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ACLU Report: Government Must Abandon Misguided Approach to Pandemic Preparedness (01/14/2008)
WASHINGTON – As fears of a flu pandemic have grown, the Bush administration has pursued a misguided approach to pandemic preparation that relies on a law enforcement/national security approach, rather than a public health approach to the problem, and which exposes Americans to unnecessary risk. That is the finding of an expert report being released today by the American Civil Liberties Union at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.

MCLU Blasts New REAL ID Regulations (01/11/2008)
Portland – The Maine Civil Liberties Union condemns the final regulations for the REAL ID Act, issued by the Department of Homeland Security today. The REAL ID Act passed in 2005. In January of 2007, the Maine State Legislature was the first in the country to reject the REAL ID, passing a resolution calling for its repeal. An Act To Prohibit Maine from Participating in a National Identification Card System was subsequently passed by the legislature and signed into law by Governor John Baldacci. Sixteen other states have followed Maine’s lead in rejecting the REAL ID.*

New “Fusion Centers” Must Be Open, Carefully Monitored and Subject to Restraints, ACLU Says In New Report (12/12/2007)
WASHINGTON – New institutions now emerging in American life – “fusion centers” – are raising many questions about privacy and government openness and must be carefully bounded and monitored to ensure that they remain a legitimate and effective law enforcement tool, according to a new report released today by the American Civil Liberties Union.

ACLU Says Enhanced Driver’s Licenses Are Insecure, Fail to Protect Personal Information (12/12/2007)
PHOENIX -- Citing serious privacy concerns with the state’s proposal to “enhance” Arizona driver’s licenses with tiny computer chips that collect personal information, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona today urged state lawmakers to protect Arizona residents from identity fraud and reject efforts to introduce new driver’s licenses with controversial radio frequency identification technology.

University’s Absolute Ban on Videotaping Without Permission is Unconstitutional, Says ACLU of Michigan (11/27/2007)
DETROIT – In a letter sent to Central Michigan University (CMU), the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan urged its president to recognize the right of individuals to videotape public figures in public places on the campus.

Terrorist Watch List Attacked for Size, Ineffectiveness, House committee grills government directors on unwieldy watch list (11/08/2007)
Washington, DC – The House Homeland Security Committee grilled government officials today about the government’s terrorist watch list, asking the same question the American Civil Liberties Union has been posing for years: Why is the list so enormous? The list has ballooned to 860,000 people and continues to grow.

New York Senate Hearings Highlight Need to Reverse Course on Real ID (10/31/2007)
NEW YORK – In response to today’s New York Senate hearing on “Protecting Our State’s Security,” which will include a discussion on Governor Eliot Spitzer’s recent decision to submit to the Real ID Act, the following can be attributed to Donna Lieberman, Executive Director of the New York Civil Liberties Union: “Governor Spitzer should reverse course and reject the implementation of the Real ID Act in New York State. The state Senate should pass Res. No. J2096, which is an anti-Real ID Act resolution currently co-sponsored by 22 senators.

ACLU Answers Congress’ Question ‘Can SBI Succeed?’: No (10/24/2007)
Washington, DC – Congress asked today in a committee hearing appropriately called "The Future of Border Security: Can SBINet succeed?" and the American Civil Liberties Union has a definitive answer: No. Even Department of Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff himself has admitted the program has problems, calling it "unsatisfactory."

House Panel Considers Secure IDs, and ACLU Asks ‘What About Privacy?’ (10/18/2007)
WASHINGTON – A subcommittee of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a hearing today on secure identification technology, and the American Civil Liberties Union urged lawmakers to consider the privacy implications before rushing to embrace new technology. Since 9/11, some Members of Congress have proposed the government mandate identity documents for everyone, including citizens. Congress has passed sound-good legislation without fully considering their impact on Americans’ privacy. The government’s troubled, still behind-schedule Real ID program, which 17 states have rejected, and the notoriously delayed Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, are only two examples of the government’s problems getting identity security off the ground.

New Airport Body Scanners Troubling to ACLU Privacy Expert (10/11/2007)
The following is a statement from Barry Steinhardt, Director of the ACLU’s Technology and Liberty Program. WASHINGTON -- The Active Millimeter Wave body scanners that Homeland Security has announced raise troubling questions about passenger privacy and ultimately their utility as a security measure.

ACLU Skeptical of Information Sharing at Fusion Centers, Upcoming Report on Fusion Centers to be Released by the ACLU (09/27/2007)
Washington, DC –The American Civil Liberties Union expressed concern about fusion centers today. Fusion centers are federal, state, local and regional units, designed to improve the sharing of anti-terrorism intelligence among different branches of state, local and federal governments. Wary of potential privacy risks, the ACLU will soon be releasing a report on the 42 fusion centers that have opened in the United States.

ACLU Sets New "Surveillance Society Clock" At Six Minutes Before Midnight (09/17/2007)
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union today announced the launch of a new "Surveillance Society Clock" to symbolize the reality that we are fast approaching a genuine surveillance society in the United States. The clock is set at six minutes before the "midnight" of a dark end to privacy. Also being released is a new report summarizing the state of privacy today and the video of a new piece about surveillance by spoken-word artists Steve Connell & Sekou (tha misfit).

ACLU Testifies on Spy Satellites, Calls for Moratorium on Domestic Use (09/06/2007)
WASHINGTON, DC – Today in testimony before Congress the American Civil Liberties Union said the government must institute a moratorium on the domestic use of military spy satellites until Congress receives answers to the key questions about the program, enacts statutory checks and balances to prevent their misuse, and explicitly authorizes the program.

ACLU Cheers Failure of Real ID Sucker Money Proposal (07/26/2007)
Washington, DC - The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded the failure of an amendment offered to the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill that would have authorized $300 million of federal funding for states to implement the Real ID driver’s license program, which has been estimated by DHS to cost $23.1 billion. The ACLU deemed the proposal "sucker money" because it aimed to entice states to accept a paltry amount of funding for a flawed program that would ultimately cost millions more in state taxes and licensing fees.

ACLU of San Diego Files Class Action Privacy Complaint (07/07/2007)
SAN DIEGO - In a move to protect privacy rights, the American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego & Imperial Counties today filed a class action complaint asking a judge to stop the city of Vista from releasing the names, addresses and phone numbers of private individuals who have registered with the city to hire day laborers for odd jobs around their homes.

ACLU Urges Congress to Create Real Immigration Reform, Not Reliance on Unworkable Real ID Poison Pill (06/28/2007)
Washington, DC - The American Civil Liberties Union Washington Legislative Office today responded to the defeat of the Senate immigration bill by saying the legislation was unworkable and reduced every U.S. resident’s due process, judicial review and privacy rights. The bill was stalled last night when an amendment on Real ID passed, shooting down the so-called “clay pigeon” package of amendments and throwing a wrench in the entire bill. Senators voted against advancing the legislation this morning, which effectively killed the bill.

Real ID Rebellion Stalls Massive Senate Immigration Bill Over Fight for Privacy and Against Real ID, ACLU says (06/27/2007)
WASHINGTON, DC - An amendment to the Senate immigration bill eliminating all references to a Real ID driver’s license was not killed today as expected, holding up the Senate immigration bill while amendments hang in the balance.

ACLU of New Jersey Opposes Release of Tenants' SSN to Government Officials (06/21/2007)
NEWARK - The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey today announced that it has joined a lawsuit in the role of "friend-of-the-court" in a case concerning the privacy rights of tenants.

ACLU of Arizona Sues County Officials Over Inhumane Confinement of TB Patient (05/31/2007)
PHOENIX, AZ – The American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona today filed a lawsuit on behalf of Robert Daniels, a tuberculosis patient who has been held in the jail ward at the Maricopa Medical Center for the past nine months, charging that treating a severely ill patient like a criminal is inhumane and unconstitutional.

The ACLU’s Views On Atlanta Man’s Quarantine Case (05/30/2007)
Statement of Barry Steinhardt Director, ACLU Technology and Liberty Project