Home : Privacy & Technology

ACLU Seeks Information on Government Ratings of Travelers (12/13/2006)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking information about the Department of Homeland Security’s Automated Targeting System (ATS) terror-ranking program and renewed its call to Congress for the program to be shut down.

ACLU Lauds Akaka-Sununu Real ID Fix Bill, Says Additional Privacy and Civil Liberties Safeguards Still Needed (12/11/2006)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today welcomed the introduction of bipartisan legislation authored by Senators Daniel Akaka (D-HI) and John Sununu (R-NH) that would add privacy and civil liberties safeguards to the Real ID Act. The "Identification Security Enhancement Act of 2006" would address several of the shortcomings of the controversial legislation adopted last year, including the establishment of a National ID.

DHS Acknowledges That Terror Ranking Program Is Already in Effect, ACLU Says Program Violates Congressional Spending Ban and Public Notice Requirements (12/07/2006)
WASHINGTON - In a notice scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Friday, the Department of Homeland Security acknowledges that its controversial Automated Targeting System terror-ranking program is already in operation - despite a congressional ban on such ranking systems and despite the fact that Congress and the public were never properly notified. In response, the American Civil Liberties Union today called on Congress to put a halt to this program and look into why it was created without public notice.

ACLU Calls on DHS to Withdraw Plan For Tagging Americans With 40-Year “Risk Assessments” (12/01/2006)
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union today condemned an unprecedented new program for generating terrorist ratings on tens of millions of travelers, including American citizens, maintaining those ratings for 40 years, and making them available throughout the government.

ACLU Lawsuit Seeks Access to Lawful Information on Internet for Library Patrons in Eastern Washington (11/16/2006)
SPOKANE, WA - Represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, three library users and a nonprofit organization today brought a lawsuit to ensure that patrons of a library system in Eastern Washington have access to useful and lawful information on the Internet.

NYCLU Issues Harsh Critique of Proposal to Require Video Surveillance at Nightclubs (10/18/2006)
NEW YORK -- In testimony presented before the New York City Council today the New York Civil Liberties Union issued a detailed and highly critical analysis of pending legislation that would require cabarets and dance clubs to install video surveillance cameras at entrances and exits.

State Groups' Cost Estimate, Call for Revisions Should Be Final Straw For Real ID Act, ACLU Says (09/21/2006)
NEW YORK-- New minimum estimates for the cost of the Real ID Act to the states should make it clear to Congress that it needs to repeal the act, the American Civil Liberties Union said today. A call for major changes in, and delay of Real ID by nonpartisan governors' and state legislators' groups that jointly issued the cost estimate also highlights the troubles faced by the act, the ACLU said.

ACLU and Allies Oppose Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, Say Plan Undermines Privacy, Provides Little Security (09/07/2006)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today joined with Citizen Against Government Waste and the Cato Institute to oppose the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). The WHTI will require all travelers, including American citizens, to have a passport or other "appropriate security document" to enter or re-enter the United States from countries within the Western Hemisphere, including Canada and Mexico.

Landmark Privacy Bill Wins Bipartisan Support From California Lawmakers; ACLU Calls on Governor to Sign ‘RFID’ Law (08/31/2006)
SACRAMENTO - The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California today applauded the State Legislature for passing the first bill in the country to require privacy and security protections for the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags in government-issued ID's. The bill passed last night in the Senate with a strong vote of 30-7 after passing out of the Assembly with a bipartisan vote of 49-26 on August 21. The landmark privacy bill is now heading for the governor's desk.

ACLU Seeks Information on Government Spying on Baltimore Peace Groups (08/30/2006)
BALTIMORE -- Following reports that Baltimore peace groups have been targets of illegal spying, the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland today filed public information requests with federal and state authorities. The ACLU said it is concerned that the disturbing national trend of government surveillance of political and religious groups may also be happening here in the "Free State."

ACLU Disappointed with Senate Ratification of International Cybercrime Treaty, Measure Requires Government to Help Enforce Foreign Laws (08/04/2006)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today expressed its disappointment with the Senate’s ratification of the "Council of Europe Cybercrime Convention," or Cybercrime Treaty. That international agreement was signed by President Bush in late 2003 and now requires the American government to enforce foreign laws that may violate the rights and liberties of Americans.

ACLU of Maryland Declares Victory as High Court Unanimously Rules Pregnancy Prosecutions Are Illegal (08/03/2006)
BALTIMORE, MD – The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland applauded today’s decision by the Maryland Court of Appeals unanimously ruling that the reckless endangerment statute does not apply to women who take drugs while pregnant.

ACLU Raises Spying Issue at BellSouth Shareholder Meeting on AT&T Merger (07/21/2006)
ATLANTA -- BellSouth's proposed merger with AT&T should be approached with great caution because of AT&T's entanglements with illegal NSA spying, the American Civil Liberties Union said at a BellSouth shareholders meeting held here today to consider the merger.