Archive

We know that the government takes advantage of outdated privacy law to demand our personal information from online services that collect and hold our data. But what we rarely know is exactly how often this happens: the government isn't required to reveal how many demands for information they make or how many individuals are affected, and companies rarely volunteer this information. One of the very... Read More

Today's early morning raid by the Oakland Police Department on Occupy Oakland raises a number of questions. Read More

Today, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) turns 25 years old. On October 21, 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed ECPA into law. As Wired reported today on the "Aging 'Privacy' Law," ECPA was passed "at a time when e-mail was used mostly by nerdy scientists, when phones without wires hardly worked as you stepped out into the backyard, and when the World Wide Web didn't exist. Four pr... Read More

Catherine CrumpACLU National OfficeCongress hasn't updated our basic electronic privacy law since 1986, long before most Americans sent their first email. So it's no surprise that our privacy protections haven't kept pace with new technological advancements. The current law even allows the government to read virtually all of our emails without a warrant. This extraordinary power is an egregious vi... Read More

By Christopher CalabreseWashington Legislative OfficeWe were planning to do a blog post every day to draw attention to Electronic Communication Privacy Act's (ECPA) anniversary but Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) gave us an anniversary present and we couldn't resist doing an extra one to crow about it.The senator announced today that the Senate Judiciary Committee, w... Read More

This week, our federal online privacy law turns 25. The ACLU is hosting a blog series that will address some of the many reasons why the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA) is in need of an upgrade! Spread the word using #UpdateECPA, and to learn more about your dotRights, visit www.aclu.org/ecpa.In honor of ECPA's 25th birthday this week, Congress had the chance to walk down di... Read More

By Christopher CalabreseWashington Legislative OfficeBack in June Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) filed companion bills in the House and Senate to protect cell phone users' privacy. The "Geolocational Privacy and Surveillance Act" (GPS Act) would require law enforcement to get a warrant before they access location information. The goal is to protect privacy b... Read More

By Rekha ArulananthamACLU National OfficeWhat were you doing in 1986? Maybe you were wearing acid wash jeans, crimping your hair, or watching Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O'Connell in 1986's Stand By Me. In 1986, Congress was enacting the law that protects the privacy of online communications, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA).Now, think for a second abo... Read More

The City of Fresno is violating the constitutional rights of homeless people whose personal possessions are being destroyed and confiscated in ongoing raids, according to a lawsuit filed today in federal court by civil rights groups. The groups are seeking a temporary restraining order and a permanent injunction to stop the relentless attacks on Fresno’s homeless residents. The lawsuit was filed i... Read More

Download the Fall 2011 ACLU of Northern California Newsletter and read about our latest events and initiatives. Read More