Blog

Federal agencies served with a Freedom of Information Act request are refusing to release documents related to their purchase, use and disclosure of zero-day exploits, keeping the American public in the dark about a practice that leaves the Internet and its users less secure.Zero-day exploits are special software programs that take advantage of security vulnerabilities in software that are un... Read More

“You did it, honey.”That is what Edie Windsor imagined her late spouse, Thea Spyer, would have said after their love story brought down the core of the federal Defense of Marriage Act in United States v. Windsor. Edie and Thea did do it. They brought down DOMA and – along with hundreds of thousands of other same-sex couples and their families– they transformed our nation’s understanding of sa... Read More

Edward Snowden is right.Snowden recently pointed out how the victories of the LGBT movement in this country might never have happened if the government had the ability to conduct “perfect surveillance.” For decades, LGBT people had to fight official government persecution, including aggressive surveillance and targeting by law enforcement.Some of the earliest organized advocacy efforts o... Read More

In an important moment of bipartisanship, Congress unanimously passed a bill this month that honors the thousands of people who marched for voting rights 50 years ago in Selma, Alabama, with the Congressional Gold Medal, Congress’ highest civilian honor. Read More

The people have spoken. And, today, the Federal Communications Commission listened. A majority of FCC commissioners voted in favor of historically strong open Internet rules.It appears they have done what the ACLU and other free speech groups have been suggesting for years: put net neutrality rules on firm legal footing to prevent large internet companies from using their market pow... Read More

Despite criticism from the ACLU and Supervisor Joe Simitian, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a sheriff’s department request to use more than $500,000 of federal grant money to purchase a Stingray cell phone tracking system.Simitian perhaps put it best when he told Sheriff Lori Smith during Tuesday’s meeting of the supervisors that, “Just to be clear, we're being ask... Read More

After a police officer is accused of a crime and the Department of Justice decides to investigate, virtually no data is available on how many officers are convicted or dismissed of these charges – or even what crimes police were charged with in the first place. Read More

Countless immigrant families have been torn apart as a result of our failed immigration system. We hope the President’s deportation relief programs can move forward soon. Read More

Insurmountable financial obstacles are key contributors to the rise in jail populations. For one, low-income defendants are often trapped by their inability to afford bail. Bail should not be used to punish people, and incarcerating people solely because they cannot pay for their release violates the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause. Read More

The debate over cell phone surveillance comes to the heart of Silicon Valley on Feb. 24, when the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors will consider a proposal to purchase a Stingray. Unfortunately, the public wasn't told about it. Read More

On Feb. 20, 2015, federal district court Judge Richard Seeborg denied a government motion to dismiss the ACLU's case challenging the U.S. government’s Suspicious Activities Reporting program, Gill v. Department of Justice. As we’ve written before, this program relies on local law enforcement, security guards, shopkeepers, and neighbors to report any "suspicious activities" they observe. Read More

I am not a distraction. I am a woman, and I shouldn't be fired for being who I am. That's why the ACLU filed a lawsuit on my behalf arguing that firing me because I am transgender is illegal sex discrimination. Read More