Home : Privacy & Technology : Surveillance & Wiretapping

Proliferation of Surveillance Devices Threatens Privacy (07/11/2001)
WASHINGTON -- Over the past several days, a troubling expansion in the way technology is being used in the surveillance of ordinary Americans has come to light. In response, we are today joining together to call on all state and local governments to stop using these dangerous technologies now before privacy in America is so diminished that it becomes nothing more than a fond memory. 

ACLU Probes Police Use of Facial-Recognition (07/06/2001)
ACLU Probes Police Use of Facial-Recognition Surveillance Cameras in Florida City

ACLU Probes Police Use of Facial-Recognition Surveillance Cameras in Florida City (07/06/2001)
TAMPA, FL-The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida today released a letter to city officials here demanding information on what is being done with the captured video images of thousands of unsuspecting visitors and residents under a new video surveillance program.

ACLU and Community Group Challenge Secret Baltimore Police Fund for "Clandestine" Operations (06/21/2001)
BALTIMORE--The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland today filed a lawsuit seeking to uncover how a secret $250,000 fund for high-tech surveillance equipment is being spent by local police. 

European Parliament Launches Official Inquiry in US; Concerned With Implications of Top-Secret ECHELON Surveillance System (05/08/2001)
WASHINGTON - Capping an official inquiry into a highly secret U.S.-led electronic eavesdropping network, a delegation from a committee of the European Parliament has taken the unusual step of traveling to the United States for a week-long fact-finding mission. 

Electronic Spying on the Rise, Privacy Groups Warn Ashcroft (05/03/2001)
WASHINGTON -- Following up on a recent meeting with Attorney General John Ashcroft, a coalition of privacy advocates today sent the Attorney General a series of specific recommendations about how the Bush Administration can better protect the privacy of all Americans. 

New ACLU Advertisement Highlights Massive U.S. Government Electronic Surveillance (04/09/2001)
NEW YORK--From using a cell phone to sending e-mail over the Internet, Americans' right to information privacy is in peril, the American Civil Liberties Union said today in its latest national advertisement. 

Firm Defends "Snooper Bowl" Technology (03/09/2001)
CAMBRIDGE, MA--To privacy experts, Super Bowl XXV in Tampa, Fla., wasn't just a game -- it was the "snooper bowl," CNET News reported.

Disney Employees Object to Police Screenings (02/26/2001)
ANAHEIM, CA -- Anaheim police are under fire for requiring bartenders, janitors and other employees of alcohol-selling establishments to carry city-issued identification cards as well as provide officers with fingerprints and personal information, the Los Angeles Times reported.

FBI Renames 'Carnivore' Internet Wiretap (02/14/2001)
WASHINGTON, DC -- The controversial Internet surveillance tool known as "Carnivore" has been renamed DCS1000, a name devoid of any negative associations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said Tuesday, Reuters reported.

Cyber-Rights Groups Urge Congress to Protect Free Speech Rights in Determining Internet Domain Names (02/07/2001)
WASHINGTON--Artificial limits on the number and type of Internet domain names threaten to turn cyberspace into a corporate stronghold with no room for independent voices, an alliance of cyber-rights groups warned today.

ACLU Calls for Public Hearings on Tampa's "Snooper Bowl" Video Surveillance (02/01/2001)
MIAMI--In a letter sent to Tampa city officials today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida questioned the police department's use of intrusive surveillance technology at last Sunday's Super Bowl and called for public hearings on the use of security systems that may jeopardize the public's privacy rights.

ACLU Calls for Public Hearings on Tampa's (02/01/2001)
ACLU Calls for Public Hearings on Tampa's "Snooper Bowl" Video Surveillance

ACLU Protests Cameras in Colorado Schools (01/25/2001)
BOULDER, CO -- The Boulder County chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union doesn't want "Big Brother" watching high school students, The Daily Camera reported.

ACLU Wary of FCC Cell Phone Guidelines (01/12/2001)
RALEIGH, NC -- The fact that companies will be able to pinpoint a person's location to within a few feet using software in new wireless phones is disconcerting to the American Civil Liberties Union, Bizjournals.com reported.

Nevada Officials Drop Plan to License and Fingerprint Clergy (12/29/2000)
LAS VEGAS, NV -- Under pressure from local religious and civil rights leaders, Clark County Clerk Shirley Parraguirre said yesterday she is shelving new licensing regulations that would have required police background checks for ministers who perform marriages.

ACLU Sees "Step Forward" in Government Monitoring of AOL/Time Warner Merger (12/14/2000)
WASHINGTON -- The government took a significant step forward today in requiring the new AOL/Time Warner media company to begin opening up their high speed cable Internet access networks to other Internet Service Providers (ISPs) on a non-discriminatory basis. 

ACLU, EPIC Say Further Study of Carnivore Review Proves "Beast Must Be Tamed" (12/01/2000)
WASHINGTON-- Further careful review of a report on a new FBI Internet surveillance tool conclusively proves that the Carnivore system is an aptly named beast that must be tamed, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) said today in comments submitted to the Department of Justice.

ACLU Slams Biased Review Team Thumbs-Up for Government Snoopware Program "Carnivore" (11/21/2000)
WASHINGTON--The American Civil Liberties Union today greeted with skepticism but little surprise preliminary reports on a new FBI Internet surveillance tool, saying that a biased review team guaranteed a pat on the head to the system known as Carnivore.

ACLU Says Government Stacked Deck in Selection of Team to Review "Carnivore" Cyber-tapping System (10/04/2000)
WASHINGTON--The American Civil Liberties Union today sharply criticized the Federal government's selection of academic experts to review a sophisticated FBI Internet surveillance tool known as Carnivore, saying that many of them have ties to the federal law enforcement agencies and the White House.