Archive

Free speech means that we all have the ability to express and hear a range of ideas. But does that extend to the world of apps? We say yes. Nearly 50 million of us carry smartphones that let us browse the marketplace of online apps – which is also a marketplace of ideas and expression. Companies like Apple, Google and RIM have the power and opportunity to make sure that their users have access to ... Read More

The ACLU today appealed a ruling that the government can collect the private records of three Twitter users as part of its investigation related to WikiLeaks. The ruling further held that the users cannot learn which other Internet companies were ordered to turn over information about them to the government. Read More

A U.S. District Court Judge ruled yesterday that the California Department of Transportation's equal opportunity program for contracting businesses can continue its mission to ensure that minority and women-owned businesses have equal ground to compete for federal stimulus funds and other federal contracts. Read More

On April 6, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold another hearing to discuss the woefully outdated Electronic Communications Privacy Act. (Did we mention that it was written in 1986?!)In response to past Congressional Committee hearings, the ACLU submitted testimony calling on Congress to modernize ECPA in the following ways:Protect Personal Information. The government shouldn't be able to get ... Read More

What you read says a lot about what you think and believe. That's why the ACLU, EFF, and the Samuelson Clinic at UC Berkeley filed an objection [pdf] to the proposed Google Book Search settlement on behalf of authors and readers concerned about inadequate privacy safeguards in the book service. Now a federal court has rejected that proposed settlement. In today's court opinion [pdf], the judge wro... Read More

By Rachel MyersACLU National OfficeIn a huge victory for privacy and the rule of law, a federal appeals court today reinstated our landmark lawsuit challenging the FISA Amendments Act (FAA), a statute that gives the executive branch virtually unchecked power to collect Americans' international e-mails and telephone calls.The ACLU filed the lawsuit on behalf of a broad coalition of attorneys and hu... Read More

Concerned Californians from across the region gathered at the State Capitol on Monday, March 21, to urge the California Legislature to protect critical social services – including education programs and drug treatment – by cutting the Corrections budget. One simple reform would free up $450 million dollars. That's the amount California taxpayers spend to lock up adults who were convicted of non-vi... Read More

Today, California Assemblymember Tom Ammiano will introduce a comprehensive bill that tackles school bullying by providing California schools with specific tools to prevent and address the pervasive problem in order to create a safe school environment for all students. Read More

The American Civil Liberties Union submitted testimony today for Representative Peter King's congressional "radicalization" hearing objecting to the House Homeland Security Committee's scrutiny of the American Muslim community and its level of cooperation with government anti-terrorism efforts. Read More

The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), Equality California, American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California (ACLU-NC) and Lambda Legal jointly filed an amicus brief on March 1 in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals asking the court to lift the temporary stay in the federal court challenge to Proposition 8. Read More