Blog

The ACLU of Northern California is closely monitoring the campus protests and the university and law enforcement responses in our region, particularly at California Polytechnic Humboldt. We are receiving and reviewing legal intakes from campuses across the region, including Stanford University and UC Berkeley. Read More

Instead of replenishing our system of care, state legislators are asking voters in the March primary to consider Proposition 1, a zero-sum initiative that pits California’s housing and voluntary community-based mental health needs against one another while taking us back to a dark era of forced treatment and institutionalization.  Read More

Automatic license plate readers collect and store highly sensitive information that can reveal where we work, live, worship, or seek reproductive health services. Sharing any ALPR information with out-of-state or federal law enforcement agencies has been forbidden in California since 2016. Read More

Companies and legislators are using misleading test scores to justify the expansion of facial recognition into our communities. That flawed approach understates the threat this dangerous technology poses to civil rights. Read More

The change appears to place significant limits on law enforcement’s ability to use “geofence warrants” (also called “reverse location search warrants”) to find out who was in a particular place at a particular time. Google’s announcement is welcome news, and we are cautiously optimistic that this change—once it rolls out—will protect people for years to come.   Read More

On December 9, the ACLU’s national office announced it will represent the National Rifle Association (NRA) in a case before the United States Supreme Court, NRA v Vullo. The case raises important First Amendment concerns about government overreach in targeting certain organizations for their disfavored viewpoints. This decision has led to dissent from the New York Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU a... Read More

Our right to speak anonymously, long protected by U.S. courts, is increasingly under attack by corporations and wealthy individuals looking to upend decades of free speech precedent. Read More

We are calling on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether Meta and X have broken their anti-surveillance commitments Read More

The 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an opportunity to redouble our commitment to its principles worldwide. For those individuals and organizations whose focus is human rights within the United States, we are called to do two things. First, rather than cede the US Constitution to powerful forces who would use it to turn back the clock, we must embrace a visio... Read More

A State law that took effect in 2021 gave counties the authority to establish civilian oversight boards to assist supervisors in overseeing sheriffs’ offices. However, the law does not require counties to create civilian boards. That’s why the ACLU of Northern California is helping to educate community members about the fact that this law exists. And we are supporting individual counties that wish... Read More

Every year on Thanksgiving Day, people across the country gather with loved ones to share a special meal. This breaking-of-bread-style holiday is a well-known ritual, but for many of us, continuing to participate in Thanksgiving with integrity means breaking with traditions that rely on fictionalized accounts of history. Read More

For years, ACLU of Northern California has built momentum to ban the use of face surveillance by law enforcement. That’s why we put all our muscle behind a campaign to defeat AB 642, a bill that would have normalized real-time, mass surveillance. Read More