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The advance of technology presents both opportunities for and challenges to liberty. As new technologies are implemented, their impacts on civil liberties must be given consideration. 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.

ACLU Urges City Council to Put Teeth into Surveillance Law, Delay Vote to Add Auditing Process

Mar 18, 2013
The ACLU of Washington welcomes the proposal to establish a process for the acquisition of surveillance technology by the City of Seattle. Transparency and opportunities for public input are essential , as we have seen recently with controversies generated by the City’s acquisition of drones and  also a system of surveillance cameras and a mesh network. Read More »
 
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DATA BREACH: UNFORTUNATE, BUT NOT UNFORESEEABLE

Doug Klunder, ACLU-WA Privacy Counsel
Nov 21, 2012
Our state’s Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) recently suffered a data breach. It appears that the private prescription information of at least 34 patients was accessed by an unauthorized person for unknown reasons. Perhaps identity theft is involved, but there could be other motives, including identifying potential people to steal drugs from, simple snooping, or even blackmail. At a minimum, the privacy of these patients has been invaded. Read More »
 
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ACLU of Washington Will Continue to Be Vigilant for Internet Censorship in Public Libraries

May 15, 2012
The ACLU of Washington has decided not to appeal the April 10, 2012 ruling by the U.S. District Court in Spokane against library patrons’ challenge of the Internet filtering policy of a regional library system. While the ACLU supports the American Library Association’s position that public libraries should not filter Internet content for patrons, the current facts in the case do not support an effective appeal. Read More »
 
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Student Rights with Technology

ACLU Publishes First-Ever Guide to Rights in the Digital Age for Students in Washington

Apr 13, 2012
Text messaging, chats, Facebook, blogs, YouTube, and a host of other new avenues raise both new and old questions about legal rights. Now the ACLU-WA has published the first-ever guidebook laying out the rights of Washington public school students in using electronic communications devices. Read More »
 

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Facebook, blogs, cell phones: Learn the new ABCs of student rights

Sarah Davies, ACLU-WA Internet Operations Manager
Mar 6, 2012

Text messaging, YouTube, blogs, Facebook, and Twitter have joined books and pencils as part of the everyday reality of being in school. Online and mobile communications innovations raise new and old questions about the legal rights of public school students. Do you know the ABCs of student rights in the digital age? Take our quiz to find out. Read More »

 
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Student Rights and Responsibilities in the Digital Age: A Guide for Public School Students in Washington State

This guide provides information about legal rights online and the limits to those rights. It outlines your right to express yourself online and what kinds of speech can get you in trouble. It describes your privacy rights – and how you can respect the privacy rights of others. Read More »
 
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Student Rights and Responsibilities in the Digital Age: A Guide for Public School Students in Washington State (PDF)

This booklet provides information about legal rights online and the limits to those rights. It outlines your right to express yourself online and what kinds of speech can get you in trouble. It describes your privacy rights – and how you can respect the privacy rights of others. Read More »
 
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Lawsuit Seeks Access to Information on Internet For Adult Library Patrons

Oct 24, 2011
 

Oral argument is being held on Oct. 25 in an ACLU lawsuit defending the rights of adults to access information on the Internet on public library computers. The suit challenges a central Washington library system’s filtering policy that hampers adults in researching school assignments, locating businesses and organizations, and doing personal reading on lawful subjects. 

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25 Years Old and Time to Grow Up: The Electronic Communications Privacy Act

Brian Alseth, ACLU-WA Technology and Liberty Program Director
Oct 21, 2011
In the early months of 1986, my parents bought my sister and me our first computer, an Apple IIe, and all of a sudden I was playing Oregon Trail at home, in color no less! That summer, I watched in awe as Ferris Bueller effortlessly hacked his way into the school computer to change his absences. He was indeed a righteous dude, and thus began my ill-fated campaign to acquire a modem. Read More »
 
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Lawsuit Seeking Access to Information on Internet for Adult Library Patrons to Continue in Federal Court

May 6, 2010
An ACLU lawsuit defending the rights of adults to access information on the Internet on public library computers will continue in federal court in the wake of today’s Washington Supreme Court 6-3 ruling rejecting claims under the Washington State Constitution. The suit challenges a filtering policy that hampers adults in researching school assignments, locating businesses and organizations, and doing personal reading on lawful subjects. Read More »
 
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