Speech and Privacy
The ACLU of Georgia works to expand the right to privacy, increase the control individuals have over their personal information, and ensure civil liberties are enhanced rather than compromised by technological innovation.
What you need to know
24,800
Cameras in Atlanta available to law enforcement
4th Amendment
The government argues that the Fourth Amendment protects information that you keep in your desk, but not information that you keep online, like old emails or pictures.
NSA
In order to carry out mass surveillance, the NSA has weakened the security of the communications systems that we all rely on.
Georgia's Biometric Information Protection Act
The Biometric Information Protection Act (BIPA) is a common sense, well-crafted, and time-tested measure to protect biometric privacy. Georgia has no protections in place for the collection and use of Georgians’ biometric info, the unique physical traits that make each of us unique – fingerprints, retinas, and facial structures, to name a few. Such a law would ensure that individuals are in control of their own biometric data and how it is used.
Community Control Over Police Surveillance (CCOPS) Model Bill
Local governments in Georgia are adding various tools to their arsenal for warrantless and suspicionless surveillance, almost always without the knowledge or consent of the communities they serve. As such, the ACLU of Georgia supports local governments passing Community Control Over Police Surveillance (CCOPS) laws. CCOPS promotes transparency, the public’s welfare, civil rights, and civil liberties by requiring police to seek community involvement for all decisions regarding the funding, acquisition, and deployment of surveillance equipment by police.
SOURCES:
Chad Marlow, Let There Be Light: Cities Across America Are Pushing Back Against Secret Surveillance by Police, 2016, www.aclu.org
Jurgita Lapienyte, This is the Most Heavily Surveilled City in the US: 50 CCTV Cameras per 1,000 Citizens, 2021, www.cybernews.com
Security Cameras Make Us Feel Safe, but Are They Worth the Invasion? 2022, www.nytimes.com
Too Much Surveillance makes us Less Free. It also Makes us Less Safe, 2017, www.WashingtonPost.com
The Latest
Press Release: ACLU, ACLU of Georgia and Free Press Action speak out against SB 473
Report: Georgia’s consumer privacy bill gets a failing grade
Press Release: ACLU of Georgia Responds to Passage of Bad Data Privacy Bill
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