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Back in July 2008, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a new policy regarding searches of documents and electronic devices at the border. CBP asserts it has the right to conduct these searches of any traveler – citizens and noncitizen alike "absent individualized suspicion," – meaning no suspicion of wrongdoing is even required to conduct a search. Despite an update to the policy in August ... Read More

Computerworld is reporting that the hacking attack on Google (which prompted it to tell the Chinese government it would no longer censor on its behalf) exploited a system the company set up to help the government access its users' data:They apparently were able to access a system used to help Google comply with search warrants by providing data on Google users, said a source familiar with the situ... Read More

Over the past several years, there have been two reliable things about Facebook: it has often stated that privacy was important to the company – two years ago, privacy was "the vector around which Facebook operates" – and its actions have often contradicted that.As we start a new year, it doesn't look like much has changed.A month ago, when Facebook announced a major privacy overhaul, users were t... Read More

On January 5, President Obama addressed airport security in remarks responding to the Christmas Day attack on a plane headed for Detroit.The following can be attributed to Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union:"We welcome President Obama's emphasis on better information and intelligence sharing between government agencies. Our limited security resources should... Read More

The ACLU recently submitted a statement about behavioral advertising to the Joint Subcommittee Hearing of the House Energy & Commerce Committee. The statement explained that wide collection of personal information of a consumer "draws a personal portrait unprecedented in scope and detail" and asked Congress to pass laws that protect us from having this information accessed and used against us.... Read More

With the holiday season underway, travelers are bracing themselves for the countless hassles that come with modern travel. Most have adapted to waiting on long security lines, taking off their shoes and parting with their bottled water. But international travelers often don't realize that they might also have to endure border officials viewing their Web histories. And their financial records. And ... Read More

Responding to public outcry over Wednesday's new privacy settings, Facebook backtracked today, announcing that it would allow users to hide their list of friends from both visitors to their profile and search results. However, you've still lost the ability to control this information: you can't select specific groups who can see your friends lists (it's either displayed or it isn't) and you can't ... Read More

In a move to create stricter privacy guidelines, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the latest version of its grant application today that includes new requirements for video surveillance. It will now be recommended that applicants for DHS grant money perform privacy assessments if grant money is to be used to purchase, install or support cameras. The American Civil Liberties Union... Read More

The next time you log onto Facebook, you'll be thinking about privacy: how private are your photos, friends, status updates, and personal details, and how public do you actually want them to be?In response to pressure about its privacy practices, including an ACLU petition signed by over 43,000 concerned Internet users, Facebook has released a new privacy policy, modified its profile and publicati... Read More

A Federal Judge ruled on Nov. 30 that a lawsuit brought by two Bay Area community organizations against federal agents over the seizure of their computers can continue.Long Haul Inc. and the East Bay Prisoner Support Group (EBPS), which are represented by the ACLU of Northern California and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, were raided on August 27, 2008 by University of California Police, the A... Read More

California policymakers are deciding now whether your sensitive health-care records can be electronically shared. Take action by December 1 to protect your private health records. The state is undertaking a massive effort to create the first electronic health database, called the health information exchange. Patient health records would be stored in this electronic database and shared among heal... Read More

On Wednesday, November 18 the Tiburon, California Town Council approved a license-plate camera surveillance system that will keep track of every vehicle that enters and leaves the city. These cameras are expensive: The system carries an initial price tag of between $137,000 and $196,000, with an additional $15,000 yearly maintenance fee.There is no evidence that they will do anything to make the T... Read More