News

SAN FRANCISCO — Amazon today issued an additional statement in response to the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California test of Rekognition, the company's face recognition technology. The test revealed that Rekognition falsely matched 28 current members of Congress with images in an arrest photo database. Congressional members of color were disproportionately identified inc... Read More

SAN FRANCISCO – Reps. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) and John Lewis (D-Ga.) today wrote to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos demanding a meeting to discuss Amazon’s face surveillance product Rekognition. The letter comes after the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California released results of a test this morning revealing that Rekognition falsely matched 28 current members of Congress with image... Read More

Today the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California released the results of a test revealing that Amazon’s facial surveillance product Rekognition falsely matched 28 current members of Congress with images in an arrest photo database. In the ACLU’s test, legislators from both parties, from states across the country, were falsely matched. Congressional members of color we... Read More

SACRAMENTO – California voting rights organizations today praised the California Motor Voter program for dramatically increasing statewide voter registration. The joint effort between the Secretary of State and Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) processed nearly 800,000 voter registration transactions at the DMV from late April through June and ensures voter registration will be convenient and vot... Read More

SACRAMENTO – Today, Disability Rights California (DRC) and the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California sued Secretary of State Alex Padilla for failing to provide voter registration services for low-income Californians and Californians with disabilities. DRC and the ACLU argue that Secretary Padilla has failed to designate state and local offices that serve more than 7 ... Read More

SACRAMENTO — Today, a federal judge blocked the City of Sacramento's anti-panhandling ordinance. The ACLU Foundation of Northern California and the Legal Services of Northern California issued the following response: Today’s ruling is a resounding victory for free speech and fairness, and is the first in California to make clear that the government can’t arbitrarily enact anti-panhandling ordin... Read More

WASHINGTON — Microsoft today called for federal action and committed to company steps to address the civil rights threats of face recognition technology. This comes after the American Civil Liberties Union, as well as community groups, employees, and consumers, raised grave concerns about face recognition technology, particularly in the hands of government. Neema Singh Guliani, ACLU legislative... Read More

NEW YORK — American Civil Liberties Union Legal Director David Cole issued the following statement in response to President Trump’s nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court: Brett Kavanaugh may bring the requisite experience, but given Donald Trump’s promise to overturn Roe v. Wade, the decision that recognized the right to an abortion, and efforts to reverse progress on civil rights ... Read More

San Francisco — The ACLU Foundation of Northern California and Goodwin Procter LLP today filed a series of claims related to the mistreatment of ICE detainees while they were transported between detention facilities, as well as a FOIA lawsuit seeking more details about ICE’s contract with G4S Secure Solutions, the company contracted to provide transportation services for detainees.In Jul... Read More

CONTACT: Inga Sarda-Sorensen, 347-514-3984, isarda-sorensen@aclu.orgSACRAMENTO — A federal court today upheld the California Values Act, which ensures that police and sheriffs do not indiscriminately help ICE round up and deport immigrants in California. The ruling is a major rebuke to the Trump administration’s nationwide attacks on so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions.The American Civil... Read More

The ACLU Foundation of Northern California filed suit against Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, demanding that the State Department issue a decision on an Iranian family’s application for a waiver from the Muslim Ban. Read More

Concern for privacy is at an all-time high in the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, and yet California has enacted a law that utterly fails to provide the privacy protections the public has demanded and deserves. Read More