Archive

Apps like Uber and Lyft have access to a wide array of data on our smartphones, chief of which is the precise GPS location that each company uses to connect drivers and passengers. Read More

People deserve a voice in making informed community choices about the use of surveillance. One of the biggest roadblocks is that there is very little public information about the state of surveillance. Read More

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that Proposition 35, a 2012 California ballot initiative that would have restricted the rights of registered sex offenders to communicate on the Internet, is likely unconstitutional. The opinion affirms an earlier district court ruling in Doe v. Harris, a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and the Electronic Fro... Read More

"There ain't no such thing as a free lunch." The saying has been around for decades, but it has never been truer in an era where technology so often seems to promise something for nothing. Read More

Nov. 10 is the celebration of the Marine Corps birthday. Nov. 11 is Veterans Day, and Nov. 14 was my first day of Boot Camp, the beginning of my journey as a U.S. Marine. Read More

Counties and cities across California have spent more than $60 million on invasive surveillance technology, the vast majority of which are being used by law enforcement agencies without any sort of public debate, consideration of costs and benefits, or adequate policies to safeguard against misuse, according to data compiled by the American Civil Liberties Union of California. Read More

Californians want smart criminal justice strategies and recognize that longer sentences, especially for low-level, nonviolent crimes, have not made our communities any safer. The question is whether our political leaders in Sacramento are listening. Read More

Today, California's Department of Motor Vehicles issued emergency regulations that will determine how driver’s licenses are granted to undocumented immigrants under California's AB 60 (Alejo). The DMV’s emergency regulations are effective for 180 days. Responding to community suggestions raised at hearings in Oakland and Los Angeles, the new regulations expand the types of documents which immigran... Read More

On Election Day in 2013, I took my four children with me to watch me register to vote and cast my ballot in a city election in my small town in Iowa. Earlier that day, my daughter's class learned about the meaning of democracy and the importance of elections.Two months after I cast my ballot as a civics lesson for my daughter, the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation agents parked across the ... Read More

We've seen a wave of voter suppression laws across the country in recent years, which many have rightly characterized as a cynical attempt by politicians to manipulate the rules of the game.Yesterday, however, we heard directly from voters in three states, who overwhelmingly voted in favor of a system free from barriers, fairly administered, and equally accessible to all.Montanans faced a ballot m... Read More