Civil Liberties
1,361 Articles
Exigent Circumstances: iOS 12’s USB Restricted Mode and Warrantless iPhone Access
Apple recently confirmed the introduction of a new feature called “USB Restricted Mode” in the latest version of the iPhone’s mobile operating system, iOS 12. If enabled…
Dangerous Drone Bill Emerges from Senate Committee
It’s rare that a congressional committee tasked with overseeing homeland security approves a bill that would not only authorize sweeping surveillance, but also could pose a significant…
What If Police Use ‘Rekognition’ Without Telling Defendants?
At least two US law enforcement departments -- and Motorola, which sells equipment to the government -- have already purchased access to Amazon’s “Rekognition” system. This…
France’s Creeping Terrorism Laws Restricting Free Speech
French prosecutors have been aggressively pursuing anyone who speaks positively of a terrorist act or group even if their intention is not to incite violence or promote the group.
A Cosmic Legal Collision: The Engineer vs. The Border Patrol
For a quarter of a century, Terry Bressi, staff member and chief engineer for the Spacewatch Project at the University of Arizona’s Lunar & Planetary Lab, has had two…
Does TSA Really Need a Watch List for “Unruly” Travelers?
There appears to be little justification for the new TSA watch list and lots of questions about how it might be used to harass and intimidate agency critics and even just rude…
What the Heck is Happening in Al-Nashiri?: The Ten-Layer Dip at the Heart of the Latest Guantánamo Mess
It’s hard to imagine a better microcosm of everything that’s gone wrong with the Guantánamo military commissions than the current headaches arising out of the prosecution…
The First Transfer of a Guantánamo Prisoner By the Trump Administration
On Wednesday, the Trump administration transferred longtime detainee Ahmed al-Darbi out of Guantánamo Bay. Although al-Darbi isn’t going free, this first transfer of a Guantanamo…
Travel Ban III: Why the Court Does Not Have to Second-Guess Any (Nonexistent) Presidential National Security Decisions
[Cross-posted at Balkinization.] There’s already been a great deal written about yesterday’s oral argument in Trump v. Hawaii. Most observers have focused on whether, for…
Ex-Military, Intelligence, and Foreign Policy Officials: Travel Ban Harms National Security
On April 25, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Trump v. Hawaii, the case testing the statutory and constitutional validity of President Donald Trump’s travel…
Somewhat Improved, the CLOUD Act Still Poses a Threat to Privacy and Human Rights
Above: President Donald Trump gestures to the $1.3 trillion spending bill passed by Congress early Friday. The president just signed a 2,232 page omnibus bill to fund the government…
Congress Should Place More Limits on Cellphone Location Tracking After Carpenter
This spring, the United States Supreme Court will issue a ruling in the landmark case of Carpenter v. United States, deciding whether the government requires a warrant to continuously…