News & Commentary
New NSA Documents Shine More Light into Black Box of Executive Order 12333
What is arguably the most powerful of the U.S. government's surveillance authorities is also the most secretive, and it operates with the least amount of oversight.
By By Ashley Gorski, Nadine Strossen Fellow, National Security Project, ACLU
The Police's Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Card
This piece originally appeared at Slate's Jurisprudence, under the title, "Search Party."
By By Nathan Freed Wessler, Staff Attorney, ACLU Speech, Privacy & Technology Project
Ebola: Travel Bans, Quarantines, and Political Courage
The political reaction to Ebola has been a study in contrasts. On the one hand, we see some leaders insecurely trying to prove their “Ebola-fighting bona fides” by racing to go beyond what public health experts recommend. Some are actually fanning the flames of public fear. On the other hand, we have also seen some political courage in the response, including from the Obama administration.
By By Jay Stanley, Senior Policy Analyst, ACLU Speech, Privacy & Technology Project
North Carolina Doubles Down on Shaming Women Who Seek Abortions
Another day, another attempt by politicians to shame and humiliate a woman seeking an abortion. Yet again, the government intrusion pushes right into the exam room.
By By Andrew Beck, Reproductive Freedom Project
Eight Police Officers Fired 46 Times at My Mentally Ill Son for Holding a Pen Knife
The following is an excerpt from an interview with Jewel Hall conducted by the ACLU of Michigan about the killing in 2012 of her son Milton by eight police officers. Parts of her interview appear in the video below, which also includes footage of the police killing Milton. Today the ACLU of Michigan is presenting this video at a hearing about racial disparities in the U.S. criminal justice system before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which is part of the Organization of American States. The county prosecutor declined to bring charges against the officers involved, and earlier this year, the Department of Justice also declined to bring charges against them. The interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
By By Jewel Hall
VIDEO: Snowden Pays Tribute to History in "CITIZENFOUR" Introduction
A video introduction by Edward Snowden kicked off a German screening of CITIZENFOUR, which opened the documentary film festival Dok Leipzig on Monday evening.
By Blog of Rights: Official Blog of the American Civil Liberties Union
Nobel Peace Prize Winners Call on Obama to Reckon With Torture
Twelve Nobel Peace Prize laureates sent a powerful letter to President Obama today, calling on him to lead the nation by reckoning with the Bush administration's torture program, closing Guantánamo, and adhering fully to the United States' legal obligations under the Geneva Conventions and the U.N. Convention against Torture.
By Hina Shamsi
FTC Needs to Make Sure Companies Aren’t Using Big Data to Discriminate
The ACLU filed comments today with the FTC urging it and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to investigate whether big data is being used in online marketing in ways that are racially discriminatory. If companies are in fact engaging in this kind of racial discrimination, we urge the agencies to take enforcement action against them.
By By Rachel Goodman, Staff Attorney, ACLU Racial Justice Program
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