Home : Privacy & Technology

U.S. Among World's Worst Surveillance Societies Are you living in a Constitution- Free Zone? The extraordinary powers of customs and border agents to invade the privacy of individuals at the border are spreading inland and creating what amounts to a “Constitution-free Zone” that covers fully two-thirds of the American population. Using the latest census data, the ACLU has created a map showing the 100-mile “border region” claimed by the government, and cities and states that fall within it.  More... 1,000,000 terrorists poised to strike America? The ACLU marked the addition of the one millionth name to the DHS terrorist watchlist in an event on July 14, 2008.  The roll over of the “ACLU Watchlist Counter” to 1,000,000 confirms the warnings the ACLU has been making for years: the TSA is pinning American security on a system of watchlists that are bloated, inefficient, ineffective and unfair.   If you believe you have been harmed due to a U.S. government watchlist, use this form to share your story. Expert Findings on Surveillance Cameras New ACLU White Paper Summarizes Real World Studies KEY RESOURCES > What's Wrong With Public Video Surveillance? > Data Mining > SWIFT > Fusion Centers > Combatting the Surveillance Industrial Complex > Surveillance > How Monopoly Control of the Internet Threatens Free Speech > Domestic Spy Satelites > Forensic DNA Databanks > Bigger Monsters, Weaker Chains > Real ID > 5 Reasons Not to Create a National ID Card > Science Under Siege > International Policy Laundering Project > Airline Security > Face-Recognition Technology > The Growth of an American Surveillance Society > Electronic Passports > Financial Privacy > The Cybercrime Treaty > Position statement on RFIDs > The FBI's Power to Rifle Through Your Records and Personal Belongings Without Telling You (PDF) > Through the Keyhole: Privacy in the Workplace, an Endangered Right > FAQ on the National Census > Other ACLU Documents on Privacy

DHS Privacy Office Echoes ACLUs Concerns With Fusion Centers (12/22/2008)
WASHINGTON – A privacy impact assessment issued by the Department of Homeland Security Privacy Office today officially validates concerns the ACLU raised last year about the dangers a network of intelligence “fusion centers” pose to privacy and civil liberties. An ACLU report entitled “What’s Wrong With Fusion Centers?” was published in November 2007 and updated earlier this year. The DHS privacy impact assessment released today echoes, sometimes word for word, the privacy concerns identified by the ACLU in these reports. The ACLU welcomes the findings of the assessment and hopes to assist the DHS privacy office improve privacy protections within these new institutions, which amount to nothing less than a full-fledged domestic intelligence system.

Inspector General's Findings on 'Joe the Plumber' Case Show State Needs Immediate Reform (11/19/2008)
CLEVELAND- The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio pointed to findings released today by Ohio's inspector general as evidence that Governor Ted Strickland must take immediate action to mandate state agencies implement privacy protections. The inspector general found that Ohio Department of Job & Family Services Director Helen Jones-Kelly had no reason to search the records of Joseph Wurzelbacher, also known as "Joe the Plumber. Ms. Jones Kelly also stated that such searches of those in news headlines were common protocol for the office. News reports indicated that nearly a half dozen other state agencies conducted searches on Mr. Wurzelbacher's information without due cause.

ACLU Reacts to Extortion of Private Medical Records (11/7/2008)
WASHINGTON – In response to today’s news that the FBI is investigating an extortion letter threatening the release of millions of private medical records, the ACLU reiterates its demand for the protection of individual privacy for all electronic medical records. Express Scripts, a medical benefits management company, said it has been investigating the threat since October, when the extortion letter was received containing the names, dates of birth and social security numbers of approximately 75 clients. Express Scripts then notified the FBI, and has since ruled out the possibility of an internal breach.

Expanding Border Powers Creating Constitution-Free Zone That Covers Two-Thirds of Americans (10/22/2008)
WASHINGTON – The extraordinary powers of customs and border agents to invade the privacy of individuals at the U.S. border are spreading inland and creating what amounts to a “Constitution-free Zone” that covers fully two-thirds of the American population, the American Civil Liberties Union said today in a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.

Secure Flight Re-Engineering Welcomed but Watchlist Problems Remain Unaddressed (10/22/2008)
WASHINGTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union today welcomed the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) improvements of the privacy protections in its Secure Flight program; however, the ACLU detailed significant problems that remain in the passenger prescreening program.