News & Commentary
Judge to Feds: to Track Cell Phones, Get a Warrant
Catherine CrumpACLU National Office
By ACLU of Northern California
It Was Close, But We Won: Viva Net Neutrality!
By Sandra FultonACLU Washington Legislative Office
By ACLU of Northern California
U.S. Continues to Blow Away the Field in Demanding Information from Google
We know that the government takes advantage of outdated privacy law to demand our personal information from online services that collect and hold our data. But what we rarely know is exactly how often this happens: the government isn't required to reveal how many demands for information they make or how many individuals are affected, and companies rarely volunteer this information. One of the very few exceptions is Google, whose Transparency Report shows that the government continues to increase its demands for data about users of online services.
Online Privacy Law Turns a Quarter of a Century Old Today
Today, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) turns 25 years old. On October 21, 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed ECPA into law. As Wired reported today on the "Aging 'Privacy' Law," ECPA was passed "at a time when e-mail was used mostly by nerdy scientists, when phones without wires hardly worked as you stepped out into the backyard, and when the World Wide Web didn't exist. Four presidencies later, [ECPA] has aged dramatically, providing little protection for citizens from the government's prying eyes — despite the law's language remaining much the same."
Aww, an Anniversary Present for Us, How Nice!
By Christopher CalabreseWashington Legislative Office
By ACLU of Northern California
Want to Read My Email? Not Without a Warrant.
Catherine CrumpACLU National Office
By ACLU of Northern California
Congress Calls Up 1986
This week, our federal online privacy law turns 25. The ACLU is hosting a blog series that will address some of the many reasons why the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA) is in need of an upgrade! Spread the word using #UpdateECPA, and to learn more about your dotRights, visit www.aclu.org/ecpa.
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