Online Privacy

Will Congress and Law Enforcement Let Email Providers Keep Protecting Americans’ Privacy?

By Chris Calabrese, Legislative Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 12:19pm

This was originally posted on the American Constitution Society blog.

The Hill broke a fascinating story last week: many major email providers are already requiring a warrant for the content of the communications they hold. What you say, this doesn't sound fascinating at all? It really is—just bear with me.

Civil Liberties in the Digital Age: Weekly Highlights (9/28/2012

By Anna Salem, ACLU of Northern California at 2:51pm

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.

Twitter Appeals Ruling in Battle Over Occupy Wall Street Protester’s Information

By Aden Fine, Senior Staff Attorney, ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology Project at 12:44pm

Twitter just filed its brief appealing a June decision by a New York criminal court judge requiring the company to give the Manhattan District Attorney detailed information on the communications of Twitter user Malcolm Harris, an Occupy Wall Street protester charged with disorderly conduct in connection with a march on the Brooklyn Bridge.

A Glimpse at the World of Digital Forensics

By Jay Stanley, Senior Policy Analyst, ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology Project at 5:33pm

A gathering of cyber-crime specialists in Massachusetts last week provided a glimpse into the tactics used by prosecutors and police to access digital data. Kade Crockford of the ACLU of Massachusetts has done a nice writeup of the conference. As she points out, the event was closed to the press and the public, but the schedule of events was posted online, and included sessions with titles such as:

Twitter Forced to Hand Over Occupy Wall Street Protester Info

By Naomi Gilens, ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology Project at 5:28pm

This morning, faced with the threat of criminal and civil contempt, Twitter turned over information about Occupy Wall Street protester Malcolm Harris to a New York criminal court judge. This development follows Twitter’s months-long effort to challenge the Manhattan District Attorney Office’s subpoena for Harris’s information, which was issued as part of the D.A.’s disorderly conduct prosecution of Harris stemming from his participation at an Occupy event last fall.

Email Privacy Faces a Key Test Next Week

By Chris Calabrese, Legislative Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 12:14pm

Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) announced late yesterday that he will bring legislation before the committee requiring law enforcement to use a probable-cause warrant to access all non-public internet communications such as email. This legislation is a key piece of efforts to reform the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), first passed in 1986 and not substantially updated since.

More Transparency Needed For Government's Use of National Security Powers For Data Requests From Companies

By Alexander Abdo, Staff Attorney, ACLU National Security Project at 2:27pm

Google's transparency report reveals that the U.S. government asked Google for data on its users 6,321 times during the second half of 2011—a 75% increase from two years ago.

Keep Domestic Cybersecurity Efforts in Civilian Hands

By Michelle Richardson, Legislative Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 8:37am

Last night the House of Representatives passed HR 3523, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, or CISPA. We’ve written about the many privacy problems with this bill, but here I would like to focus on one of its biggest and most fundamental flaws: it empowers the military, including agencies like the NSA, to collect the internet records of Americans’ everyday internet use.

Like Privacy? There's An App For That!

By Sam Ritchie, ACLU at 5:16pm

Today we've launched a Facebook app that assesses your privacy exposure based on your online habits and technology use.

The Kelleys' Cautionary Tale: Electronic Privacy Matters

By Matthew Harwood, Media Relations Associate, ACLU at 3:23pm

When Jill Kelley sought help from the FBI in the fall after receiving harassing e-mails, she had no idea that her trust in law enforcement would ultimately end in a loss of faith.

In November, Kelley and her husband, Scott, woke up to find themselves at the heart of a scandal that would ultimately lead to the resignation of CIA Director David Petraeus because of an extramarital affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, and engulf another high-ranking military official, U.S. Marine Gen. John Allen, in allegations of “inappropriate communications” with Mrs. Kelley. (Last night, the Pentagon’s Inspector General cleared Gen. Allen of all wrongdoing).

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