Home : Privacy & Technology

Fuzzy Math, Fuzzier List (07/21/2008)

Expert Findings on Surveillance Cameras (06/25/2008)
An increasing number of American cities and towns are currently investing millions of taxpayer dollars in surveillance camera systems. But few are closely examining the costs and benefits of those investments, or creating mechanisms for measuring those costs and benefits over time. There is extensive academic literature on the subject—studies carried out over many years—and that research strongly indicates that video surveillance has no statistically significant effect on crime rates.

"See-Through" Body Scanners (06/03/2008)

SWIFT: Secret Government Spying on International Financial Transactions (03/11/2008)

Questions to Ask About Fusions Centers (11/21/2007)
The questions below will help you make the most of a meeting with Department of Homeland Security and Fusion Center personnel.

Surveillance Society Clock: Graphics You Can Use (09/17/2007)
ACLU graphics you can use on the Web, in e-mail, wherever you can to help get the word out about the crisis of surveillance in America.

Privacy and Technology in ACLU Affiliate Offices (06/22/2007)

Gene Patents (03/21/2007)
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted tens of thousands of patents on human genetic sequences. In addition to inhibiting freedom of research, patents on human genes raise troubling questions about the rights of patients and whether parts of human beings should be patentable at all.

Genetic Testing (03/21/2007)
Today, more than 1,000 clinical genetic tests can be applied at any point of the life cycle. As genetic testing enters into routine health care, it is critical to protect patient privacy and guard against genetic discrimination.

Neuroscience (03/21/2007)
Two private companies have announced plans to market software that purportedly allows users to detect deception using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). So far there is little proof that such high-tech, brain-scanning lie detectors would be any better than polygraph, which has been repeatedly shown to be ineffective. However, since fMRI scanners take a dynamic picture of the living brain, its use for lie detection and interrogation purposes raises the specter of the government attempting to deploy this technology to "read your mind," whether or not its efficacy has been proven.

Genetics and Race (03/21/2007)
The use of racial categories in genomic biology and biomedicine has become increasingly common. While racial health disparities are an important challenge for public health, it is important that interventions not reinforce the inequalities they seek to address.

Genetic Repositories (03/21/2007)
Recent advances in genomics, bioinformatics and data mining are encouraging a worldwide proliferation of "gene banks". The ACLU is exploring the implications of this emerging arena of science and medicine.

Biosecurity (03/21/2007)
Any response to a public health emergency should safeguard civil liberties as well as health, at minimum those Americans already expect from their health care providers, such as a commitment to informed consent, fairness, and medical privacy.