American Civil Liberties Union

What law threatens the Occupy movement’s and other activists’ right to protest?

What bill recently passed by the House did the President threaten to veto because of its privacy problems?

Which court heard arguments this week regarding Arizona’s anti-immigrant bill, S.B. 1070?

In which state does U.S. citizen and ACLU plaintiff Jim Shee carry his passport at all times because the color of his skin makes him look suspicious?

Washington is in the midst of debating something called “cybersecurity.” But that term actually includes several very separate and distinct problems that call for very different solutions. Not only does conflating them confuse the issue — it also has very distinct political consequences. So let’s unpack the separate meanings of the term.

1. Criminal and malicious online behavior
As every computer owner knows, internet security is a very real problem for individual households and businesses. The open architecture of computers and the internet has led to an explosion of innovation, collaboration, and creativity — but the very openness that has fuelled so much innovation has also made us vulnerable to viruses, spyware, and other forms of malware. These problems are endemic among home computers and among a surprising number of professionally managed institutional machines as well. Much of this is due to the failure to perform basic computer security.

Congress is back in session, so we've got a busy week ahead.

Today, the ACLU, along with several other groups, is launching a weeklong campaign called "Stop Cyber Spying Week" to draw attention to the massive civil liberties problems in H.R. 3523, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2011, better known as CISPA. CISPA is scheduled to be voted on by the House of Representatives next week. Tomorrow ACLU Legislative Counsel Michelle Richardson will speak at a House Hill Briefing called "The False Choice: Cybersecurity vs. Civil Liberties."