Privacy & Technology
FBI v. Fazaga
In a case scheduled to be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on November 8, 2021, three Muslim Americans are challenging the FBI’s secret spying on them and their communities based on their religion, in violation of the Constitution and federal law. In what will likely be a landmark case, the plaintiffs — Yassir Fazaga, Ali Uddin Malik, and Yasser Abdelrahim — insist that the FBI cannot escape accountability for violating their religious freedom by invoking “state secrets.” The plaintiffs are represented by the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at UCLA School of Law, the ACLU of Southern California, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Council for American Islamic Relations, and the law firm of Hadsell Stormer Renick & Dai.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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U.S. Supreme Court
Jun 2018
Carpenter v. United States
The Supreme Court ruled that the government needs a warrant to access a person’s cellphone location history. The court found in a 5 to 4 decision that obtaining such information is a search under the Fourth Amendment and that a warrant from a judge based on probable cause is required.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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Dec 2016
Sarkar v. Doe - PubPeer Subpoena Challenge
The ACLU filed a motion in Michigan state court challenging the constitutionality of a subpoena issued to the website PubPeer demanding that it turn over the identities of anonymous commenters. In March 2015, the trial judge ruled that PubPeer had to unmask one – but only one – of the commenters. Both PubPeer and the researcher appealed, and the ruling was upheld in December 2016.
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All Cases
67 Privacy & Technology Cases
Massachusetts Supreme Court
Nov 2023
Commonwealth v. Arrington
In this amicus brief, the ACLU and its coalition partners urged robust application of the legal standard governing the admissibility of expert testimony and technical evidence, especially in cases involving opaque or proprietary algorithms.
Status: Ongoing
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Massachusetts Supreme Court
Privacy & Technology
+2 Issues
Commonwealth v. Arrington
In this amicus brief, the ACLU and its coalition partners urged robust application of the legal standard governing the admissibility of expert testimony and technical evidence, especially in cases involving opaque or proprietary algorithms.
Nov 2023
Status: Ongoing
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Kansas
Sep 2023
United States v. Hay
This case concerns whether long-term, continuous use of a surveillance camera targeted at a person’s home is a Fourth Amendment search.
Status: Ongoing
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Kansas
Privacy & Technology
National Security
United States v. Hay
This case concerns whether long-term, continuous use of a surveillance camera targeted at a person’s home is a Fourth Amendment search.
Sep 2023
Status: Ongoing
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Michigan Supreme Court
Sep 2023
Long Lake Township v. Maxon
On September 8, 2023, the ACLU, the ACLU of Michigan, and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy filed an amicus brief in the Michigan Supreme Court arguing that the local government deploying an unmanned drone to take aerial photographs of the appellant’s property violated the Fourth Amendment.
Status: Ongoing
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Michigan Supreme Court
Privacy & Technology
National Security
Long Lake Township v. Maxon
On September 8, 2023, the ACLU, the ACLU of Michigan, and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy filed an amicus brief in the Michigan Supreme Court arguing that the local government deploying an unmanned drone to take aerial photographs of the appellant’s property violated the Fourth Amendment.
Sep 2023
Status: Ongoing
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U.S. Supreme Court
May 2023
Google v. Gonzalez LLC
The Supreme Court will decide whether social media and other platforms are liable for their users’ posts if they make recommendations or suggestions about what content to access, or whether Section 230 affords them immunity from such claims.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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U.S. Supreme Court
Privacy & Technology
Free Speech
Google v. Gonzalez LLC
The Supreme Court will decide whether social media and other platforms are liable for their users’ posts if they make recommendations or suggestions about what content to access, or whether Section 230 affords them immunity from such claims.
May 2023
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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U.S. Supreme Court
May 2023
Polselli v. Internal Revenue Service
This case concerns the scope of the IRS’s obligation under a federal law to provide notice to individuals that it is seeking their records from a third party, such as a bank, accountant, or lawyer.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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U.S. Supreme Court
Privacy & Technology
Polselli v. Internal Revenue Service
This case concerns the scope of the IRS’s obligation under a federal law to provide notice to individuals that it is seeking their records from a third party, such as a bank, accountant, or lawyer.
May 2023
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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