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)
View Case
Learn About Privacy & Technology
Featured
U.S. Supreme Court
Jun 2018
![image](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2019/09/car_trail_by_joe_a_credit-600x397.jpg)
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)
View case
Dec 2016
![Privacy and technology](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2023/01/WEB15-SiteImages-Feature-PrivacyTech-1012x729-600x432.jpg)
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.
View case
Stay informed about our latest work in the courts.
By completing this form, I agree to receive occasional emails per the terms of the ACLU's privacy statement.
All Cases
67 Privacy & Technology Cases
New York
Jul 2022
![ACLU v. Department of Homeland Security (commercial location data FOIA)](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
ACLU v. Department of Homeland Security (commercial location data FOIA)
In December 2020, the ACLU and NYCLU filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking records from Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and other parts of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) about their practice of purchasing cell phone location data collected from smartphone apps.
Status: Ongoing
View case
![ACLU v. Department of Homeland Security (commercial location data FOIA)](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
New York
Privacy & Technology
ACLU v. Department of Homeland Security (commercial location data FOIA)
In December 2020, the ACLU and NYCLU filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking records from Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and other parts of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) about their practice of purchasing cell phone location data collected from smartphone apps.
Jul 2022
Status: Ongoing
View case
Illinois
May 2022
![ACLU v. Clearview AI](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
ACLU v. Clearview AI
The ACLU, ACLU of Illinois, and the law firm Edelson PC filed a lawsuit on May 28, 2020 against Clearview AI alleging violation of Illinois residents’ privacy rights under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). Plaintiffs in the case are the ACLU and ACLU of Illinois, Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, Sex Workers Outreach Project Chicago, Illinois Public Interest Research Group, and Mujeres Latinas en Acción, who sue on behalf of their members, clients, and program participants.
Status: Closed (Settled)
View case
![ACLU v. Clearview AI](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Illinois
Privacy & Technology
ACLU v. Clearview AI
The ACLU, ACLU of Illinois, and the law firm Edelson PC filed a lawsuit on May 28, 2020 against Clearview AI alleging violation of Illinois residents’ privacy rights under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). Plaintiffs in the case are the ACLU and ACLU of Illinois, Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, Sex Workers Outreach Project Chicago, Illinois Public Interest Research Group, and Mujeres Latinas en Acción, who sue on behalf of their members, clients, and program participants.
May 2022
Status: Closed (Settled)
View case
U.S. Supreme Court
Dec 2021
![Alasaad Family](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2023/01/WEB17-CasePage-BorderDeviceSearch-1160x864-v01-600x447.jpg)
Merchant v. Mayorkas
The American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the ACLU of Massachusetts have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security on behalf of 11 travelers whose smartphones and laptops were searched without warrants at the U.S. border.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
View case
![Alasaad Family](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2023/01/WEB17-CasePage-BorderDeviceSearch-1160x864-v01-600x447.jpg)
U.S. Supreme Court
Privacy & Technology
National Security
Merchant v. Mayorkas
The American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the ACLU of Massachusetts have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security on behalf of 11 travelers whose smartphones and laptops were searched without warrants at the U.S. border.
Dec 2021
Status: Closed (Judgment)
View case
U.S. Supreme Court
Dec 2021
![Image of the supreme court building in Washington, DC](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2019/10/scotus-blog-600x403.jpg)
Arthur Gregory Lange v. California
Whether the Fourth Amendment permits the police, in all cases, to pursue an individual into a private home without a warrant while attempting to make a misdemeanor arrest, or whether specific exigent circumstances are required.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
View case
![Image of the supreme court building in Washington, DC](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2019/10/scotus-blog-600x403.jpg)
U.S. Supreme Court
Privacy & Technology
Arthur Gregory Lange v. California
Whether the Fourth Amendment permits the police, in all cases, to pursue an individual into a private home without a warrant while attempting to make a misdemeanor arrest, or whether specific exigent circumstances are required.
Dec 2021
Status: Closed (Judgment)
View case
Dec 2021
![A law enforcement drone in flight.](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2023/01/WEB20-Law-Enforcement-Drone-WordPress-1110x740-1-600x400.jpg)
ACLU v. CBP - FOIA Case for Records Relating to Government’s Aerial Surveillance of Protesters
In December 2021, the ACLU and NYCLU filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking information from nine federal agencies—the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Federal Protective Service (FPS), Marshals Service (USMS), and Secret Service (USSS)—about nationwide aerial surveillance and flight monitoring of protests in 2020 following the death of George Floyd.
View case
![A law enforcement drone in flight.](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2023/01/WEB20-Law-Enforcement-Drone-WordPress-1110x740-1-600x400.jpg)
Privacy & Technology
Free Speech
ACLU v. CBP - FOIA Case for Records Relating to Government’s Aerial Surveillance of Protesters
In December 2021, the ACLU and NYCLU filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking information from nine federal agencies—the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Federal Protective Service (FPS), Marshals Service (USMS), and Secret Service (USSS)—about nationwide aerial surveillance and flight monitoring of protests in 2020 following the death of George Floyd.
Dec 2021
View case