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
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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
![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.
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All Cases
66 Privacy & Technology Cases
Arizona
Jun 2024
![State v. Mitcham](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
State v. Mitcham
The ACLU and the ACLU of Arizona filed amicus briefs before the Arizona Court of Appeals and the Arizona Supreme Court arguing that the government cannot genetically test any biological material it already has in its possession—whether that’s blood taken from newborns to test for diseases or swabs collected from sexual assault survivors—to investigate the donors for a crime without first obtaining a warrant. This filing is part of the broader fight to preserve the privacy of our sensitive genetic information.
Status: Ongoing
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![State v. Mitcham](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Arizona
Privacy & Technology
State v. Mitcham
The ACLU and the ACLU of Arizona filed amicus briefs before the Arizona Court of Appeals and the Arizona Supreme Court arguing that the government cannot genetically test any biological material it already has in its possession—whether that’s blood taken from newborns to test for diseases or swabs collected from sexual assault survivors—to investigate the donors for a crime without first obtaining a warrant. This filing is part of the broader fight to preserve the privacy of our sensitive genetic information.
Jun 2024
Status: Ongoing
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Jun 2024
![A pair of hands holding a cell phone at night with street lights in the background.](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2020/12/WEB20-Holding-Cellphone-Dark-SocialShare-1200x628-1-600x314.jpg)
United States v. Hunt
This case concerns whether a warrant is required to search the information stored on a cell phone when the device itself may be properly deemed “abandoned.”
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![A pair of hands holding a cell phone at night with street lights in the background.](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2020/12/WEB20-Holding-Cellphone-Dark-SocialShare-1200x628-1-600x314.jpg)
Privacy & Technology
United States v. Hunt
This case concerns whether a warrant is required to search the information stored on a cell phone when the device itself may be properly deemed “abandoned.”
Jun 2024
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Tennessee Supreme Court
May 2024
![Smith v. BlueCross BlueShield](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Smith v. BlueCross BlueShield
This case in the Tennessee Supreme Court asks whether the right to petition is an exception to the employment-at-will doctrine. The ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the ACLU of Tennessee, filed an amicus brief focused on the scope and importance of the right to petition under the Tennessee Constitution.
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![Smith v. BlueCross BlueShield](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Tennessee Supreme Court
Privacy & Technology
Free Speech
Smith v. BlueCross BlueShield
This case in the Tennessee Supreme Court asks whether the right to petition is an exception to the employment-at-will doctrine. The ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the ACLU of Tennessee, filed an amicus brief focused on the scope and importance of the right to petition under the Tennessee Constitution.
May 2024
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![Wells v. State of Texas](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Texas
Privacy & Technology
Wells v. State of Texas
Apr 2024
Status: Ongoing
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Nevada
Apr 2024
![This image displays prescription bottles.](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2019/09/prescription_bottles_by_erin_demay_500x280.jpg)
United States v. Motley — Amicus Brief
This case concerns whether police may access private and sensitive medical records without a warrant as part of a criminal investigation of an individual, when those records are contained within state prescription drug monitoring databases.
Status: Ongoing
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![This image displays prescription bottles.](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2019/09/prescription_bottles_by_erin_demay_500x280.jpg)
Nevada
Privacy & Technology
United States v. Motley — Amicus Brief
This case concerns whether police may access private and sensitive medical records without a warrant as part of a criminal investigation of an individual, when those records are contained within state prescription drug monitoring databases.
Apr 2024
Status: Ongoing
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