Coalition Letter Urging Civil Society Input on Human Rights and Civil Liberties Protections Online

Document Date: March 9, 2016

This coalition letter, signed by the ACLU, call on the White House to ensure that civil liberties groups have a seat at the table when the government works with technology companies to address complex security challenges. The letter notes concern about increased pressure on some technology companies to weaken the security of their products to facilitate government access and to aggressively monitor and censor their users’ communication online. The letter calls on the White House to: 1) engage in a dialogue with civil society groups that focus on human rights and civil liberties online to the same extent that they dialogue with technology companies; and 2) for both the Administration and the companies to be as transparent as possible regarding the steps being taken in response to the government’s requests or changes to policies or practices that determine what speech is censored or reported to the government.