This Week in Civil Liberties

This Week in Civil Liberties (1/18/2013)

By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU at 6:40am

Which government agency refuses to release information on how the government uses new surveillance technology (even before legislative and judicial bodies have not yet considered the necessary privacy protections)?

Which social network’s internal search development could have repercussions for your privacy?

Which actress and activist joined the ACLU this week in calling for the Senate Intelligence Committee to release its CIA torture report?

This Week in Civil Liberties (1/11/2013)

By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU at 4:29pm

Are text messages protected by the higher privacy standards of surveillance laws that protect Internet communications (like email), or are they treated like phone calls?

How many years of litigation were required before the government agreed to pay gay and lesbian service members the same severance pay that other service members received?

For how many hours a day was Pfc. Bradley Manning isolated in a windowless cell, awaiting trial for allegedly leaking U.S. military and diplomatic documents to WikiLeaks?

This Week in Civil Liberties (1/4/2013)

By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU at 4:51pm

How many people were executed in the United States in 2012?

An extension to which law did President Obama sign this week in order to continue President Bush’s warrantless wiretapping program for another five years?

In which city did a district attorney agree to withdraw subpoenas that infringed on two protestors’ free speech and privacy rights?

What federal immigration policy prevents immigrants from reporting crimes they have witnessed or experienced to law enforcement?

This Year in Civil Liberties – 2012

By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU at 12:00am

In which state did politicians attempt to pass a bill that would allow anti-abortion doctors to lie to their patients in order to prevent them from ending their pregnancies?

The “Criminalizing Protest” Bill raises issues of significance to which Constitutional amendment?

A school in which state forced female students to take pregnancy tests and then kicked out students who refused or were pregnant?

Which news organization reported on the failure of Florida’s costly and unconstitutional bill mandating suspicion-less drug testing of all applicants for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)?

This Week in Civil Liberties (12/14/2012)

By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU at 4:34pm

A spying program run by what agency allows the government unprecedented surveillance powers to collect and analyze information on innocent American citizens?

In which state do politicians need a reminder that saving a woman’s life must be every hospital’s first priority?

A subcommittee in which legislative house held the first-ever congressional hearing on the school-to-prison pipeline?

Can a civilian find enough information to build a surveillance or armed drone by searching the terms “DIY” and “drone”?

This Week in Civil Liberties (12/07/2012)

By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU at 5:16pm

Is the Obama administration’s drone war legal?

Which ACLU affiliate continues to fight for transit equity 58 years after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white man?

In which state is the ACLU challenging an irrational and counterproductive state corrections policy on the segregation of HIV-positive prisoners?

How can you help ensure women in the military receive the same insurance coverage for abortion that is given to all other federal employees?

This Week in Civil Liberties (11/30/2012)

By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU at 5:05pm

The Feinstein Amendment to which bill on indefinite detention looks like a fix, but would actually cause more harm?

The ACLU requested information from federal agencies this week on whether certain privacy-enhancing tools actually expose you to warrantless surveillance?

What military policy, challenged this week by the ACLU, categorically excludes women from more than 200,000 military positions that are open to men?

This Week in Civil Liberties (11/16/2012)

By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU at 3:21pm

In which state is the ACLU filing a lawsuit against a school district that banned a kids’ book about a family with two moms?

A scandal involving which CIA official demonstrates the need for restrictions on government surveillance powers?

Legislators from which state failed to learn that voters care about women’s health, as demonstrated by the 2012 election, and are pushing the most restrictive abortion law in the country?

This Week in Civil Liberties (11/09/2012)

By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU at 4:29pm

How can you ensure your state officials protect your civil liberties?

In which state was a lawsuit filed regarding a new software patch installed on voting machines?

Ballot measure victories for the freedom to marry for same-sex couples in Maine, Maryland  and Washington will likely affect which federal court’s decision on the Defense of Marriage Act?

Voters in which three states approved smart drug law reform regarding marijuana?

This Week in Civil Liberties (10/26/2012)

By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU at 6:24pm

What new location tracking device could be used for invasive government surveillance?

The ACLU is seeking information from the federal government on its use of what kind of surveillance technology?

In which state did Marty Atencio die after being beaten by guards in one of Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Maricopa County jails?

The ACLU will be at the Supreme Court on Monday for our case against which law that authorized the NSA warrantless wiretapping program?

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