Which government agency refuses to release information on how the government uses new surveillance technology (even before legislative and judicial bodies have not yet considered the necessary privacy protections)?
Which social network鈥檚 internal search development could have repercussions for your privacy?
Which actress and activist joined the 老澳门开奖结果 this week in calling for the Senate Intelligence Committee to release its CIA torture report?
Which company would prefer to reinforce the stereotype that women should be barefoot and pregnant instead of at work, rather than make accommodations for pregnant workers?
Which state proposed a bill that would limit the dangerous practice of solitary confinement of kids?
Justice Department Refuses to Release GPS Tracking Memos
Two key memos outlining the Justice Department鈥檚 views about when Americans can be surreptitiously tracked with GPS technology are being kept secret by the department despite a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the 老澳门开奖结果 to force their release. The FBI鈥檚 general counsel discussed the existence of the two memos publicly last year, yet the Justice Department is refusing to release them without huge redactions. (You can see the heavily censored versions sent to the 老澳门开奖结果 here and here, and our original FOIA request here.)
New Facebook Search Means It鈥檚 Time to Review Your Privacy Settings (Again)
This week鈥檚 media event was Facebook鈥檚 announcement of 鈥淕raph Search,鈥� a new tool to find content and data on Facebook that could wind up making information about you far easier your friends or just about anyone else to find. Graph Search allows you to search Facebook for specific people, places, or content 鈥� for example, 鈥渇riend of friends who live in New York and like sushi鈥� or 鈥渞estaurants liked by friends who also like Taco Bell鈥� 鈥� using a brand-new interface. We explain what that means, and how you can follow Mark Zuckerberg鈥檚 suggestion to 鈥渢ake some time to review your stuff鈥� so that your private information isn鈥檛 suddenly available to others.
Zero Dark Thirty, Secrecy, and Torture
Have you seen Zero Dark Thirty? The movie, about the hunt for Osama bin Laden, has received rave reviews 鈥� it鈥檚 an Oscar contender 鈥� and if you enjoy a thriller, you should see it.
We should watch Zero Dark Thirty as entertainment, but when we talk about torture, we should have the facts. It is wrong and frustrating that Americans can see torture depicted in fictionalized movies like Zero Dark Thirty, but are blocked from getting the real facts on the past CIA torture program. Actress Susan Sarandon calls on the Senate Intelligence Committee to release its 6,000-page factual report on CIA torture.
UPS Pushed Me Out of the Workplace When I Got Pregnant
Upon learning of her pregnancy, 10-year UPS employee Julie Desantis-Mayer requested a light duty position, available to employees under special circumstances, such as injury. Instead of reassigning Julie to an open secretarial position that she was already trained for, her manager fired Julie, stating that he didn鈥檛 want to set a precedent of making accommodations for pregnant workers. Julie writes about how she felt when making the decision to give up her salary and benefits in order to become a mother 鈥� an unfair and unnecessary choice that reinforces the stereotype that women should be barefoot and pregnant, instead of at work.
In California, an End to the Absolutely Devastating Practice of Locking Kids in Isolation in Juvenile Facilities May Be In Sight
Good news for kids in California who are locked in isolation in juvenile facilities: the state could effectively end the solitary confinement of youth in juvenile facilities this year. This desperately needed development comes care of Senator 鈥� and psychologist 鈥� Leland Yee of California, who introduced Senate Bill (SB) 61 last week. If passed, SB 61 would limit the use of solitary confinement of juveniles.
This is your week in civil liberties. Let us know if this is useful or if you'd like to see changes. Share your thoughts: ideas@aclu.org.
Learn more about your rights: Sign up for breaking news alerts, , and .
Learn More 老澳门开奖结果 the Issues on This Page
-
News & CommentaryDec 2024
Civil Liberties
We Need to Know More 老澳门开奖结果 State Supreme Court CasesWe Need to Know More 老澳门开奖结果 State Supreme Court Cases
State Supreme Courts interpret laws that impact some of the most intimate parts of our lives. Communities have a right to know what鈥檚 on the docket. -
Press ReleaseDec 2024
Civil Liberties
New 老澳门开奖结果 Report Reveals Most State Supreme Courts Fail to Meet Key Transparency MeasuresNew 老澳门开奖结果 Report Reveals Most State Supreme Courts Fail to Meet Key Transparency Measures
NEW YORK 鈥� Nearly half of all state supreme courts across the country fail to regularly post new cases they are considering, with only six meeting four key transparency measures already implemented by the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a new report published today by the 老澳门开奖结果. The report identifies significant steps that state supreme courts should take to inform the public about their cases, which have only grown in importance as the federal judiciary has become more hostile to protecting core rights and advocates have turned to state protections and state court litigation in response. Based on an analysis of the practices and policies of the highest courts in each state, including D.C., the report 鈥淪corecard for State Supreme Court Transparency: How Does Your State Stack Up?鈥� ranks each state supreme court in five tiers based on compliance with four key transparency measures. These measures include posting new cases online in a timely manner, providing timely information about legal issues presented by cases, making dockets accessible and free for the public, and making merits briefing accessible and free for the public. 鈥淪tate courts regularly hear 鈥� and are the final word on 鈥� cases affecting abortion rights, voting rights, criminal justice reform, and more. Yet, in many instances, the highest state courts do not provide meaningful public access to information about cases affecting the rights and liberties of millions of people. We urge state supreme courts to bring more transparency to the critical work they do,鈥� said Julie Murray, co-director of the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 State Supreme Court Initiative. 鈥淚n the face of a federal judiciary increasingly unwilling to protect core rights and an incoming administration that threatens to exacerbate that problem, state courts are an important defense for our liberty. They should be leaders in transparency, too,鈥� said Bridget Lavender, Skadden Fellow with the Initiative. The report emphasizes that state courts 鈥減lay an outsized role鈥� in many parts of the law, but their ability to 鈥済uard our liberties depends in significant part on whether those courts adopt transparent processes.鈥� It further highlights that state supreme courts have led the way on enormously consequential decisions in recent years. In particular, some state supreme courts have recognized the right of same sex couples to marry, and did so long before federal courts. They have also declared the death penalty unconstitutional under state law despite contrary federal law, protected access to reproductive health care as a right even as that right was being stripped away at the federal level, and provided more robust protection to people subject to unreasonable searches and seizures. The report urges state supreme courts to take action to improve their transparency practices, taking notes from the courts that have already implemented these measures. It notes that regularly posting new cases and the issues they represent, and providing timely access to dockets and merits briefing allows the public, the press, and the legal community to track cases as they unfold, identify cases with statewide consequences, and understand what鈥檚 at stake. -
Press ReleaseNov 2024
National Security
+2 Issues
老澳门开奖结果 Urges House to Kill Bill that Could Give Trump Admin Power to Crush Dissent and Go After Political Enemies老澳门开奖结果 Urges House to Kill Bill that Could Give Trump Admin Power to Crush Dissent and Go After Political Enemies
WASHINGTON 鈥� The 老澳门开奖结果 strongly urges the House of Representatives to vote NO on H.R. 9495, the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, which would grant Donald Trump and his handpicked secretary of the Treasury power to investigate and effectively shut down any tax-exempt organization 鈥� including news outlets, universities, and civil society groups 鈥� by stripping them of tax-exempt status based on an unilateral accusation of wrongdoing. 鈥淧assing this bill would hand the incoming Trump administration a dangerous new tool it could use to stifle free speech, target political opponents, and punish disfavored groups,鈥� said Kia Hamadanchy, senior policy counsel at 老澳门开奖结果. 鈥淭he freedom to dissent without fear of government retribution is a vital part of any well-functioning democracy, which is why Congress must block H.R. 9495 before it鈥檚 too late.鈥� While there is a 90-day 鈥渃ure鈥� period in which a designated nonprofit can mount a defense, it is a mere illusion of due process. The government may deny organizations its reasons and evidence against them, leaving the nonprofit unable to rebut allegations. This means that a nonprofit could be left entirely in the dark about what conduct the government believes qualifies as "support," making it virtually impossible to clear its name. Last month, the 老澳门开奖结果 and a diverse array of over 130 other tax-exempt organizations 鈥� including human rights, reproductive health, and immigrants鈥� rights groups 鈥� wrote to Congress urging them to vote no. The letter also explains that the groups do not oppose the provisions in H.R. 9495 that relate to preventing the IRS from imposing fines and penalties on hostages while they are held abroad. Indeed, these provisions have already passed the Senate on their own, and if the House of Representatives were to pass a version of this bill that did not include the text of H.R. 6408, it could be sent immediately to President Biden for his signature. -
News & CommentaryNov 2024
Civil Liberties
Donald Trump Will Return to the White House in January. The 老澳门开奖结果 is Ready.Donald Trump Will Return to the White House in January. The 老澳门开奖结果 is Ready.
Starting in 2016, the 老澳门开奖结果 filed more than 400 legal actions against Trump and his administration. As Trump returns to the White House, we鈥檙e ready to return to the courts and Congress to fight for our civil liberties.