News & Commentary

These days, most people carry a cell phone with them everywhere they go: to work, to church, on vacation, and more. And cell phone carriers may capture and retain records of your location even when you're not using your phone. Does that mean that the government can simply demand these records from your carrier without a warrant? Unfortunately, according to Judge Royce Lamberth of the D.C. District Court, the answer to that question is ';yes.'

On Sunday, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed the Reader Privacy Act of 2011, giving Californians strong legal protection for records of their reading habits in the country. Thanks to everyone who wrote to their legislators and the governor in support of the Act!

BART's shutdown of wireless service last month in response to a planned protest—and the ensuing public backlash—underscored just how essential wireless access has become to our daily lives. Nearly 50 million of us carry smartphones, and we do so because we want to access the full range of ideas and information available on the Internet not just at home or the office but also when we're out and about. And we have the constitutional right to do so when the government sets up a communications service: the First Amendment applies online just like it does offline.

By Jay StanleyACLU National Office

The Reader Privacy Act has passed the California legislature with a strong bipartisan vote in both the Senate and Assembly and is now headed to Governor Brown's desk.

Today, California lawmakers took an important step towards updating reader privacy for the digital age. The California Assembly passed the Reader Privacy Act of 2011 (SB 602) with a strong bipartisan vote of 60-13.

Today Facebook is rolling out a series of changes to its privacy controls. We reviewed the changes in detail on Tuesday; now here's how you can take advantage of these changes:

Quick quiz: where did a government agency shut down cell service yesterday to disrupt a political protest? You wouldn't expect the answer to be San Francisco, but that's exactly what happened on Aug. 12, 2011. BART blocked cell service on trains and platforms in San Francisco after notifying riders that there might be demonstrations near Civic Center.

This morning, Facebook announced its latest set of changes to its privacy controls that will start rolling out on August 25. The upcoming changes are intended to make it easier for you to understand and choose who can see both content you post yourself and tags created by other users. Allowing you to pre-approve tags and giving you better tools to manage your own profile is a positive step, and we encourage Facebook to turn settings like these on by default and to continue to develop and improve features and tools that give you control over your own personal information.