News & Commentary

Read why more people are using adblockers - not just to avoid annoying commercials, but to guard against tracking and profiling.

Last Thursday, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which requires a warrant before California law enforcement can seize the contents or metadata of your communications, demand location records from your cell phone provider, or use a StingRay to gather information about your smartphone.

Last fall, the three ACLU affiliates in California launched our newly expanded Sacramento office: the ACLU of California Center for Advocacy & Policy. One year ago, we had a staff of four. Today, we have nine full-time and two part time advocates. This tremendous increase in capacity translated into significant victories in the Legislature this year.

What’s in a name? If you ask Facebook, it’s the text on a driver’s license or a formal document like a utility bill or library card.

If Gov. Brown fails to veto SB 249, the DMV will issue driver’s licenses enhanced with unencrypted computer chips that would make Californians' personal data vulnerable.

UPDATE: The vote has been rescheduled to Tuesday, Oct. 13.

Now that AB 953 has been voted out of the California legislature, I wonder: what will Gov. Brown’s legacy on racial justice and fair policing be during this critical time in history?

UPDATE! Gov. Brown has signed AB 302!

Beverly Tucker is a longtime supporter of the ACLU, serving on the board since September 2010 and previously from 1987 until 1990. We're honored to have Beverly's leadership expertise and deep knowledge of policy change in both the organizational and governmental spheres.