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Surveillance

The advance of technology presents both opportunities for and challenges to liberty. As new technologies are implemented, their impacts on civil liberties must be considered. The ACLU supports uses of technology that enhance privacy and freedom while opposing those that undermine liberty and move us closer to a surveillance society.

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Topic Resources

Seattle’s Smart Meter Project Lacks Protections for Privacy

News Release, Published: 
Friday, May 26, 2017
The ACLU-WA is concerned about the lack of protections for privacy, as well as lack of transparency, in Seattle City Light’s new smart meters project that collects data about electricity usage
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The City is Right to Push Back on FBI Pole Cams

Published: 
Friday, July 1, 2016
The public is entitled to know far more about the FBI’s use of surveillance cameras on utility poles.
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Historic Ruling: ACLU Lawsuit Against CIA Torture Psychologists Can Proceed

News Release, Published: 
Friday, April 22, 2016
A federal judge in Spokane said that he would allow a lawsuit against the two psychologists who designed and implemented the CIA program to move forward. The ruling is unprecedented for a case seeking to bring accountability for the CIA’s torture program.  
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ACLU-WA Launches Website on Surveillance Technology

News Release, Published: 
Thursday, March 3, 2016
The ACLU-WA has launched “They Are Watching,” a website providing information about cutting-edge surveillance technologies and the threats they pose to privacy, free speech, and other civil liberties.
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Lawsuit Says Tacoma Police Withheld Documents About Use of Stingray Surveillance Device

Published: 
Thursday, February 11, 2016
The ACLU-WA is suing the Tacoma Police Dept. for failing to disclose records related to its use of a highly intrusive stingray surveillance device. The suit seeks information vital to holding police accountable to the public it serves.
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ACLU of Washington Launches Secure Communication Tool

Published: 
Monday, December 21, 2015
Most of us use cell phones and email every day. As our communications make their way from sender to recipient, they expose information about their contents and our interactions with others. The technologies we rely on thus come with inherent risks to our privacy and security. Thanks to disclosures made by whistleblower Edward Snowden about the National Security Agency (NSA) and other intelligence and law enforcement agencies, we have a better sense of the extent to which surveillance pervades American life.
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Organizations Supporting Tor: Help Us Help You!

Published: 
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
The ACLU of Washington would love to hear from organizations that have or are planning to roll out either Tor relays or the Tor Browser. Supporting Tor is part of our work advocating for privacy, access to information, and free speech.
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Letter to SPD regarding request for public records considering Black Lives Matter protests

Document, Published: 
Friday, August 21, 2015
On February 23, 2015, we sent your office a public records request for records related to the Ferguson/Black Lives Matter protests that occurred on November 28, 2014. We received no production from your office until May 20, 2015. This response was only a partial response, and you indicated that we would be receiving the second installment of records on or about July 1, 2015. This date has now been moved out to August 12, 2015. The responses we have received from your office thus far have raised some concerns, which our office finds very troubling.
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