Free Speech

Our support of the Bill of Rights and the first amendment right to free speech is unequivocal. This includes challenging activities or actions that seek to curtail, limit or erase the free speech of others. However, we reserve the right to exercise our free speech by critiquing the speech of others, such as hateful speech, that is contrary to our core values, which support liberty and justice for all.

ACLU responds to excessive force used on protesters. Read more

ACLU defends "I can't breathe" t-shirts at school... Read more

Your free speech rights at demonstrations and protests. Know Your Rights

Privacy and Free Speech - It's Good for Business Graphic

ACLU Guide: How Companies Can Protect Privacy and Free Speech Read More

News

Protesters at SFO hold signs speaking out against the Muslim ban

ACLU of Northern California Celebrates Ninth Circuit Ruling in State of Washington v. Trump

February 9, 2017

File Under :

Free Speech, Immigrants' Rights, Racial Justice

Today’s ruling is reason to celebrate. If the court had granted the Trump administration’s request, U.S. citizens, residents, and their family members here and across the world would have once again been facing chaos and uncertainty. The Trump... Read more

News

California Students Barred From Traveling, Sue Trump Over Muslim Ban

February 2, 2017

File Under :

Free Speech, Immigrants' Rights, Racial Justice

Three students at California universities, along with Jewish Family & Community Services East Bay, filed a lawsuit today against President Donald J. Trump, the Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security, and U.S. Customs and Border... Read more

News

People protest against Trump's Muslim ban at the airport

ACLU of Northern California Files Demands for Documents on Implementation of Trump’s Muslim Ban

February 2, 2017

File Under :

Free Speech, Immigrants' Rights, Racial Justice

The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California filed a Freedom of Information Act request today with its local U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) office to expose how Trump administration officials are interpreting and executing the... Read more

News

ACLU of California Statement on Trump Administration’s Discriminatory Executive Orders

January 25, 2017

File Under :

Free Speech, Immigrants' Rights, Racial Justice

Today, President Trump and his new administration confirmed the institution of draconian, punitive, and discriminatory immigration policies that ignore the lessons of the last 30 years of immigration policy and betray our most basic values as a... Read more

News

Executive Director Abdi Soltani Condemns Trump’s Discriminatory Immigration Ban

January 25, 2017

File Under :

Free Speech, Immigrants' Rights, Racial Justice

The ACLU of California condemns the anti-immigrant actions taken this week by President Donald Trump. >> Contact us re: SFO, OAK, SJO, FAT airport arrivals affected by Trump's executive order On behalf of the ACLU of Northern California, I... Read more

Blog

man holds sign saying "Fascism is not our national policy yet"

Dissent is Patriotic. It’s also a Powerful Antidote to Propaganda - #ACLUTimeMachine

January 11, 2017

File Under :

Free Speech, Privacy and Government Surveillance

Fifty-five years ago this January, the ACLU of Northern California was busy filling orders from across the country for copies of its recently produced film, “Operation Correction.” The film was a response to a piece of Red Scare propaganda, “... Read more »

Case

Gill v. DOJ (Challenge to Federal Suspicious Activity Reporting)

File Under :

Free Speech, Privacy and Government Surveillance

The ACLU Foundations of California filed a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s Suspicious Activity Reporting program - a vast expansion of the federal government’s domestic intelligence network. The SAR program targets First Amendment-... Read more

Blog

United States flag being burnt in protest, in New Hampshire on the eve of the 2008 election.

ACLU to Trump: Flag Burning is Free Speech

November 29, 2016

File Under :

Free Speech

President-elect Donald J. Trump tweeted that anyone who burns a flag should be jailed or even stripped of their U.S. citizenship. The idea that the government could use citizenship as a punishment for political speech is not simply unconstitutional... Read more »

Blog