The ACLU has taken up the case of a Peoria, Illinois man who is suing the city and its Mayor for violation of his First and Fourth Amendment rights. 29-year-old Jon Daniel is suing Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis (shown above),…
School Will Pay for Violating Teen’s Rights over Facebook Posts
The ACLU is declaring victory in a lawsuit against the Minnewaska, Minnesota School District–one that could have implications in how schools construct privacy policies around students and their off-campus social media use. The story focuses on Riley Stratton, who the…
Restore The Fourth Is Your July Fourth Protest Against The NSA
Does the NSA violate the Fourth Amendment with its data collection programs? A secret FISA court doesn’t think so, but plenty of Internet companies and civil rights organizations do. That’s why they’re planning a nationwide protest on the biggest four…
Police Performing Warrantless Cellphone Searches After Car Crashes? Yep, There’s a Bill for That
Hey guys, meet my new favorite terrible state bill. Narrowly beating out the Internet Posting Removal Act, an Illinois bill that’ll make your head spin, comes a bill to modify New Jersey state law to permit police officers to confiscate…
Sen. Rand Paul Introduces Online Privacy Protection Bill
There’s not a lack of online privacy protection bills floating around Congress at the moment, but it can’t hurt to have one more. On Thursday, Sen. Rand Paul introduced the Fourth Amendment Preservation and Protection Act, or S. 1037, to…
IRS Tells Congress That It Obtains Warrants Before Searching Emails
Late last week, the ACLU reported that the IRS probably obtained emails without a warrant. The group came to this conclusion after an agency handbook from 2009 said that Internet users “do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy.” Now…
Congressman Wants The IRS To Explain Itself
It was revealed earlier this week that the IRS probably digs through your email without a warrant during its investigations. It’s able to do this thanks to the outdated ECPA which allows government agencies to obtain emails that are more…
The IRS Doesn’t Think The Fourth Amendment Applies To Your Email
The IRS runs a number of tax audits each year, and as such, has to obtain information on private citizens. If the information is in a physical format, the agency must obtain a warrant to access it. If it’s stored…
Twitter Appeals Occupy Wall Street Tweet Ruling
When a New York judge ruled that Malcolm Harris did not have fourth amendment protections for his tweets because they are not physical property, Twitter had every reason to just give up and let the courts have the tweets. Instead,…