Blog

Earlier this week, the U.S. military ordered troops to stop posting to blogs and sending personal emails without getting clearance. More information here. And the regulations here. Now, the Defense Department is claiming that barring military troops from using social networking, video sharing, and other "recreational" sites such as YouTube and MySpace on military computers is purely a... Read More

We are now living in a world where the technology exists to keep track of everything we do and say and everywhere we go. Video surveillance, RFID chips that allow stored data to be read at a distance, and massive databases of who we call and what Internet sites we browse mean more information about our lives is being preserved, and being preserved for longer periods of time. Advances ... Read More

Late breaking news that the Board of Supervisor's Budget Committee will hold a public hearing on Monday afternoon about the Earthlink/Google contract. Read More

While other states are courageously standing up to Congress' misguided national ID mandate, California's Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is giving his constituents a different, or shall we say, indifferent message. In response to constituent letters urging California to reject implementation of the REAL ID Act, the Governor's office simply replied: "The issue you have written about is ... Read More

In 2007, the California Court of Appeal declared that the permanent injunction imposed on a so-called gang in West Sacramento is void. The injunction could not stand because the County District Attorney failed to give adequate notice to those who would be affected by it. Read More

Jerry Miller, a former Army cook, spent nearly 25 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. In 1981, at the age of 22, Miller was tried and convicted for the brutal rape of woman in downtown Chicago. His conviction was based on what is now understood to be mistaken eyewitness identification. Read More

The U.S. Supreme Court decision  issued on April 18, 2007 upholding a federal law banning certain abortions will endanger women's health and is a set back for all Americans who believe politicians should not legislate medical decision-making.  The decision disregards the opinion of leading doctors and medical organizations that oppose the ban because it is harmful to women... Read More

Over the past two years, we have written extensively about the privacy implications of National ID cards (more information here) and the increased risks if radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are used in these documents (more informaition here). If we are all carrying National ID cards, the government will have a much easier time monitoring and tracking our movements and activi... Read More

ACLU of Northern California wrote an amicus brief on Josh Wolf's behalf in both the District Court and Ninth Circuit, contesting the government's argument that a journalist cannot invoke a First Amendment privilege when presented with a grand jury subpoena. Click here for more information and to read the court documents. San Francisco Chronicle article New Yo... Read More

Remember in the movie, Minority Report, when the characters walked by a billboard and it changed to target the advertisement to that particular person or walked into a store and over the loudspeaker, it welcomed them and asked how they liked those pair of pants that had been purchased? That future is starting to become a reality with the use of RFID tags in products and not without serious privac... Read More

We won ACLU v. Gonzales, our longstanding challenge to stop a law that would suppress constitutionally protected speech on the Internet! Information about the case is available here. Press Release: Court Rules that Government May Not Censor the Internet New York – A federal district court today ruled in favor of the American Civil Liberties Union's long... Read More

Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland) also thinks Real ID is a real problem. In a press release issued today, Perata says: "Proposed federal regulations offer little to California on issues like cost, schedule, privacy, or new computer system requirements," Perata said. "This is one of the most egregious examples of an unfunded mandate, where the federal governm... Read More