Privacy & Technology
FBI v. Fazaga
In a case scheduled to be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on November 8, 2021, three Muslim Americans are challenging the FBI’s secret spying on them and their communities based on their religion, in violation of the Constitution and federal law. In what will likely be a landmark case, the plaintiffs — Yassir Fazaga, Ali Uddin Malik, and Yasser Abdelrahim — insist that the FBI cannot escape accountability for violating their religious freedom by invoking “state secrets.” The plaintiffs are represented by the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at UCLA School of Law, the ACLU of Southern California, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Council for American Islamic Relations, and the law firm of Hadsell Stormer Renick & Dai.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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U.S. Supreme Court
Jun 2018
Privacy & Technology
Carpenter v. United States
The Supreme Court ruled that the government needs a warrant to access a person’s cellphone location history. The court found in a 5 to 4 decision that obtaining such information is a search under the Fourth Amendment and that a warrant from a judge based on probable cause is required.
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Dec 2016
Privacy & Technology
Sarkar v. Doe - PubPeer Subpoena Challenge
The ACLU filed a motion in Michigan state court challenging the constitutionality of a subpoena issued to the website PubPeer demanding that it turn over the identities of anonymous commenters. In March 2015, the trial judge ruled that PubPeer had to unmask one – but only one – of the commenters. Both PubPeer and the researcher appealed, and the ruling was upheld in December 2016.
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82 Privacy & Technology Cases
Pennsylvania Supreme Court
Jul 2024
Privacy & Technology
Commonwealth v. Foster
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Pennsylvania Supreme Court
Jul 2024
Privacy & Technology
Commonwealth v. Foster
Arizona
Jun 2024
Privacy & Technology
State v. Mitcham
The ACLU and the ACLU of Arizona filed amicus briefs before the Arizona Court of Appeals and the Arizona Supreme Court arguing that the government cannot genetically test any biological material it already has in its possession—whether that’s blood taken from newborns to test for diseases or swabs collected from sexual assault survivors—to investigate the donors for a crime without first obtaining a warrant. This filing is part of the broader fight to preserve the privacy of our sensitive genetic information.
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Arizona
Jun 2024
Privacy & Technology
State v. Mitcham
The ACLU and the ACLU of Arizona filed amicus briefs before the Arizona Court of Appeals and the Arizona Supreme Court arguing that the government cannot genetically test any biological material it already has in its possession—whether that’s blood taken from newborns to test for diseases or swabs collected from sexual assault survivors—to investigate the donors for a crime without first obtaining a warrant. This filing is part of the broader fight to preserve the privacy of our sensitive genetic information.
Court Case
Jun 2024
Privacy & Technology
United States v. Hunt
This case concerns whether a warrant is required to search the information stored on a cell phone when the device itself may be properly deemed “abandoned.”
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Court Case
Jun 2024
Privacy & Technology
United States v. Hunt
This case concerns whether a warrant is required to search the information stored on a cell phone when the device itself may be properly deemed “abandoned.”
Tennessee Supreme Court
May 2024
Privacy & Technology
Free Speech
Smith v. BlueCross BlueShield
This case in the Tennessee Supreme Court asks whether the right to petition is an exception to the employment-at-will doctrine. The ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the ACLU of Tennessee, filed an amicus brief focused on the scope and importance of the right to petition under the Tennessee Constitution.
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Tennessee Supreme Court
May 2024
Privacy & Technology
Free Speech
Smith v. BlueCross BlueShield
This case in the Tennessee Supreme Court asks whether the right to petition is an exception to the employment-at-will doctrine. The ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the ACLU of Tennessee, filed an amicus brief focused on the scope and importance of the right to petition under the Tennessee Constitution.
Texas
Apr 2024
Privacy & Technology
Wells v. State of Texas
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