Blog

Public cynicism about government is at an all-time high – and we all know the reasons. That's why it's pretty remarkable when activists use public government processes to attack a scary and overwhelming problem like surveillance – and it works. Read More

When Edward Snowden blew the whistle on the NSA in 2013, I didn’t yet know that my own city of Oakland had futuristic surveillance problems of our own. Oakland had quietly embarked on a path towards building a city-wide surveillance network called the Domain Awareness Center (DAC), comprised of over 700 cameras throughout schools and public housing, facial recognition software, automated license p... Read More

School is back in session, and by now, many students and teachers have returned to their classrooms to new and improved lactation accommodations policies. Read More

It’s a victory for free speech and academic freedom – but Cal’s move to cancel the course for no good reason should never have happened in the first place. Read More

Throughout the nation, police officers are legally allowed to take and keep your cash and property - even if you are never charged or arrested for a crime. All it takes is officers claiming they think your belongings were obtained through illegal means. Read More

It’s hard to speak with your face pressed against concrete. Or when you can’t breathe. Or with a broken neck. And even when you manage to speak, people in power seek to silence you. Just ask the San Francisco 49ers’ Colin Kaepernick. Read More

The ACLU and EFF are urging the Federal Communications Commission to order local police to stop using Stingrays, at least until the FCC can create rules to protect against excessive secrecy and abuse. Read More

Earlier this month, a too familiar tragedy unfolded in East Los Angeles when Los Angeles police officers shot and killed 14-year-old Jesse Romero. Witness accounts vary — the police department says Romero fled when officers approached him on suspicion of scrawling graffiti in his neighborhood, then fired at officers. Some civilians say he had a gun but tossed it away.As is incr... Read More

Matt Coles, deputy legal director and director of the ACLU’s Center for Equality, is retiring after 29 years. Here’s why he’s my hero. Read More

Asbury Howard, a black leader and organizer who headed an effort to register black voters in Alabama, was convicted in January 1959 for having a poster made from a newspaper cartoon. Read More

It's back to school season again. Here's how to make sure your school's sexual health education is up to date and follows California law. Read More

Communities are being torn apart by mandatory immigration detention. Every day, more than 30,000 immigrants are held in prison-like without due process. Read More