Blog

This January, as you consider a gym membership or taking up a new instrument, you also have the opportunity to commit to something else: a more private and secure digital life. Here are six easy steps you and your loved ones can take to help safeguard your digital life this coming year. Read More

It’s a new year, and that means it’s time to move on from the past and turn towards the future. Put those holiday decorations back in boxes for the foreseeable future. Find a new strategy to ensure that you’re really going to live up to your resolutions this time. And enjoy a new era of digital privacy in California as CalECPA (SB 178) goes into effect. Read More

Facebook just announced concrete changes to its harmful “real name” policy. Following up on its promise to groups including the ACLU of California, the changes are meant to reduce risks such as abusive reporting and lockouts of users and their speech from the site. Read More

We just got a pile of public records from the police department in Fresno, California. Fresno police have been using several different brands of social media surveillance software – all without the public’s consent. What’s worse, the ACLU has discovered that Fresno police have been using an especially offensive piece of software called MediaSonar, which encourages the police to identify “threats t... Read More

A few weeks ago, Alameda County Sheriff Ahern requested authorization from the Board of Supervisors to upgrade the county’s StingRay surveillance equipment. Today, the Board again postponed the decision in order to develop a use-policy. Read More

In response to the demands of a global coalition, Facebook announced changes on Oct. 30 to its user name policy designed to reduce abusive targeting and increase due process for users. Read More

Documents recently obtained by the ACLU of Northern California from the Department of Justice confirm concerns about the federal government’s use of StingRays – a highly intrusive cell phone surveillance device – and underscore the need for transparency. Read More

Read why more people are using adblockers - not just to avoid annoying commercials, but to guard against tracking and profiling. Read More

Last Thursday, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which requires a warrant before California law enforcement can seize the contents or metadata of your communications, demand location records from your cell phone provider, or use a StingRay to gather information about your smartphone. Read More

Last fall, the three ACLU affiliates in California launched our newly expanded Sacramento office: the ACLU of California Center for Advocacy & Policy. One year ago, we had a staff of four. Today, we have nine full-time and two part time advocates. This tremendous increase in capacity translated into significant victories in the Legislature this year. Read More

What’s in a name? If you ask Facebook, it’s the text on a driver’s license or a formal document like a utility bill or library card. Read More

If Gov. Brown fails to veto SB 249, the DMV will issue driver’s licenses enhanced with unencrypted computer chips that would make Californians' personal data vulnerable. Read More