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Congressional leaders from throughout the nation released statements expressing their dissatisfaction with the Real ID regulations released today by the Department of Homeland Security.Rep. Tom Allen (D-ME)"We need to repeal REAL ID and replace it with a system that will work and does not pass the cost along to taxpayers."Read statement here.Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester (Ds – MT)"Enough is Enou... Read More

The Bay Area's transit systems are about to join other cities and get a single payment card. The TransLink card will let you pay for rides on BART, San Francisco Muni buses, and the Peninsula's Caltrain.The new cards may help you avoid fumbling for cash or sorting through multiple fare cards. But, unless you want to also pay for that trip with your privacy, you should buy the TransLink card with c... Read More

We've blogged about the shortcoming of some muni WiFi plans on several occasions. Many networks were built from the ground-up to invade consumer privacy and free speech for profit. Now several of these systems seem to have fallen flat.EarthLink, once the champion of muni WiFi and a willing partner for many cities across the country, announced in November that it was pulling out of many proposed sy... Read More

Can't imagine the library keeping track of the books you browse in the stacks and using that information to put advertising flyers in the books you check-out or "personalize" library services to you?How about the library sharing your book browsing information with other organizations or handing it over to the government when asked?Well, that is exactly what happens when you use most of the major I... Read More

According to recent reports, Google Inc., the wildly successful Internet company based here in Northern California, is planning to offer online data storage to its users. Though the exact details of the plan are not yet known, Google is expected to launch the service sometime next year.Google already offers its users some storage though its other products, including GMail, Google Docs, and its pho... Read More

On Monday, the Senate is set to begin debating FISA legislation that will grant immunity to the phone companies for turning over millions of our private records to the National Security Agency.If you care about privacy rights and holding corporations accountable for lawbreaking, call the California Senators and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Monday morning.Tell the Senators to use their lead... Read More

The Napa Valley Unified School District Board approved a settlement on Dec. 14 between the school district and five Napa families, represented by the ACLU of Northern California, who challenged the "Appropriate Attire Policy" at Redwood Middle School. The settlement recognizes students' constitutional rights to freedom of expression.At the center of the case was Toni Kay Scott, 14, who was discipl... Read More

Over 40 new Fusion Centers have been established across the country. California is home to several of these. located in Los Angeles, Norwalk, Sacramento, San Diego, and San Francisco. Anti-Terrorism Information Center(Component of the California Department of Justice)Attorney General's Office California Department of JusticeAttn: Public Inquiry UnitP.O. Box 944255 Sacramento, CA 94244... Read More

The American Civil Liberties Union today released a new report outlining serious concerns about new institutions called "fusion centers," which have been created in over 40 states around the nation.California is home to seven fusion centers, including two in San Francisco and two in Sacramento.Fusion centers vary widely, but generally are centers intended to improve the sharing of anti-terror... Read More

The ACLU of Northern California has filed a friend-of–the-court brief in support of neither party in Fair Housing Council v. Roommate.com, a case raising important anti-discrimination and internet free speech concerns.An expanded eleven-member (en banc) panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals hears oral argument in the case tomorrow in Pasadena.The ACLU of Northern California's brief argues th... Read More

This past Thursday morning ACLU Legislative Director Caroline Fredrickson participated in an online chat on Firedoglake about the ongoing FISA fight and upcoming Senate floor debate.

The discussion includes a list of phone numbers of the senators who need to hear from their constituents.

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Last week we blogged about the problems with Facebook's new "Beacon" web tracking and ad delivery system. We also discussed the insufficient changes Facebook has made to the system since its introduction.Controversy surrounding the intrusive Beacon program continues to grow. Over the past few days, several news outlets have reported that Facebook continues to receive web activity information from ... Read More