News

California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed the Reader Privacy Act of 2011, updating reader privacy law to ensure that readers—whether they buy books at traditional bookstores or read e-books online or on electronic devices—will have protection for their privacy. The bill will become law on January 1, 2012. "California will have the strongest laws in the country protecting reader privacy in the digital... Read More

Reforming Criminal Justice: 12 Recommendations to Make CA's Realignment Law WorkCounty officials across the state are scrambling to get their AB 109 implementation plans drafted in the coming weeks, as the new realignment law goes into effect on October 1.What steps can counties take to enhance public safety, save money and allocate limited jail space? The ACLU of California answers these question... Read More

A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request regarding immigration enforcement audits of California workplaces by the federal government was filed today by The ACLU of California (ACLU), the Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics & Allied Workers International Union, The Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics & Allied Workers International Union Local 164B, the Service Employees International Union U... Read More

The ACLU of Northern California has reached a settlement with the Shasta Union High School District in a lawsuit challenging the district's illegal policy of drug testing students who participate in a variety of school-related activities, without any suspicion of drug use. The settlement comes after two courts – the Shasta Superior Court and the California Court of Appeal – ruled that the district... Read More

A comprehensive report released today by the ACLU of California and sent to officials in every county across the state urges local jurisdictions to fundamentally shift criminal justice policies toward "smart-on-crime" alternatives to incarceration. The new report, Community Safety, Community Solutions, offers guidelines and tools for county governments scrambling to implement the Governor's new pu... Read More

Today the ACLU of Northern California urged the Davis Joint Unified School District to protect students from coercive police interrogations on campus. This comes after three instances in which the editor of the school paper and an A.P. Calculus student were subjected to unlawful questioning. During the interrogations, neither student was informed of their right not to answer questions, or advised ... Read More

The ACLU filed a class action suit against the U.S. government on behalf of adult immigration detainees, all of whom appear in immigration court shackled at the wrists, waist, and ankles, regardless of their history or capacity for disruption. All adult detainees are shackled for the duration of immigration court proceedings in San Francisco. There are no existing legal channels to challenge appli... Read More

San Francisco – The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California (ACLU-NC) and The San Francisco Bay Guardian (The Guardian) filed suit late Thursday against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), seeking full disclosure of public documents regarding the federal government's role in overseeing a worldwide scramble by state prison officials to import controlled substances for use in ... Read More

Today privacy groups announced that Gibberbot, a secure instant messaging and chat app, is the winner of the 2011 Develop for Privacy Challenge (www.develop4privacy.org). The groups made the announcement in a celebratory event at the DEFCON security conference this week. The winning app in the inaugural Develop 4 Privacy Challenge, Gibberbot, is a secure chat and instant messaging app, created by ... Read More

Demanding to know when, why, and how police use mobile phone location data and deploy other surveillance technologies to track the people they are responsible for protecting and serving, the ACLU of CA sent requests to more than 50 law enforcement agencies across the state on Aug 3. Read More

The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California (ACLU-NC) applauds the ruling by San Francisco Superior Court Judge Giorgi invalidating the proposed circumcision ban and removing it from the November ballot."The Court's ruling protects the rights of parents to direct their children's religious upbringing and medical care, and ensures that San Francisco voters will not have to vote on som... Read More

San Francisco – The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California (ACLU-NC) announced a settlement today with the Sonoma County Sheriff and County of Sonoma that will limit collaboration between Sonoma County and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)."Innovative changes to the Sheriff's policies adopted under this agreement will, we believe, increase public safety and reduce ineff... Read More