Privacy
If the Feds Have Stopped Snooping on Our Phone Records, Watch Out for the Anti-Encryption Propaganda
Backdoors into your texts and private message provide far more information than your phone metadata.
Preventing Government Facial Recognition Oppression
Pervasive real-time police surveillance is not just theoretical anymore.
Feds Used a Secret Database to Track Journalists Covering the Migrant Caravan: Reason Roundup
Plus: Facebook says it's pivoting to privacy, and congressional Democrats want to "save the internet."
The NSA Has Apparently Stopped the Domestic Surveillance Program Snowden Exposed
For years, security state advocates fought to maintain the authority to snoop on your phone records. Are they really giving up?
Data Surveillance Shows Why We Need Cash, Cryptocurrencies
A cashless society is a monitored (and potentially controlled) society.
Here's Why Rand Paul Will Vote 'No' on AG Nominee William Barr
Paul cited Barr's past support for warrantless surveillance. He's right to be worried.
London To Require GPS Trackers for Certain Residents Convicted of 'Knife Possession'
The latest in London Mayor Sadiq Khan's war on knife ownership.
San Francisco's Accidental Surveillance State and the Future of Privacy
Good intentions, private fears, and innovative entrepreneurs vying for government contracts are killing privacy in public places.
Sex-Trafficking Hysteria Is Eroding Privacy in Hotels, Airplanes, and More: Podcast
Elizabeth Nolan Brown talks about DHS's "Blue Campaign," which is pushing hotel and airline workers to call the feds if they suspect human trafficking.
San Francisco Facial Recognition Ban Proposed
It's a good idea that libertarians should applaud.
Hate Long TSA Lines? Hate Them Enough to Get Your Eye Scanned Instead?
The possibilities and perils of voluntary, privately operated biometric screening
Bombshell Report About Americans Helping UAE Hack Phones Is a Warning Against Compromising Encryption
Hacking tools end up in the hands of some dangerous people. So, apparently, do our government hackers.
Judge Rules Police Cannot Require People to Unlock Their Own iPhones With Thumb or Iris
Compelled use of facial and finger recognition features runs afoul of the Fifth Amendment.
N.Y. Bill Would Violate Gun Rights, Free Speech Rights, and Privacy
Among other things, it would call for investigators to review three years' worth of a would-be gun buyer's social media postings for "excessive discriminatory content."
REAL ID Puts Personal and National Security At Risk
Your new national ID is hacker-bait that complicates journeys but won't make you any safer.
Suit Against Grindr Over Harassment Is Part of a Trending Assault on Internet Freedom
On Monday, a federal appeals court considered Grindr's guilt in a case involving app-based impersonators.
6 Reasons to Hate the TSA When You Travel This Christmas
Santa Claus is coming to town with all his liquids in a single quart-sized baggie.
Sundar Pichai: Google Supports an American Data Privacy Law
The tech giant actually stands to gain by legally hamstringing competition with tough regulations.
TSA Will Stop Tracking Your Bathroom Use, Sleeping Preferences
Air marshals might still treat you like a terrorist. But they'll stop documenting your every move.
California Will Keep Your DNA on File Even if You Haven't Been Convicted of a Crime
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Equal Justice Society, and others are challenging the practice in court.
Australians Should Defy Their Government's Poorly Considered Surveillance State
Australians who want to protect their data from surveillance now need to turn to extra-legal means.
Congratulations, Australian Government! You've Just Destroyed the World's Data Privacy!
Parliament passes a bill at the last possible moment to give officials the power to weaken encryption.
New York City Wants to Make It Illegal to Send a Sexy Pic Without Affirmative Consent
It's been dubbed "NYC's Anti-Airdrop Dick Pic Law," but the bill is much broader than that.
Stossel: Google and Facebook Cross 'The Creepy Line'
Tech companies are compiling incredibly detailed dossiers about you.
The 5 Worst Supreme Court Rulings of the Past 50 Years
Cases in which a majority of the Court fell down on the job.
N.H. Constitution Now Protects "Right to Live Free from Governmental Intrusion in Private or Personal Information"
But what does that mean? Readers, tell me what you think, and how it fits with your general theory of constitutional interpretation (e.g., textualism, originalism, etc.).
Is a Privacy Violation an "Injury"?
The Supreme Court's call for supplemental briefing in Frank v. Gaos will lead it to a difficult question.
Memphis Police Ordered to Stop Revisiting History by Snooping on Protesters
A decade of surveillance from the civil rights era makes a technology and social-media-fueled return.
Ready to Get Off Facebook? Reason Reviews 5 Alternative Social Networks.
Facebook, Twitter, and other mainstream social networks have their issues. Are these 5 platforms viable alternatives?
Do I Owe It to My Criminal Relatives to Keep My Genes a Secret?
When genetic testing results become a tool for law enforcement
Pennsylvania's New $4 Million Prison Mail System Brings Privacy Concerns
Civil liberties lawyers worry that sensitive documents could end up in the wrong hands.
New Zealand Law Is an Affront to Travelers' Privacy, but Things Aren't Much Better Here
In New Zealand, customs officials can now demand that travelers unlock their electronic devices.
British Group Fighting Secret Government Surveillance Subjected to Secret British Government Surveillance
U.K. government officials insisted they didn't collect and store communications data of Privacy International. Turns out they did.
House to Vote on 'Human Trafficking' Bill That Strengthens PATRIOT Act Spying
The PATRIOT Act fell out of fashion-but swap "human trafficker" for "terrorist" and let the civil liberties infringements roll!
Debate: Corporate Data Collection Poses a Threat to Personal Freedom
There are lots of reasons to be concerned about government snooping, but how should we feel when private companies do it?
Snowden Validated: European Court Says the Mass Surveillance He Exposed Violates Privacy Rights
Since his whistleblowing, the United Kingdom has granted itself even more power to snoop on citizens.
British Lawmaker Wants to Ban Your Private Facebook Groups Because She Worries You're Using Hate Speech
Bill also calls for holding forum moderators legally liable for extreme speech.
Australia Chosen as the Battleground to Try to Destroy Your Data Privacy
Draft legislation would force tech companies to compromise encryption at the government's demand.
Oops! The EPA Published the Social Security Numbers of People Who Filed FOIA Requests
Thanks to a design bug in a government transparency website, dozens of social security numbers were mistakenly made public.
Muslim Male Inmate Objects to Strip Search by Apparently Anatomically Female Transgender Guard
An interesting case now being litigated in federal court in Wisconsin.
The "Arrest and Alleged Charges No Longer Exist -- as If It Never Happened"
From a lawyer's letter demanding that a story about a now-expunged arrest be expunged from a newspaper as well as from the government records-but the law, fortunately, does not support this argument.
Amazon Facial Recognition Confuses Members of Congress with Criminals
The ACLU stunt is intended to warn against using tech to identify suspects.
National Ban on Smoking in Public Housing Is Unconstitutional, Lawsuit Says
Tenants are challenging a HUD rule that requires local public housing authorities across the country to prohibit people from smoking in their homes.