures Law. You can watch the EFF Awards here and see photos from the event too!

And It’s All Thanks to You

That doesn’t even cover all of it! We even got to celebrate 35 years of EFF in July with limited-edition challenge coins and all-new member swag—plus a livestream covering EFF’s history and what’s next for us.

Grab EFF’s 35th Anniversary t-shirt when you become a member today!

As the new year approaches, I always like to look back on the bright spots—especially the joy of hanging out with this incredible community. The world can feel hectic, but connecting with supporters like you is a reminder of how much good we can build when we work together. 

Many thanks to all of the EFF members who joined forces with us this year. If you’ve been meaning to join, but haven’t yet, year-end is a great time to do so. 

This article is part of our Year in Review series. Read other articles about the fight for digital rights in 2025.