Category «Civil Liberties»

Our Stop Censoring Abortion Campaign Uncovers a Social Media Censorship Crisis

EFF: “This is the first installment in a blog series documenting EFF’s findings from the Stop Censoring Abortion campaign. You can read additional posts here. We’ve been hearing that social media platforms are censoring abortion-related content, even when no law requires them to do so. Now, we’ve got the receipts.  For months, EFF has been investigating …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Health Care, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Privacy, Search Engines, Social Media

DOJ Deletes Study Showing Domestic Terrorists Are Most Often Right Wing

404 Media: no paywall: “The Department of Justice has removed a study showing that white supremacist and far-right violence “continues to outpace all other types of terrorism and domestic violent extremism” in the United States.  The study, which was conducted by the National Institute of Justice and hosted on a DOJ website was available there …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

Airlines Sell 5 Billion Plane Ticket Records to the Government For Warrantless Searching

404 Media no paywall: “A data broker owned by major U.S. airlines is selling masses of customers’ travel data to the government. New documents we just got show this includes “5 billion ticketing records for searching capabilities.” Where people went, how they paid, and even where they plan to go in the future are all …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Records, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Privacy

The NYPD Is Teaching America How To Track Everyone Everyday Forever

The New York Times – [no paywall]: “…Most of this material — gathered by social media analysis, drone surveillance and more — will never be reviewed by any court and will be entirely inaccessible to anyone outside of law enforcement. For almost 90 percent of the technologies it deploys, the department has stated that it …

Subjects: AI, Civil Liberties, Cryptocurrency, E-Government, E-Records, Government Documents, Health Care, Internet, Legal Research, Privacy, Search Engines, Social Media, Transportation

AG Sulzberger Urges Journalists: Keep Reporting Without Fear or Favor

NYTco.com, Speaking to the Investigative Reporters and Editors organization, The New York Times Publisher and Chairman AG Sulzberger called for journalists to stand up for their rights: “…Democracy is in retreat across the world. Aspiring strongmen are undermining the laws, norms, and institutions that are the bedrock of free societies. A primary target of this …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

How Do You Prove Your Citizenship?

The Atlantic – ICE won’t say. [gift article] “In Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s telling, citizenship checks by ICE officers are as straightforward and frictionless as presenting yourself at the entrance to a Costco. Just show a membership card, and you’ll be on your merry way. Kavanaugh wrote an opinion this week, concurring with the Court’s majority, …

Subjects: AI, Censorship, Civil Liberties, Congress, Courts, E-Government, E-Records, Government Documents, Legal Research

33 million voters have been run through a Trump administration citizenship check

NPR: “Tens of millions of voters have had their citizenship status and other information checked using a revamped tool offered by the Trump administration, even as many states — led by both Democrats and Republicans — are refusing or hesitating to use it because of outstanding questions about the system. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, E-Records, Free Speech, Government Documents, Legal Research, Privacy

US investors in spyware firms nearly tripled in 2024: report

The Record: The number of U.S.-based investors bankrolling spyware companies nearly tripled in 2024, with 31 American firms found to be backing the manufacturers compared to just 11 in 2023. The finding was published by the Atlantic Council think tank in a report released Wednesday which analyzed 561 spyware entities — vendors, supplies, partners, investors, …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, E-Mail, E-Records, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Privacy, Search Engines, Social Media

Court Rejects Verizon Claim That Selling Location Data Without Consent Is Legal

Ars Technica: “Verizon lost an attempt to overturn a $46.9 million fine for selling customer location data without its users’ consent. The US Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit rejected Verizon’s challenge in a ruling (PDF) issued today. The Federal Communications Commission fined the three major carriers last year for violations revealed in 2018. …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, Internet, Legal Research, Privacy, Search Engines

Final report of the ABA Task Force for American Democracy

“The American Bar Association today announced the release of the final report of the ABA Task Force for American Democracy, a two-year, bipartisan effort to address the most pressing threats to the rule of law and democratic institutions in the United States. Co-chaired by former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh C. Johnson and retired …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Legal Research

Award-Winning THE LIBRARIANS Documentary Sets Widespread Release

Book Riot – “In a room filled to the brim, attendees at the American Library Association’s (ALA) annual conference in Philadelphia this summer watched Kim A. Snyder’s documentary The Librarians. The Librarians debuted at Sundance Film Festival in January 2025, and in the following months, traveled the country doing shows at libraries and festivals. ALA …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Education, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Libraries

National Guard documents show public ‘fear,’ troops’ ‘shame’ over DC presence

Washington Post – no paywall: “The National Guard, in measuring public sentiment about President Donald Trump’s federal takeover of Washington, D.C., has assessed that its mission is perceived as ‘leveraging fear,’ driving a ‘wedge between citizens and the military,’ and promoting a sense of ‘shame’ among some troops and veterans.” (How do we have access …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Free Speech, Legal Research