Last year, the world watched Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kill George Floyd in plain sight after arresting him for an alleged counterfeit bill at a convenience store. The footage released from the encounter sparked an international movement as …
Apps you use every day on your phone collect and sell sensitive data, including your location over time. That data could wind up in government hands without you even knowing it — and it’s already happening to millions of people across the country. When the …
For decades, a special court—the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, or “FISC”—has issued secret legal opinions authorizing the U.S. government to conduct sweeping programs of electronic surveillance. These opinions have had a profound impact on …
At the start of the pandemic, technologists and policymakers touted the promise of technology to track and warn individuals of potential COVID-19 exposure and high-risk areas. But whether due to overburdened contact tracers or the lack of early and …
The story of 20-year-old Daunte Wright, shot and killed by Brooklyn Center, Minnesota police after being pulled over for minor traffic violations on Sunday, is heartbreakingly familiar. It is so familiar, in fact, that protests are happening just 10 miles …
Last week, the Arkansas legislature passed HB 1570, a bill that will ban gender-affirming health care for trans youth in the state. This came just one day after Arkansas’ Gov. Asa Hutchinson vetoed the bill, and amidst pleas from doctors, social workers, …
Last year, Detroit police arrested a Black man, Robert Williams, based on a false face recognition match. They held him in a dirty, overcrowded cell for 30 hours — until they realized that “the computer got it wrong.” Unfortunately for Williams, it was too …
Think about all the information stored on your cell phone or computers — photos, texts, location data, and even more information generated by a multitude of apps. These tools are convenient and integral to our everyday lives. But what does that mean for …
For more than a century, the ACLU has been on the frontlines advancing civil liberties and civil rights. This has meant not only defending rights for all but taking bold positions in order to help America live up to her own ideals — a reality that is …
My first interaction with the FBI was based on a lie. In August 2018, I got a call asking me to go to City Hall to clear up a city permit violation, and gladly complied to resolve any issues. It turned out to be a ruse. When I arrived, I was led into a …
Last week, the Department of Homeland Security’s internal watchdog agency released a damning report that shed new light on dangerous conditions at La Palma Correctional Center, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Eloy, Arizona. The …
Professor Xiaoxing Xi is a Chinese American scientist whom the U.S. government wrongly accused of unlawfully sharing sensitive technology with scientists in China. After the Justice Department dismissed its baseless indictment, Professor Xi brought suit …
An extensive hacking campaign, purportedly conducted by Russian hackers, has infected the computer systems of numerous U.S. government agencies, critical infrastructure companies, and other businesses that were running an insecure version of network …
After the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, calls for new domestic terrorism laws grew louder. Proponents of the laws argue they’ll provide law enforcement with more resources to go after white supremacists and stop the violence. Now, with the …
Medical experts agree: Gender-affirming care is medically necessary care that can be life-saving for transgender youth. Medical decisions belong to trans youth, their parents, and their doctors. Yet politicians are trying come between trans youth and the …
With COVID-19 vaccination rates accelerating, governments around the world have begun to consider implementing a standardized credential or “vaccine passport” that would let people prove that they’ve been vaccinated. And the idea became more real when the …
Like so many Asian Americans, I was shattered by the shooting rampage that killed six Asian women and two other people on March 17. Grief turned to rage when Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office Captain Jay Baker announced, “The suspect did take responsibility …
Student loan debt burdens more than 44 million Americans, and prevents millions from buying homes, starting businesses, saving for retirement, or even starting families. This debt is disproportionately affecting Black families, and Black women in …
This week on At Liberty, we’re rounding out our Women’s History Month series with writer and artist Chanel Miller. Miller jumped into the spotlight back in 2015. First known to the public as “Emily Doe,” Miller’s victim impact statement from the sentencing …
The U.S. government is embarking on an all-out sprint to develop and deploy artificial intelligence in the name of national security, but its plans for protecting civil rights and civil liberties have barely taken shape. Based on a sweeping new report by a …
