Face recognition technology in the hands of police is dangerous. Police departments across the country frequently use the technology to try to identify images of unknown suspects by comparing them to large photo databases, but it often fails to generate a correct match. And numerous studies have shown that face recognition technology misidentifies Black people and other people of color at higher rates than white people. To date, there have been at least seven wrongful arrests we know of in the United States due to police reliance on incorrect face recognition results — and those are just the k ..read more

The Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in Idaho v. United States and Moyle v. United States, which will determine whether politicians can put doctors in jail for treating pregnant patients experiencing medical emergencies. The ultimate decision in the case — which is expected by the summer — could have severe consequences on the health and lives of people across the country facing emergency pregnancy complications. Here’s what you need to know: This case is about politicians trying to block emergency care for pregnant patients. Anti-abortion politicians brought this case all the way u ..read more

Right now, efforts to censor college protestors, to ban diverse materials in schools and to silence students and staff threaten our right to free speech in schools. People are having their voices silenced, their right to learn challenged, and their access to information restricted. But how can we navigate these complex issues with the next generation? We at the ACLU created a series of comic stories with illustrative journalist Eda Uzunlar to empower students and educators, spark vital conversations about their rights, and ensure all voices are heard and clear, both in the classroom and beyond ..read more

Dear College and University Presidents: We write in response to the recent protests that have spread across our nation’s university and college campuses, and the disturbing arrests that have followed. We understand that as leaders of your campus communities, it can be extraordinarily difficult to navigate the pressures you face from politicians, donors, and faculty and students alike. You also have legal obligations to combat discrimination and a responsibility to maintain order. But as you fashion responses to the activism of your students (and faculty and staff), it is essential that you not ..read more

In 2023, Kansas enacted a law attempting to define “transgender” out of existence by restricting the definition of a “woman” to the biological function of producing ova. Not only does this definition negate the experiences of trans women and girls, but it also excludes entire categories of women who are not transgender, such as post-menopausal women, women experiencing reproductive challenges, and intersex women. Despite being passed under the dubious title “Women’s Bill of Rights,” this law has not been used to create any new protections for women, nor improve support for women’s initiatives ..read more

AI is nearly impossible for us to escape these days. Social media companies, schools, workplaces, and even dating apps are all trying to harness AI to remake their services and platforms, and AI can impact our lives in ways large and small While many of these efforts are just getting underway — and often raise significant civil rights issues — you might be surprised to learn that America’s most prolific spy agency has for years been one of AI’s biggest adopters. The National Security Agency (NSA) is the self-described leader among U.S. intelligence agencies racing to develop and deploy AI. It ..read more

The Supreme Court recently declined to hear a case, Mckesson v. Doe, that could have affirmed that the First Amendment protects protest organizers from being held liable for illegal actions committed by others present that organizers did not direct or intend. The high court’s decision to not hear the case at this time left in place an opinion by the Fifth Circuit, which covers Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, that said a protest organizer could be liable for the independent, violent actions of others based on nothing more than a showing of negligence. Across the country, many people have exp ..read more

Every year, thousands of asylum seekers from diverse corners of the world seek refuge in the United States. Many — like Indigenous people from Latin America and Africa — are fleeing persecution based on the languages they speak and their cultural, ethnic, and racial backgrounds. Their ability to access the asylum system has life-or-death consequences. Yet our government cuts off access to asylum and other fundamental rights based on language barriers alone. The federal government has a responsibility to ensure people with limited English proficiency (LEP) can reasonably access its services. Fa ..read more

For decades, the ACLU has fought against the war on drugs. The criminalization of cannabis has led to far too many unjust incarcerations, which waste critical resources and billions of dollars. According to numbers from our 2020 report, it also disproportionately affects Black Americans, who continue to be almost four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than a white person, despite equal reported use rates. Explore more in our interactive data visualizer We’re fighting for not only the legalization of marijuana, but also for the repair of decades of past damage. Even as ..read more

My job is to sue prisons, and I love my work. My colleagues and I work to ensure the basic human dignity to people our society has locked up. But it is, more often than not, extraordinarily frustrating. Our clients, the human beings locked away in our criminal justice system, live in dire conditions. They are warehoused. Their medical and mental health needs are ignored. They are subjected to extreme physical violence. Just seeing and hearing about it is painful. And change comes all too slowly. At the ACLU, we take heart from the little victories. Just before we go to a prison to see our clie ..read more