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A coalition of authors and publishers, represented by the ACLU, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the Samuelson Law, Technology, and Public Policy Clinic at UC Berkeley School of Law, filed an objection this morning in the Google Book Search case. The objection urges the federal judge to reject the proposed settlement because it lacks critical privacy rights for readers and writers.The objec... Read More

Ability To Track Readers Puts Privacy At Risk, Says ACLUA coalition of authors and publishers – including best-sellers Michael Chabon and Jonathan Lethem, as well as leading security author Bruce Schneier – is urging a federal judge to reject the proposed settlement in a lawsuit over Google Book Search, arguing that the sweeping agreement to digitize millions of books ignores critical privacy and ... Read More

Late yesterday afternoon, September 3, 2009, Google finally issued a privacy policy for Google Books, both the current service and the extensive new book-related services they hope to have a federal court approve in October.While there are some good things in the policy – many that the ACLU of Northern California and its coalition partners the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Samuelson... Read More

Last week, in response to an inquiry by the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Facebook announced plans to enhance user privacy over the next year. Some of these plans address third party applications, like quizzes and games, that have access to a lot of your personal information.Wondering what this is all about? Concerned about your privacy on Facebook?If you're a Facebook user, check out the ACLU o... Read More

Did you know? Facebook apps can collect a lot of data about you and your friends. Take our quiz. Read More

Brittany Dalton's high school flute ensemble won at a prestigious statewide competition. But her school tried to keep her from playing in the competition because Brittany refused to submit to a drug test. Read More

In April 2006, Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a non-profit business government coalition in San Jose, California, released a request for proposals for it's new initiative, Wireless Silicon Valley, an ambitious project to create a region-wide wireless system to "anyone, anywhere, involving any device." Nothing in the extensive vision and planning documents discussed privacy and free spe... Read More

Unlike other cities, implementation of municipal wireless in San Francisco began in a very promising manner when the city stated in its request for proposals that they were interested in a network that protects the privacy of its users and respects the choices made by consumers. The city also required vendors who submitted proposals to answer specific questions in regards to how they would protect... Read More

by Christopher CalabreseACLU NationwideSecretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said today that Real ID was "DOA". That's "Dead On Arrival" for the tiny percentage of you out there who don't watch a lot of cop shows on TV. What she meant was that states are not implementing Real ID. She repeatedly referenced the fact that 13 states have opted out of Real ID altogether, passing statutes that... Read More

RFID devices are tiny chips with miniature antennae that are embedded within documents or objects for tracking and identification purposes. When a RFID reader emits a radio signal, all RFID-enabled devices in the vicinity respond by automatically transmitting their stored information to the reader. RFID has some useful applications but when embedded in ID documents, it can pose serious privacy an... Read More

SB 682 (2005) would have prohibited any person or entity from intentionally reading a person's government-issued identification document (ID) remotely using radio waves without the knowledge of that person. It includes strong criminal penalties for anybody who violates this statute. SB 682 would have required a governmental entity that issues IDs that can be read remotely using radio waves to pro... Read More

SB 31, Simitian. Identification documents.This bill would provide that a person or entity that intentionally remotely reads or attempts to remotely read a person's identification document using radio frequency identification (RFID) without his or her knowledge and prior consent, as described, shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for up to one year, a fine of not more than $1,500, or ... Read More