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.
Challenge, Resist, and Defend
Jan 17, 2025
Today, the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States marks the beginning of another term with policies in direct opposition to core ACLU principles and values. The ACLU of Northern California stands ready, as it has throughout its history, to protect fundamental rights under federal and state law – and the Constitution.
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Trump is Coming, This Time with Artificial Intelligence. Our New Report Will Help Us Meet the Moment
Jan 09, 2025
The report, "Seeing Through Surveillance," and its accompanying materials, provide lawmakers and community members with the knowledge and tools they need to build a firewall that keeps people safe.
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California’s Surveillance Systems Have Once Again Become a Major Liability
Jan 06, 2025
With President-elect Donald Trump about to reassume office, the very systems that officials promised would keep us safe have become a major liability.
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Forging Ahead with Clear Eyes and Strong Resolve
Dec 13, 2024
The results of the November 2024 election – at both the federal and state level – compel us to look ahead with clear eyes and strong resolve to protect civil liberties and civil rights. We balance our sober understanding of the threats ahead with our enduring commitment to a vision of the United States and its Constitution that respects the rights of all persons.
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Big Tech is Trying to Burn Privacy to the Ground–And They’re Using Big Tobacco’s Strategy to Do It
Oct 09, 2024
Big Tech is copying the tobacco industry's 3-step playbook designed to suffocate democratic resistance and consolidate power.
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Once Again, California Refused to Endorse Face Surveillance. Now It’s Time to Ban It.
Aug 21, 2024
For the third time in five years, California rejected a bill that would have greenlit government use of facial recognition across the state.
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Californians Fought Hard for Driver Privacy Protections. Why Are the Police Refusing to Follow Them?
Feb 12, 2024
Automatic license plate readers collect and store highly sensitive information that can reveal where we work, live, worship, or seek reproductive health services. Sharing any ALPR information with out-of-state or federal law enforcement agencies has been forbidden in California since 2016.
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When it Comes to Facial Recognition, There is No Such Thing as a Magic Number
Feb 07, 2024
Companies and legislators are using misleading test scores to justify the expansion of facial recognition into our communities. That flawed approach understates the threat this dangerous technology poses to civil rights.
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Cops Blanketed San Francisco In Geofence Warrants. Google Was Right to Protect People's Privacy
Jan 07, 2024
The change appears to place significant limits on law enforcement’s ability to use “geofence warrants” (also called “reverse location search warrants”) to find out who was in a particular place at a particular time. Google’s announcement is welcome news, and we are cautiously optimistic that this change—once it rolls out—will protect people for years to come.
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An Obscure Federal Law is Threatening Our Right to Anonymous Online Speech
Dec 13, 2023
Our right to speak anonymously, long protected by U.S. courts, is increasingly under attack by corporations and wealthy individuals looking to upend decades of free speech precedent.
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The Federal Trade Commission Must Investigate Meta and X for Complicity with Government Surveillance
Dec 12, 2023
We are calling on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether Meta and X have broken their anti-surveillance commitments
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Human Rights and the US Constitution
Dec 11, 2023
The 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an opportunity to redouble our commitment to its principles worldwide. For those individuals and organizations whose focus is human rights within the United States, we are called to do two things. First, rather than cede the US Constitution to powerful forces who would use it to turn back the clock, we must embrace a visio...
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