Privacy & Technology
FBI v. Fazaga
In a case scheduled to be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on November 8, 2021, three Muslim Americans are challenging the FBI’s secret spying on them and their communities based on their religion, in violation of the Constitution and federal law. In what will likely be a landmark case, the plaintiffs — Yassir Fazaga, Ali Uddin Malik, and Yasser Abdelrahim — insist that the FBI cannot escape accountability for violating their religious freedom by invoking “state secrets.” The plaintiffs are represented by the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at UCLA School of Law, the ACLU of Southern California, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Council for American Islamic Relations, and the law firm of Hadsell Stormer Renick & Dai.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
View Case
Learn About Privacy & Technology
Featured
U.S. Supreme Court
Jun 2018
Privacy & Technology
Carpenter v. United States
The Supreme Court ruled that the government needs a warrant to access a person’s cellphone location history. The court found in a 5 to 4 decision that obtaining such information is a search under the Fourth Amendment and that a warrant from a judge based on probable cause is required.
Court Case
Dec 2016
Privacy & Technology
Sarkar v. Doe - PubPeer Subpoena Challenge
The ACLU filed a motion in Michigan state court challenging the constitutionality of a subpoena issued to the website PubPeer demanding that it turn over the identities of anonymous commenters. In March 2015, the trial judge ruled that PubPeer had to unmask one – but only one – of the commenters. Both PubPeer and the researcher appealed, and the ruling was upheld in December 2016.
All Cases
78 Privacy & Technology Cases
Court Case
Aug 2022
Privacy & Technology
Free Speech
NAACP v. Kohn
The ACLU, the ACLU of South Carolina, and the NAACP have filed a lawsuit on behalf of the South Carolina NAACP challenging the South Carolina Court Administration's categorical ban on automated data collection, known as "scraping," on the Public Index. The South Carolina NAACP seeks to scrape eviction records to identify tenants in proceedings and conduct outreach to provide services to them. The ban on scraping violates South Carolina NAACP’s First Amendment right to access and record public court records, impairing South Carolina NAACP's ability to prevent evictions and help people achieve meaningful access to the courts.
Explore case
Court Case
Aug 2022
Privacy & Technology
Free Speech
NAACP v. Kohn
The ACLU, the ACLU of South Carolina, and the NAACP have filed a lawsuit on behalf of the South Carolina NAACP challenging the South Carolina Court Administration's categorical ban on automated data collection, known as "scraping," on the Public Index. The South Carolina NAACP seeks to scrape eviction records to identify tenants in proceedings and conduct outreach to provide services to them. The ban on scraping violates South Carolina NAACP’s First Amendment right to access and record public court records, impairing South Carolina NAACP's ability to prevent evictions and help people achieve meaningful access to the courts.
New York
Jul 2022
Privacy & Technology
ACLU v. Department of Homeland Security (commercial location data FOIA)
In December 2020, the ACLU and NYCLU filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking records from Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and other parts of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) about their practice of purchasing cell phone location data collected from smartphone apps.
Explore case
New York
Jul 2022
Privacy & Technology
ACLU v. Department of Homeland Security (commercial location data FOIA)
In December 2020, the ACLU and NYCLU filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking records from Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and other parts of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) about their practice of purchasing cell phone location data collected from smartphone apps.
Illinois
May 2022
Privacy & Technology
ACLU v. Clearview AI
The ACLU, ACLU of Illinois, and the law firm Edelson PC filed a lawsuit on May 28, 2020 against Clearview AI alleging violation of Illinois residents’ privacy rights under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). Plaintiffs in the case are the ACLU and ACLU of Illinois, Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, Sex Workers Outreach Project Chicago, Illinois Public Interest Research Group, and Mujeres Latinas en Acción, who sue on behalf of their members, clients, and program participants.
Explore case
Illinois
May 2022
Privacy & Technology
ACLU v. Clearview AI
The ACLU, ACLU of Illinois, and the law firm Edelson PC filed a lawsuit on May 28, 2020 against Clearview AI alleging violation of Illinois residents’ privacy rights under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). Plaintiffs in the case are the ACLU and ACLU of Illinois, Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, Sex Workers Outreach Project Chicago, Illinois Public Interest Research Group, and Mujeres Latinas en Acción, who sue on behalf of their members, clients, and program participants.
U.S. Supreme Court
Dec 2021
Privacy & Technology
National Security
Merchant v. Mayorkas
The American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the ACLU of Massachusetts have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security on behalf of 11 travelers whose smartphones and laptops were searched without warrants at the U.S. border.
Explore case
U.S. Supreme Court
Dec 2021
Privacy & Technology
National Security
Merchant v. Mayorkas
The American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the ACLU of Massachusetts have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security on behalf of 11 travelers whose smartphones and laptops were searched without warrants at the U.S. border.
U.S. Supreme Court
Dec 2021
Privacy & Technology
Arthur Gregory Lange v. California
Whether the Fourth Amendment permits the police, in all cases, to pursue an individual into a private home without a warrant while attempting to make a misdemeanor arrest, or whether specific exigent circumstances are required.
Explore case
U.S. Supreme Court
Dec 2021
Privacy & Technology
Arthur Gregory Lange v. California
Whether the Fourth Amendment permits the police, in all cases, to pursue an individual into a private home without a warrant while attempting to make a misdemeanor arrest, or whether specific exigent circumstances are required.