Archive

A groundbreaking bill pending in California would bring this day-to-day local surveillance out of the shadows and give communities a way to fight back against surveillance systems that are disproportionately aimed at immigrants and people of color. Read More

SAN FRANCISCO — Amazon today issued an additional statement in response to the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California test of Rekognition, the company's face recognition technology. The test revealed that Rekognition falsely matched 28 current members of Congress with images in an arrest photo database. Congressional members of color were disproportionately identified inc... Read More

SAN FRANCISCO – Reps. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) and John Lewis (D-Ga.) today wrote to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos demanding a meeting to discuss Amazon’s face surveillance product Rekognition. The letter comes after the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California released results of a test this morning revealing that Rekognition falsely matched 28 current members of Congress with image... Read More

Today the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California released the results of a test revealing that Amazon’s facial surveillance product Rekognition falsely matched 28 current members of Congress with images in an arrest photo database. In the ACLU’s test, legislators from both parties, from states across the country, were falsely matched. Congressional members of color we... Read More

In a test the ACLU recently conducted of Amazon's facial recognition tool, called “Rekognition,” the software incorrectly matched 28 members of Congress, identifying them as other people who have been arrested for a crime. The false matches were disproportionately of people of color. Read More

SACRAMENTO – California voting rights organizations today praised the California Motor Voter program for dramatically increasing statewide voter registration. The joint effort between the Secretary of State and Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) processed nearly 800,000 voter registration transactions at the DMV from late April through June and ensures voter registration will be convenient and vot... Read More

Scooter companies Spin, Bird, and Lime are racing to gather your personal data, and have failed to take the time and steps necessary to properly address rider privacy. Read More

The Disability Rights California (DRC) and the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California sued Secretary of State Alex Padilla for failing to provide voter registration services for low-income Californians and Californians with disabilities. The lawsuit demands that California comply with state and federal laws that require public assistance offices and state-funded progra... Read More

SACRAMENTO – Today, Disability Rights California (DRC) and the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California sued Secretary of State Alex Padilla for failing to provide voter registration services for low-income Californians and Californians with disabilities. DRC and the ACLU argue that Secretary Padilla has failed to designate state and local offices that serve more than 7 ... Read More

SACRAMENTO — Today, a federal judge blocked the City of Sacramento's anti-panhandling ordinance. The ACLU Foundation of Northern California and the Legal Services of Northern California issued the following response: Today’s ruling is a resounding victory for free speech and fairness, and is the first in California to make clear that the government can’t arbitrarily enact anti-panhandling ordin... Read More