Privacy and Surveillance
Privacy today faces growing threats from a growing surveillance apparatus that is often justified in the name of national security. Numerous government agencies—including the National Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, and state and local law enforcement agencies—intrude upon the private communications of innocent citizens, amass vast databases of who we call and when, and catalog “suspicious activities” based on the vaguest standards.
The government’s collection of this sensitive information is itself an invasion of privacy. But its use of this data is also rife with abuse. Innocuous data is fed into bloated watchlists, with severe consequences—innocent individuals have found themselves unable to board planes, barred from certain types of jobs, shut out of their bank accounts, and repeatedly questioned by authorities. Once information is in the government’s hands, it can be shared widely and retained for years, and the rules about access and use can be changed entirely in secret without the public ever knowing.
Our Constitution and democratic system demand that the government be transparent and accountable to the people, not the other way around. History has shown that powerful, secret surveillance tools will almost certainly be abused for political ends and turned disproportionately on disfavored minorities.
The ACLU has been at the forefront of the struggle to prevent the entrenchment of a surveillance state by challenging the secrecy of the government’s surveillance and watchlisting practices; its violations of our rights to privacy, free speech, due process, and association; and its stigmatization of minority communities and activists disproportionately targeted by surveillance.
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Surveillance Under the Patriot Act
InfographicOctober 24, 2011Post-9/11 Surveillance
TimelineOctober 16, 2011The Man Likely to Be the New FBI Director Won’t Commit to Not Spying on Mosques and Muslim Leaders in America
Blog Post - Washington MarkupJuly 21, 2017
Trump, Hypocritically, Moves to Make Temporary Surveillance Powers Permanent
Blog Post - Speak FreelyJune 7, 2017Do U.S. Politicians Need to Fear Our Intelligence Agencies?
Blog Post - Free FutureJanuary 9, 2017Social Media Companies Should Decline the Government’s Invitation to Join the National Security State
Blog Post - Speak FreelyJanuary 12, 2016
Coalition Letter Urging Congress to Vote “No” on Reauthorization of Section 702 Surveillance Absent Significant Reforms
LetterSeptember 11, 2017ACLU v. DOJ - DOJ Motion for Summary Judgment
Legal DocumentSeptember 5, 2017ACLU v. DOJ - Declaration of Susan L. Kim in Support of Defs.' MSJ
Legal DocumentSeptember 5, 2017
Wikimedia v. NSA - Plaintiff's Reply to Defendant's Response re. Merits Proceedings
Legal DocumentSeptember 1, 2017A Promising California Bill Could Help Communities Stop Secret And Discriminatory Police Surveillance
Blog Post - Speak FreelyAugust 29, 2017Wikimedia v. NSA - Defendant's Response to Plaintiff's Brief re. How this Matter Should Proceed
Legal DocumentAugust 28, 2017