Blog

The people have spoken. And, today, the Federal Communications Commission listened. A majority of FCC commissioners voted in favor of historically strong open Internet rules.It appears they have done what the ACLU and other free speech groups have been suggesting for years: put net neutrality rules on firm legal footing to prevent large internet companies from using their market pow... Read More

Despite criticism from the ACLU and Supervisor Joe Simitian, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a sheriff’s department request to use more than $500,000 of federal grant money to purchase a Stingray cell phone tracking system.Simitian perhaps put it best when he told Sheriff Lori Smith during Tuesday’s meeting of the supervisors that, “Just to be clear, we're being ask... Read More

The debate over cell phone surveillance comes to the heart of Silicon Valley on Feb. 24, when the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors will consider a proposal to purchase a Stingray. Unfortunately, the public wasn't told about it. Read More

Public participation in decisions about whether to equip police with surveillance technology is often the exception rather than the rule in California and across the country. Oakland knows this all too well. Read More

The technology that we use for everything from balancing our budget to finding a date is constantly evolving – but the laws that protect our electronic information are stuck in the digital dark ages. Read More

Do you have the right to tell others that you saw an on duty cop in public? According to law enforcement in two Associated Press articles this week, the answer is “No.” Read More

Are our work emails, our medical records, and our financial information safe online, or have we been leaving our digital doors unlocked? What will President Obama propose to keep our digital world secure? Read More

A police officer wearing a body camera shoots a civilian. Afterwards, the officer has to write up a report about the incident. Should the officer be able to view the footage captured by his body camera (or other cameras) before he writes his initial report? Read More

We are the founders of PubPeer.com, an online forum for scientific discussion of research scholarship. We and many of the users of our website are anonymous. That anonymity is important for free speech, for academic freedom, and for scientific inquiry. But it’s being threatened, which is why we’re going to court to defend the First Amendment right to anonymity. Read More

Given that the government hasn't proven its commitment to respecting and protecting our privacy – Snowden, anyone? – it is more than reasonable for the public to expect police to be fully transparent when it wants to use drones. Read More

Today’s decision by a Staten Island grand jury not to indict NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo for having killed Eric Garner using a chokehold during an arrest for selling untaxed cigarettes has sparked enormous outcry and frustration. Garner’s killing was captured on video and has been viewed by millions. Does that mean that video doesn’t matter? That getting police to wear body cameras won’t help hol... Read More

In a welcome turn of events, courts are beginning to push back on the secretive use of StingRay devices, an intrusive cell phone surveillance technology. If law enforcement wants to use new surveillance tech, it can’t hide the information. Read More