Civil Liberties
1,474 Articles
The New ‘Welfare Queen’: Donald Meet Ronald, Ronald Meet Donald
We do not know yet whether 2018 will be the “year of the woman” in the midterm elections, but it’s worth reflecting on one of several particularly low points for women’s…
Conscientious Objectors and Whistleblowers: Sentencing Should Recognize First Amendment Interests
Whistleblower Terry James Albury, a former FBI agent in Minneapolis, will be sentenced for violations of the Espionage Act on Thursday, October 17, at 11:00 am Central Time. The…
On Big Brother Watch v. U.K.: The Future of Surveillance at Two Europe-Wide Courts
A recent opinion by the European Court of Human Rights was more limited than recent decisions concerning surveillance. The European Court of Justice should seize the opportunity…
New U.K. Law Fails European Court Standards on Mass Interception Disclosed by Snowden
The U.K. government trots out its new surveillance legislation as curing the ills identified by the European Court of Human Rights. That's not the case. The Court’s judgment…
How Trump’s Pressure on Google Threatens Government Manipulation of Search Results
Tech behemoths just can’t catch a break these days. Just as they are struggling to meet calls to contain the spread of misinformation and hate speech online, they are being bashed…
Exclusive: U.N. Human Rights Experts Meet With Facebook on “Overly Broad” Definitions of Terrorist Content
In a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, U.N. Special Rapporteur Fionnuala Ní Aoláin says networks guidelines on removing content and users need more precision and rigor…
Security Clearance Records, FOIA, and Privacy: What Went Wrong for Abigail Spanberger
How did an unredacted copy of a security clearance application for a former CIA officer-turned Democratic candidate land in the hands of a GOP super PAC?
What Happened at the Court: The Hasbajrami Oral Argument on Section 702 of FISA and the Fourth Amendment
On August 27, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit heard argument in United States v. Hasbajrami, a case that raises several challenges to the constitutionality of…
How the First Amendment Shield for Christopher Steele Can Protect Russians Too
The First Amendment ended a lawsuit against Christopher Steele over his Dossier--and could protect some Russian election meddlers too.
Americans’ Privacy at Stake as Second Circuit Hears Hasbajrami FISA Case
When Congress reauthorized Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in January, it ratified the warrantless collection of potentially millions of Americans’…
Brennan’s Due Process Case Against the White House
In an unprecedented move, the White House announced that President Donald Trump was revoking the security clearance of John Brennan, the CIA director in the Obama administration.…
Google’s Dragonfly: A Bellwether for Human Rights in the Digital Age
Both of us vividly recall the remarkable events of 2010, when Google took its stand against Chinese government censorship by publicly declaring it would withdraw its search engine…