Home : Privacy & Technology

ACLU of Massachusetts Warns that Random DNA Dragnets Hinder, Not Help, Crime Investigations (04/15/2005)
BOSTON, MA -- Reports that police have arrested a suspect in connection with the murder of Truro resident Christa Worthington based on a DNA sample taken more than a year ago highlights the importance of not over-whelming the state crime lab with ineffective and wasteful DNA roundups of ordinary citizens, the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts said today.

ACLU Announces International Project to Stop "Policy Laundering" (04/13/2005)
SEATTLE -- The American Civil Liberties Union, in concert with the European civil liberties groups Privacy International and Statewatch, today announced the formation of a new international ""Policy Laundering Project"" to monitor and influence the increasingly common formation of civil liberties-sensitive security policies through international organizations.

Hearings Begin on New Bill that Will Protect Californians' Privacy Rights (04/12/2005)
SACRAMENTO -- A broad coalition of privacy rights, women, consumer, and civil liberties groups are supporting a bill introduced by State Senator Joe Simitian that would prohibit any document created by the state, county, or municipal government, from containing a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag or other device that can broadcast an individual's personal information.

ACLU Applauds New Mexico Governor for Signing Genetic Protection Bill (04/07/2005)
SANTA FE, NM - The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico today lauded Governor Bill Richardson for signing a genetic protection bill into law that will ban discrimination based on a person's genetic code in employment, housing, and credit.

ACLU of Massachusetts Questions Governor's Plan to Outsource Data Collection on Residents (03/31/2005)
BOSTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts today raised concerns about a decision by Governor Mitt Romney to spend tax dollars to give local law enforcement access to commercial databases that purportedly collect detailed information on 98 percent of all Americans.

Supreme Court Hears Two Cases Critical For Future Of Online Free Speech (03/29/2005)
NEW YORK -- Two cases being heard by the Supreme Court today will determine whether the Internet remains the open forum for free speech that it has always been, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed friend-of-the-court briefs in each of them.

GAO Fails to Green-Light Controversial Secure Flight Program; ACLU Points to Recent Privacy Failures of Agency (03/28/2005)
WASHINGTON - In its much-anticipated review of the controversial Secure Flight passenger-screening program, the Government Accountability Office today effectively put a halt on the Transportation Security Administration's screening program.

U.S. Supreme Court Protects Liberty by Upholding Terri Schiavo's Decision to Discontinue Medical Treatment, Says ACLU of Florida (03/24/2005)
MIAMI - The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida today welcomed the U.S. Supreme Court's rejection of a petition forcing the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tubes, a decision that protects the severely brain-damaged woman's right to withdraw her own life-sustaining treatment and prevents politicians from interfering with intensely personal medical decisions.

ACLU of Florida Welcomes Judge Whittemore's Ruling in the Schiavo Case (03/22/2005)
MIAMI, FL -- Today Judge Whittemore found that even with the special law passed by Congress there is no basis to set aside the legal procedures in Florida for how these difficult, but intensely personal decisions are to be made. Both Congress and the President needlessly prolonged this tragic saga.

ACLU of Florida Criticizes Congress's Attempt to Subvert Court Rulings in Schiavo Case (03/18/2005)
MIAMI, FL -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida believes that Congressional leaders, including Speaker Dennis Hastert, Majority Leader Tom Delay and Tom Davis, Chairman of the Committee on Governmental Reform, acted inappropriately by attempting to interfere in the legal proceedings involving Terri Schiavo by the issuance of a Congressional subpoena.

House Includes Asylum and Privacy Assault in 'Must Pass' Funding Bill; ACLU Urges Senate to Reject Sensenbrenner Measure (03/16/2005)
WASHINGTON - The House of Representatives today attached controversial anti-immigration legislation to an emergency military funding bill. The American Civil Liberties Union urged the Senate to reject the House's efforts to evade regular legislative order, saying that the REAL ID Act would make it more difficult to seek asylum, lay the foundation for a national ID card and chill free speech.

ACLU Applauds Senate Review of Identity Theft; Recent Data-Theft Scandals Highlight Need for Better Oversight (03/10/2005)
WASHINGTON - A key Senate committee should be supported for examining identity theft and the security of sensitive information at a time when most private information of millions of Americans has become vulnerable to theft and abuse, the American Civil Liberties Union said today.