Home : Privacy & Technology

ACLU Hails DHS-Funded Report Condemning Data Mining (10/08/2008)

ACLU Welcomes Introduction of Travelers’ Privacy Protection Act in Both Chambers of Congress (09/29/2008)
WASHINGTON, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union was pleased to see the Travelers’ Privacy Protection Act introduced in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) introduced S. 3612, with Senators Daniel Akaka (D-HI), Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) signing on as original cosponsors, while Representative Adam Smith (D-WA) introduced H.R. 7118. The proposed legislation is a response to the troubling stories that Americans reentering the United States have had their personal belongings, such as laptops, cell phones and digital cameras, confiscated and searched without probable cause. The Senate and House bills raise the privacy protections for travelers without sacrificing national security at our borders.

Privacy vs. the Internet: Americans Should Not be Forced to Choose (09/25/2008)
Washington, DC – The Senate Commerce Committee continued exploring the issue of Internet privacy and online marketing today with a hearing on Internet service providers’ (ISPs) use of deep packet inspection (DPI). Use of this technology allows ISPs to scrutinize Internet users’ e-mail and browsing activities, to monitor usage and communications traffic, and sell that information to advertisers or turn it over to government officials. The risks posed by this technology are significant and should not be underestimated. The ACLU urges members of the committee to zealously guard the privacy of the American people.

Bloated and Ineffective Watch Lists Should be Scrapped (09/09/2008)
WASHINGTON, DC – As the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection holds a hearing today on cleaning up the watch lists, the American Civil Liberties Union calls for congressional action to scrap the current approach to airline security in favor of systems that are far more effective, and, at the same time, protect innocent Americans from the immeasurable hassles and frustration of being swept up erroneously by the watch lists. Currently, the Terrorist Screening Center (TSC) is charged with maintaining a series of lists that, in theory, contain names of suspected threats to American security. In July, the ACLU estimated that the watch lists grew to over 1 million records.

State Police Return DNA Sample (08/28/2008)
BOSTON - The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts today welcomed the return of the DNA sample voluntarily provided by Keith Amato as part of the investigation into the 2002 murder of Christa Worthington.

Preliminary Congressional Investigation Finds Watch Lists Plagued with Systemic Flaws (08/22/2008)
WASHINGTON, DC – In response to today’s Wall Street Journal article on the flaws found in the terrorist watch lists by a preliminary congressional investigation, the American Civil Liberties Union calls on all presidential candidates, as well as current President Bush, to pledge to put a moratorium on the use of the lists unless major overhauls are made. The investigation found the current database system beleaguered with flaws and technological hurdles. Not only that, but the program being designed to replace the current database is facing similar systemic difficulties, while the contractors hired for its creation are struggling to move toward completion.

Federal Government Expands Database on Travelers (08/20/2008)
Washington, DC – Once again the federal government is expanding its collection of data on innocent travelers, the American Civil Liberties Union said today, with the Department of Homeland Security creating dossiers of travelers who pass through U.S. border checkpoints, maintain these files for 15 years, and share this data broadly – including providing access to courts and attorneys in civil litigation like divorce proceedings.

Fusion Centers Part of Incipient Domestic Intelligence System, ACLU Warns (07/29/2008)
WASHINGTON – The nation’s growing network of “fusion centers” is part of an incipient de facto domestic intelligence system, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. Today the ACLU released a report detailing spying on Maryland peace demonstrators, a mysterious domestic-spying scandal at a California military base and other recent incidents, confirming that its warnings about fusion centers were coming true.

ACLU Urges Congress to Define Medical Privacy as Patient Control of Electronic Health Records (07/23/2008)
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union today urges the House Energy and Commerce Committee to require patient control of medical records and compensation for privacy breaches to be a part of the standards set for converting to electronic patient records. The ACLU cautions that H.R. 6357, the “Protecting Records, Optimizing Treatment, and Easing Communication through Healthcare Technology Act of 2008” or the PRO(TECH)T Act, has insufficient privacy provisions and leaves patients vulnerable to bad, lost, stolen or misused data.

ACLU Asks FCC to Scrutinize ISP Surveillance of Customers’ Internet Habits (07/21/2008)
Washington, DC – Today as part of the FCC field hearing at Carnegie Mellon University on broadband and the digital future, the American Civil Liberties Union will submit written comments about how Deep Packet Inspections (DPI) and other practices threaten Americans’ online privacy and a neutral Internet.

ACLU Warns Against Intrusive Deep Packet Inspection (07/17/2008)
Washington, DC – Americans’ online privacy was discussed today at a hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet. The hearing, titled “What Your Broadband Provider Knows About Your Web Use: Deep Packet Inspection and Communications Laws and Policies,” was meant to shed light on the practice of Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) by Internet service providers (ISPs). DPI allows ISPs to track users’ Internet browsing activities and can be data mined for targeted marketing purposes. The ACLU urges members of the committee to be wary of the privacy landmines inherent in DPI.