Archive

Today the ACLU is joining a broad coalition at Facebook’s headquarters and urging the social network to allow users to speak in their chosen voice by fixing its flawed “real name” policy. Read More

When students at Glendale Unified School District learned through news reports last year that their Facebook and other social media accounts were being monitored by the district through a third-party company known as Geo Listening, students and parents were shocked, and so were we. Many saw the monitoring as invading student privacy and chilling off-campus speech. In response, Assembly Member M... Read More

California had the chance to be a leader in requiring police to get a warrant to use surveillance technology. But Gov. Brown vetoed a bill, AB 1327, that would have done just that for police drones.This is a big disappointment and Gov. Brown missed the mark with this veto.AB 1327 would have provided basic statewide protections against abuse by police drones. Without it, cities and counties are lef... Read More

ACLU of Northern California report confirms Latino community's experience with racial profiling by California Highway Patrol in Fresno County. Read More

On Sunday, Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 873, a bill which will set aside $3 million to provide legal aid to refugee children fleeing endemic violence in their home countries. In response, the ACLU of California issued the following statement: "While the ACLU of California applauds California lawmakers and Gov. Jerry Brown for taking important steps to ensure that some children aren't fo... Read More

Today Gov. Jerry Brown signed the California Fair Sentencing Act (SB 1010) authored by Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles). The legislation eliminates the groundless disparity in sentencing, probation, and asset forfeiture guidelines for possession of crack cocaine for sale versus the same crime involving powder cocaine that has resulted in a pattern of racial discrimination in sentencing and inca... Read More

Today a broad coalition of organizations commends Governor Brown for signing Senate Bill 1159, a bill that improves access to economic opportunities to immigrants in California. The bill, by Senator Ricardo Lara (D), allows qualified individuals to obtain professional licenses, regardless of immigration status. Thus California continues to lead the way in fully incorporating immigrants as contribu... Read More

Today California becomes the first state in the nation to eliminate suspensions for its youngest children, and all expulsions for all students for minor misbehavior such as talking back, failing to have school materials and dress code violations. Gov. Jerry Brown’s signing today of AB 420 caps a landmark year for the movement away from harsh discipline policies and toward positive discipline and a... Read More

On a visit to the ACLU office in San Francisco, my sons Cyrus and Juno, age 11 and 7, stood in the hallway. Come in my office, I asked them. But they wouldn’t budge. I stepped back in the hallway to see what had their attention. It was the giant “Banned Books” poster mounted on the wall. On the poster are some of their favorite books, including A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein. Read More

Last week, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved $2.1 million for legal services for refugee children and families in the County who are facing deportation. It is the first county in the country to do so, although legislation to allocate $3 million from the State for this purpose is currently on Governor Brown’s desk.Paola, mother of five year old Axa, testified before the Bu... Read More