Blog
We can be pretty sure that each new day will bring two things: new threats to our civil liberties, and new stories of people standing up for their rights and winning. Behind every court ruling is a person. Behind every landmark law is a movement. Read the stories and hear the voices that ground our work.
RFID Anti-Skimming Bill Overwhelmingly Passes California State Senate
Feb 05, 2008
SB 31 overwhelmingly passed the California State Senate last week with a vote of 36-3. To read the bill language of SB 31, visit here.SB 31 makes it illegal for a person to intentionally read or attempt to read an RFID tag in an individual's identification document without their knowledge and prior consent.Right now, private information on California drivers' licenses is stored on a magnetic strip...
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ACLU Statement on DHS Plans for Border Initiative
Jan 18, 2008
The ACLU released the following statement as a response to today's Washington Post article about Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff defying Congressional extensions and attempting to implement WHTI now.Washington – Plans by the Department of Homeland Security to impose new identity-document requirements at the Canadian border in defiance of Congress are the latest example of the departme...
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Dutch TransLink Card Cracked and Cloned
Jan 16, 2008
A recent blog post discussed privacy concerns with the new Bay Area TransLink transit card.
The Dutch RFID transit pass produced by TransLink was recently cracked and cloned.
Read MoreUncle Sam and Ma Bell Further Joining Forces?
Jan 16, 2008
At the Consumer Electronics Show last week, top executives from media giants AT&T, NBC/Universal and Microsoft announced that ISPs may be ready to start filtering for copyrighted content at the network level.But, checking for copyright violations at the network level may end up meaning a lot more high-level snooping at many other types of content as well. To try to catch that potential copyrig...
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Congressional Leaders Express Dissatisfaction With Real ID
Jan 11, 2008
Congressional leaders from throughout the nation released statements expressing their dissatisfaction with the Real ID regulations released today by the Department of Homeland Security.Rep. Tom Allen (D-ME)"We need to repeal REAL ID and replace it with a system that will work and does not pass the cost along to taxpayers."Read statement here.Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester (Ds – MT)"Enough is Enou...
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Final Real ID Regulations: DHS Kicks the Problems Down the Road
Jan 11, 2008
The Department of Homeland Security today issued its final regulations for the implementation of the Real ID Act, the plan to create a national identity card system, which Congress passed in May 2005 with little debate as an attachment to the tsunami and Iraq War appropriations bill.In its new REAL ID regulations, DHS does not resolve any of the threats the law poses to California's privacy, freed...
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New TransLink Cards: Keep Down Your Convenience Costs
Jan 08, 2008
The Bay Area's transit systems are about to join other cities and get a single payment card. The TransLink card will let you pay for rides on BART, San Francisco Muni buses, and the Peninsula's Caltrain.The new cards may help you avoid fumbling for cash or sorting through multiple fare cards. But, unless you want to also pay for that trip with your privacy, you should buy the TransLink card with c...
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New Online Search Tool Bringing Some Privacy Back
Dec 19, 2007
Can't imagine the library keeping track of the books you browse in the stacks and using that information to put advertising flyers in the books you check-out or "personalize" library services to you?How about the library sharing your book browsing information with other organizations or handing it over to the government when asked?Well, that is exactly what happens when you use most of the major I...
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Muni WiFi Falls Flat in Philadelphia, Study Examines Why and Suggests Strategies for the Future
Dec 19, 2007
We've blogged about the shortcoming of some muni WiFi plans on several occasions. Many networks were built from the ground-up to invade consumer privacy and free speech for profit. Now several of these systems seem to have fallen flat.EarthLink, once the champion of muni WiFi and a willing partner for many cities across the country, announced in November that it was pulling out of many proposed sy...
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Wake Up Early and Fight FISA Changes
Dec 14, 2007
On Monday, the Senate is set to begin debating FISA legislation that will grant immunity to the phone companies for turning over millions of our private records to the National Security Agency.If you care about privacy rights and holding corporations accountable for lawbreaking, call the California Senators and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Monday morning.Tell the Senators to use their lead...
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Data Stored Online Lacks Legal Protections
Dec 14, 2007
According to recent reports, Google Inc., the wildly successful Internet company based here in Northern California, is planning to offer online data storage to its users. Though the exact details of the plan are not yet known, Google is expected to launch the service sometime next year.Google already offers its users some storage though its other products, including GMail, Google Docs, and its pho...
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ACLU Releases New Report: What's Wrong With Fusion Centers
Dec 12, 2007
The American Civil Liberties Union today released a new report outlining serious concerns about new institutions called "fusion centers," which have been created in over 40 states around the nation.California is home to seven fusion centers, including two in San Francisco and two in Sacramento.Fusion centers vary widely, but generally are centers intended to improve the sharing of anti-terror...
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