Archive

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.   Read More

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An analysis of 2019 data collected under California’s Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA) found that Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office deputies disproportionately stop Black people for traffic violations, a disturbing finding given the number of high-profile, tragic police killings of Black people during traffic stops. Read More

This joint report from ACLU NorCal and Catalyst California (formerly Advancement Project California) highlights strategies Sacramento County leaders should make to improve community safety and reduce systemic racial inequity in the criminal legal system. An analysis of 2019 data collected under California’s Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA) found that the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office ... Read More

On December 9, the ACLU’s national office announced it will represent the National Rifle Association (NRA) in a case before the United States Supreme Court, NRA v Vullo. The case raises important First Amendment concerns about government overreach in targeting certain organizations for their disfavored viewpoints. This decision has led to dissent from the New York Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU a... Read More

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. Read More

We are calling on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether Meta and X have broken their anti-surveillance commitments Read More

Today civil rights organizations sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission, urging the agency to investigate whether X (formerly Twitter) and Meta are providing surveillance companies that work with law enforcement special access to user data, contrary to the platforms’ official policies and public promises.  Read More

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... Read More

A State law that took effect in 2021 gave counties the authority to establish civilian oversight boards to assist supervisors in overseeing sheriffs’ offices. However, the law does not require counties to create civilian boards. That’s why the ACLU of Northern California is helping to educate community members about the fact that this law exists. And we are supporting individual counties that wish... Read More