Home : Privacy & Technology

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

ACLU of New Jersey Applauds Motor Vehicle Commission's Comments Regarding Cost and Privacy Concerns of Real ID (05/23/2007)
NEWARK, N.J. - The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey today praised the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission for its substantive comments to the Department of Homeland Security about privacy and other concerns on a proposed national identity card, known as Real ID.

ACLU of New Jersey Applauds Motor Vehicle Commission’s Comments Regarding Cost and Privacy Concerns of Real ID (05/23/2007)
NEWARK — The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey today praised the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission for its substantive comments to the Department of Homeland Security about privacy and other concerns on a proposed national identity card, known as Real ID.

ACLU of Texas Expresses Concern Over Surveillance Database (05/23/2007)
AUSTIN, TX – The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas expressed continued concern today that the intelligence database provisions in a recently passed state House bill do not go far enough in protecting the privacy of Texans. After passing the House two weeks ago, HB 13 has now passed the Texas Senate. The bill received a flurry of attention for its border security provisions and for putting the massive database into the governor’s hands, but many privacy protections have been stripped from it.

ACLU Decries Scientific Censorship at Smithsonian (05/23/2007)
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union today denounced the Smithsonian Institution’s censorship of an Arctic climate change exhibit. Smithsonian scholars watered down a climate change report by scientists, believing it would cause a stir in Congress and the White House.

ACLU to Participate in Privacy Day (05/17/2007)
Washington, DC - The American Civil Liberties Union will be participating in Privacy Day, an all-day event to take place during Washington Whistleblower Week. Privacy Day, Friday, May 18th, will be comprised of two panels on surveillance and a keynote address by Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY). Privacy Day’s first panel, arranged by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), will focus on expectations of privacy in the workplace; the second will debate on the growing trend of a surveillance society.

Deputy AG’s Testimony Critical of Illegal Spying Program Renews ACLU's Calls for Congressional Scrutiny of DOJ (05/15/2007)
WASHINGTON, DC - Former Deputy Attorney General James B. Comey today admitted before the Senate Judiciary Committee that he and former Attorney General John Ashcroft had grave concerns over the National Security Agency’s illegal warrantless wiretapping program. Ashcroft, who refused to approve the program because he believed it to be unconstitutional, resisted coercion from then-White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales and White House Chief of Staff Andy Card to sign onto it while sick in a hospital bed. Comey considered resigning over the spying program, as did Ashcroft, FBI Director Robert Mueller and other Justice Department officials.

Governor Errs In Proposing Massive Expansion of DNA Databank, NYCLU Charges (05/14/2007)
NEW YORK - The New York Civil Liberties Union today sharply criticized Governor Eliot Spitzer's proposal to include in the state's databank DNA samples from nearly every person convicted of a crime, including offenses involving low-level, non-contact crimes.

ACLU of Massachusetts Praises Decision to Cancel Lunch Bytes Program (04/19/2007)
BOSTON - Today the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts praised the decision by the Taunton School Committee to cancel plans for its controversial "Lunch Bytes" program, which would have used fingerprint scans to identify students in the lunch line.

Washington Governor Signs Bill Rejecting REAL ID (04/18/2007)
SEATTLE, WA - As part of a growing state rebellion, Gov. Christine Gregoire today signed a bill rejecting REAL ID, a new federal identification system that would create a de facto national ID card. Legislatures in four other states – Maine, Idaho, Arkansas and Montana – also have adopted measures opposing REAL ID, and lawmakers in more than 20 other states are considering similar action.

Washington Becomes Fourth State to Oppose REAL ID (04/05/2007)
OLYMPIA, WA - The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington today announced that the state legislature passed a bill in a landslide to block implementation of the federal REAL ID Act. The action makes Washington the fourth state to pass legislation opposing the law, joining Maine, Idaho and Arkansas.