Mar 07, 2012

Free speech isn't so free when booksellers have to choose between hosting legitimate content and earning a living. Unfortunately, PayPal is threatening to stop doing business with several online booksellers, significantly impacting their revenue in the process, unless the booksellers agree to stop providing content that is perfectly legal but violates PayPal's policy. Please join us and tell PayPal to stop throwing books on a digital bonfire.

For Immediate Release: Mar 07, 2012
Media Contact: press@aclunc.org, (415) 621-2493
Three organizations concerned with voting rights have filed a lawsuit in the First District Court of Appeal to clarify that people who have been sentenced for low-level, non-violent offenses under the state’s historic reform of criminal justice known as Realignment are entitled to vote in the 2012 elections and beyond. The suit asks the Court of Appeal to clarify the voting rights of more than 85,000 Californians in time to allow them to register before Oct. 22 deadline.
Feb 29, 2012
Tomorrow, Google will put in place a new privacy policy across the vast majority of Google products and platforms. As we told you when they announced the new policy back in January, the new policy makes clear that Google will, for the first time, combine the personal data you share with any one of its products or sites across almost all of its products and sites (everything but Google Chrome, Google Books, and Google Wallet) in order to obtain a more comprehensive picture of you. And short of signing out of your Google account, there is no opting out.
For Immediate Release: Feb 28, 2012
Media Contact: press@aclunc.org, (415) 621-2493
default statue of liberty torch

Sacramento -- While the nation moves to limit women's access to reproductive health services, California is set to write a different story by removing barriers to abortion care. SB 1501, authored by Sen. Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego, would ensure women receive safe and early access to comprehensive reproductive health care by allowing Nurse Practitioners, Certified Nurse Midwives, and Physician Assistants to perform early, safe abortion care within the terms of their licenses.

For Immediate Release: Feb 27, 2012
Media Contact: press@aclunc.org, (415) 621-2493
ACLU of Northern CA
With an eye towards ending punitive drug policies that have made the United States the world’s largest incarcerator and cost taxpayers billions of dollars a year, Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) on Friday introduced legislation to reduce the penalty for Californians who possess small amounts of drugs for their own personal use. The bill, SB 1506, co-sponsored by the ACLU of California, Drug Policy Alliance, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and the California NAACP, changes the penalty for the simple possession of drugs under state law from a felony, which is punishable by up to three years behind bars, to a misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to one year behind bars. The reform would help alleviate overcrowding in state prisons and county jails and save the state millions of dollars annually.
Feb 23, 2012

In the past week, the White House, the Federal Trade Commission, and the California Attorney General's Office have all released reports or announced agreements designed to promote consumer privacy. These announcements incorporate several good ideas that, if implemented and enforced, would give users more control over their own personal information. But the recent moves are just a starting point for protecting privacy, not the finish line.

Here's what has been announced:

For Immediate Release: Feb 22, 2012
Media Contact: press@aclunc.org, (415) 621-2493
Police at UC Davis - via boingboing.net
Today nineteen students and alumni filed a federal lawsuit against UC Davis over the University’s treatment of protesters during a Nov. 18 demonstration in which campus police were caught on video dousing seated protesters with pepper spray. The lawsuit seeks to determine why the University violated the demonstrators’ state and federal constitutional rights and seeks to result in better policies that will prevent repetition of such response to a non-violent protest. The lawsuit charges that Administration officials and the campus police department failed to properly train and supervise officers, resulting in series of constitutional violations against the demonstrators. The plaintiffs are represented by the ACLU of Northern California and cooperating attorneys.
Feb 14, 2012
The war on drugs has failed, and people are ready for a change. The United States has the highest documented incarceration rate in the world. One in every 31 adults is on probation, in jail or in prison. FBI figures show that over 800,000 people in the U.S. are arrested for marijuana offenses each year. The vast majority of these arrests are for low-level, nonviolent simple possession offenses.
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