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Blog

We can be pretty sure that each new day will bring two things: new threats to our civil liberties, and new stories of people standing up for their rights and winning. Behind every court ruling is a person. Behind every landmark law is a movement. Read the stories and hear the voices that ground our work.

ACLU of Northern CA
Blog

ACLU Sets "Surveillance Clock" and Issues New Report on State of Surveillance Society

Sep 17, 2007
The American Civil Liberties Union today announced the launch of a new "Surveillance Society Clock" to symbolize the reality that we are fast approaching a genuine surveillance society in the United States. The clock is set at six minutes before the "midnight" of such a dark end to privacy. Also being released is a new report summarizing the state of privacy today, and video of "Monster Among Us,"... Read More
ACLU of Northern CA
Blog

TALON Database Just Tip of Iceberg

Sep 13, 2007
In August, privacy advocates applauded the Defense Department's decision to close its Threat and Local Observation Notice (TALON) system. While the decision to shut down the much maligned program is a good one, it certainly does not mean the end to the intelligence database threat to civil liberties. The Defense Department reportedly initiated the TALON program in 2003 to store intell... Read More
ACLU of Northern CA
Blog

Victory for Online Political Speech

Sep 06, 2007
Earlier this week, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) ruled in support of freedom of speech for bloggers. The FEC dismissed complaints against the DailyKos and a blog site critical of former Representative Mary Bono. The FEC refused to find that the DailyKos was a political committee subject to regulation under the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). Under FECA, any committee, c... Read More
ACLU of Northern CA
Blog

ACLU Victory - Court Again Finds NSL Provision Unconstitutional

Sep 06, 2007
A federal court today struck down the amended Patriot Act's National Security Letter (NSL) provision. The law has permitted the FBI to issue NSLs demanding private information about people within the United States without court approval, and to gag those who receive NSLs from discussing them. The court found that the gag power was unconstitutional and that because the statute prevented courts from... Read More
ACLU of Northern CA
Blog

ACLU NSA Spy Hearing Yesterday

Aug 31, 2007
Judge Walker of the Northern District of California heard arguments yesterday on the ACLUs of California case against Verizon for allegedly providing the NSA with California customers' phone records without their consent and without a warrant, court order, or legal process. Following revelations in an article in USA Today in May of last year, the three California affiliates of the ACL... Read More
ACLU of Northern CA
Blog

Facebook Not as Private as You Might Think

Aug 28, 2007
The online social networking service Facebook is a popular way to build and maintain groups of friends, family, and colleagues online. Many of the site's users post photo albums of their lives for friends and family. Even more include significant personal information on their own individual profile page- information such as age, relationship status, hobbies, job information, and even address and p... Read More
ACLU of Northern CA
Blog

Some Improvements to Google Street View

Aug 23, 2007
In May and June of this year, we had several blog posts about privacy concerns associated with the new Google Street View service. See here. The Street View photographs included identifiable people and license plates and the procedures for requesting take-down of that information was more difficult than it should have been. There was not a direct link from the image to re... Read More
ACLU of Northern CA
Blog

ACLU Issues New Video Surveillance Report

Aug 20, 2007
San Francisco – California cities are moving quickly to install video surveillance cameras on public streets and plazas without regulations, with little or no public debate, and without an evaluation of their effectiveness, according to an ACLU report released today.Even though 37 cities have some type of video surveillance program, and 10 cities are considering expansive programs, no jurisdiction... Read More
ACLU of Northern CA
Blog

Ninth Circuit Judges Question Need for Government Secrecy

Aug 16, 2007
The public overflowed the courtroom and late-comers filed into an adjoining video room, members of the press hovered around the courthouse, and oral argument lasted an hour and forty five minutes- that was the scene yesterday afternoon as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard the government's appeal in Hepting v. AT&T. Hepting is one of several cases, including two filed ... Read More
ACLU of Northern CA
Blog

9th Circuit Hears Important NSA Spying Case

Aug 15, 2007
The outcome in the lawsuit Hepting v. AT&T, being heard today by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, will be important to the various challenges to illegal spying of Americans. I'm attending the hearing scheduled for 2 p.m. today, after which I will provide a reaction to what occurred inside the room. (ETA 8/16/07: Read my reaction here.) Background on the Signific... Read More
ACLU of Northern CA
Blog

Studies and Articles on Video Surveillance

Jul 31, 2007
ReportsUnder the Watchful Eye: The Proliferation of Video Surveillance Systems in California (Full Report)Under the Watchful Eye, a report issued by the California ACLU affiliates, examines the justifications for and consequences of the dramatic expansion in government video surveillance of public space at the local level. This report explains in detail the joint assessment of the three California... Read More