Cell Phones & Smartphones

Court Says No GPS Tracking? How About Cell Phone Tracking?

By Sarah Roberts, Speech, Privacy and Technology Project at 12:55pm

After the Supreme Court ruled the police cannot attach a GPS device to a suspect's car to track them, law enforcement is trying to use cell phone location data to get the same information.

The Results From Our Nationwide Cell Phone Tracking Records Requests

By Allie Bohm, Advocacy & Policy Strategist, ACLU at 1:38pm

The ACLU has released the results of our public records requests to hundreds of police departments asking about their cell phone tracking policies. What we have learned is disturbing.

Results of Nationwide Government Cell Phone Tracking Records Request Show Frequent Violations of Americans' Privacy Rights

By Catherine Crump, Staff Attorney, ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology Project at 1:17pm

The ACLU has released the results of our public records requests to hundreds of police departments asking about their cell phone tracking policies. What we have learned is disturbing.

Civil Liberties in the Digital Age: Weekly Highlights (3/23/2012)

By Anna Salem, ACLU of Northern California at 2:10pm

In the digital age that we live in today, we are constantly exposing our personal information online. From using cell phones and GPS devices to online shopping and sending e-mail, the things we do and say online leave behind ever-growing trails of personal information. The ACLU believes that Americans shouldn’t have to choose between using new technology and keeping control of your private information. Each week, we feature some of the most interesting news related to technology and civil liberties that we’ve spotted from the previous week.

Facebook Considering New Laws And Legal Action Against Employers Asking For Users’ Passwords [Tech Crunch]
"Following up on disturbing reports that some employers are asking applicants to turn over their Facebook usernames and passwords, Facebook’s Chief Privacy Officer on Policy, Erin Egan, hints that the company is looking into drafting new laws to protect users from violations of their privacy like this."

Even After Supreme Court GPS Decision, Feds Still Want Warrantless Cell Phone Tracking

By Sarah Roberts, Speech, Privacy and Technology Project at 8:34pm

Even after January's landmark Supreme Court decision cast significant doubt on the government’s ability to electronically track a person’s location without a warrant, the Justice Department continues to defend this practice. On Friday, the ACLU, along with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Center for Democracy and Technology, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, arguing that the government should be required to obtain a warrant based on probable cause before seizing 60 days’ worth of location information generated by an individual’s cell phone.

Note to Self: Siri Not Just Working for Me, Working Full-Time for Apple, Too

By Nicole Ozer, Technology & Civil Liberties Policy Director, ACLU of Northern California at 6:33pm

The Siri “personal assistant” is sending lots of our personal voice and user info to Apple to stockpile in its databases.

At SXSW? Come Meet the ACLU's dotRights Digital Privacy Team!

By Ateqah Khaki at 3:47pm

If you're in Austin, stop by our booth at the trade show to talk privacy and technology.

Meet the ACLU Digital Privacy Team at SXSW!

By Ateqah Khaki at 1:47pm

The ACLU's "dotRights" digital privacy team will be out in force at the 2012 South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Conference to make sure privacy is on the agenda!

From social networking to cloud computing, online shopping to location services, Americans are increasingly living, working and playing online. As technology is advancing at lightning speed, it can sometimes feel like privacy law is moving at a glacial pace. The ACLU believes you shouldn't have to choose between privacy and technology. That is why we started the Demand Your dotRights campaign, and why the campaign will be at SXSW, one of the country's largest and most influential gathering of technology and new media brands and innovators.

How the Supreme Court's GPS Tracking Case Can Affect Your Cell Phone Privacy

By Catherine Crump, Staff Attorney, ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology Project at 2:34pm

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will confront the profound impact of new location-tracking technologies on Americans' privacy.

D.C. Judge: Government Doesn't Need a Warrant to Demand Cell Phone Location Information

By Chris Conley, Technology and Civil Liberties Fellow, ACLU of Northern California at 10:39am

Can the government demand location information records from your carrier without a warrant? Unfortunately, a D.C. District Court judge thinks so.

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