Who Owns Your Data?
The Supreme Court could be poised to decide whether it's you or Big Tech companies.
Privacy
6th Circuit Backs Ban on Ohio Minors Using Social Media Without Parental Permission
The court said the law—which would require age verification for everyone—constitutes only a “marginal burden” and "does not raise meaningful concerns about muting valuable protected discourse."
Carded Before Sexting?
The U.K. says tech companies have three months to stop minors from sending or receiving nude images—and universal identity checks for phone users may be the only way forward.
Robocalls Are Annoying. Eroding Privacy Is Not the Right Way To Stop Them.
A proposed FCC rule would require Americans to share more personal information with phone service providers. Bye, bye burner phones?
Free Speech Unmuted: The First Amendment and Privacy Rights
Jane Bambauer and I explore the uneasy collision between free speech and privacy law—from anonymous pamphlets and wiretaps to revenge porn, hidden cameras, Hulk Hogan, and whether anyone truly owns their own name or life story.
Leaked Plans Show School Buses Could Become Roaming Surveillance Vehicles
The documents reveal BusPatrol’s plan to equip tens of thousands of school buses with license plate readers and share the data with law enforcement.
The Supreme Court Protected Donor Privacy. The IRS Didn't Get the Memo.
The federal government is still fighting to collect nonprofit donor information despite Supreme Court warnings that such demands chill free speech.
The Federal Government Tried To Spy on Your Financial Transactions. A Texas Court Just Said No.
The ruling is a victory not just for one Texas title company, but for the principle that agencies like FinCEN can only do what Congress actually authorized.
Surveillance Tools Intended for Border Control Are Being Used Against Americans
U.S. citizens are being monitored and punished with technology meant to battle illegal immigration.
How a Bill Banning AI Companions for Kids Could Usher in Widespread ID Checks Online
Plus: Supreme Court pauses ban on mail-order abortion pills, TikTok's artistic merit, a defense of pickup artists, and more...
SCOTUS Narrows the Reach of the Voting Rights Act
Plus: The Supreme Court says “demands for a charity’s private member or donor information” raises First Amendment problems.
A SCOTUS Case Exposes the Dangers of 2 Misguided Fourth Amendment Doctrines
"Geofence" searches illustrate the perilous combination of modern technology and deference to law enforcement.
SCOTUS Weighs 'Geofence Warrants' and the Future of Digital Privacy
The government wants access to millions of cell phone location histories. The Supreme Court will decide what the Fourth Amendment allows.
Judge Reaffirms: EEOC May Subpoena Penn's Records as to "Jewish-Related Organizations" (and Others) in Investigation of Anti-Semitic Harassment at Penn
But the judge suspends his decision pending appeal, so that the appellate court has "time to consider and decide the merits of this case, absent unnecessary procedural deadlines."
Congress Still Has a Chance To Curb Section 702 Surveillance Abuses
Sen. Ron Wyden warns that Americans would be “stunned” at how officials have used the law.
A New Age-Verification Bill Could Make You Show ID To Use a Computer or Smartphone
Plus: The war with Iran is raising condom prices, increased legal liability for chatbot advice could backfire, and more...
Alabama Supreme Court to Cops: It's OK To Force a Pastor Watering Flowers To Show His ID
The court ruled that police can demand a physical ID under the state's stop-and-identify law.
San Jose's 'Creepy' and 'Deeply Intrusive' ALPR Camera System Is Unconstitutional, a New Lawsuit Says
The city has created a network of nearly 500 cameras that routinely monitor innocent people as they go about their daily lives.
Justice Ginsburg Cancer Treatment Leak Prosecution: Blame the Cat
"Russell insisted that he didn't know how his credentials had been used to run the 'Gins' and 'Ginston' searches. But he theorized that 'potentially his cat had run across the keyboard and typed in those letters.'"
Trump Says He's Willing To 'Risk' Your Rights for His Surveillance Powers
The president once said he wanted to kill warrantless electronic spying. So much for that.
ICE Is Determined To Unmask a Reddit User Whose Only Crime Seems To Be Criticizing ICE
After withdrawing a summons in the face of a legal challenge, the government is seeking a grand jury subpoena.
Photo: Ring Calls Off the Search Party
Following a backlash to its Super Bowl commercial, Ring owner Amazon announced that it was canceling a planned partnership with Flock Safety.
Keonne Rodriguez on Bitcoin, Privacy, and Going to Prison
"We thought we were on the right side of the law," the Samourai Wallet co-founder tells Reason.
The Supreme Court's Next Big Fourth Amendment Case
How the digital privacy rights of millions are at stake in Chatrie v. United States.
Sex Educators Say They're Being Harmed by Age Verification Laws
Plus: Wisconsin governor vetoes porn age-check bill, more charges for penis protester, the Komodo dragon theory of social media, and more...
There Are Many Good Reasons To Criticize Kristi Noem. Her Husband's Sexual Interests Are Not Among Them.
Who cares if Bryon Noem likes pretending to have giant breasts?
Maine Lobsterman Asks the Supreme Court To Strike Down a Rule Allowing the Government To Track His Boat 24/7
The case could give the Court a chance to clarify what a "closely regulated" business is and what constitutional protections it enjoys.
Trump Backs Section 702 Reauthorization After Once Calling To 'KILL FISA'
The president is much less concerned about the law's potential for overreach now that he's in charge of the government wielding it.
Court Dismisses Suit Against N.Y. Times & Serial Productions over The Idiot Podcast
The podcast is M. Gessen’s story about cousin Allen Gessen (who is the plaintiff in this case) and his murder-for-hire conviction. Extra juicy tidbit in this case: Venue!
The Feds Are Investing in Wearable Health Trackers. That Could Put Your Private Data at Risk.
Government-backed biowearables could generate vast streams of personal health data with few legal safeguards.
NYC Transit Just Got Rid of MetroCards for Fares. The Successor Could Put Your Privacy at Risk.
Unlike the MetroCard, the OMNY system requires train and bus riders in New York City to give their name and phone number to the government.
Controversial Geofence Warrants Face Supreme Court Challenge
Technological innovations allow the authorities to see who has visited whole geographic areas.
Canadian Cops Questioned Dad About Human Trafficking After He Took His Daughter to a Coffee Shop
Plus: AI for mass surveillance, Alaskan lawsuit to decriminalize prostitution, "enhanced" British regulation of streaming services, and more…
Trump Replaces Old Illegal Tariffs With New Illegal Tariffs
Plus: The U.S. could be going to war with Iran, the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, and why AI surveillance is worrying civil libertarians
The Government Wants Your Posts Before It Grants You Papers
The Trump administration will start collecting social media account information on immigration forms.
Blaming Buildings for Sex Trafficking
And paving the way for increased surveillance of all women
Ring Drops Controversial Partner After Super Bowl Ad Backlash
The move is a rare win for privacy, both for users and their neighbors.
Do Construction Workers Have Fourth Amendment Rights? A Federal Court Will Decide.
The Department of Homeland Security argues it doesn't need a warrant to enter a construction site.
Drug Dogs Should Not Be Unleashed To Authorize Apartment Searches, a SCOTUS Brief Argues
The 4th Circuit held that the doorstep of an apartment did not qualify as protected "curtilage" under the Fourth Amendment.
Group Chats About ICE Whereabouts Are Protected Speech. The FBI Is Investigating Anyway.
FBI Director Kash Patel pays lip service to the First and Second Amendments while casting suspicion on people who exercise their First or Second Amendment rights.
Leaked ICE Memo Claims Agents Can Enter Homes Without Judicial Warrants
Under this understanding of the Fourth Amendment, an attorney at the Institute for Justice says, “there is little left of the rights of Americans to be secure in their houses.”
DHS Invokes Immigration Enforcement To Justify Gathering Americans' DNA
A proposed rule change would allow routine gathering of biometric data without a warrant.
If You Give a Bear a Badge, Will It Respect Your Rights?
Despite their general ignorance of constitutional law, bears pose a much less grave threat to your civil liberties than humans do.
