Privacy

House Homeland Security Committee must exercise oversight over DHS’s creation of militarized zones within the US

WASHINGTON, DC, 7/17/2008 – Today, when Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Michael Chertoff testifies before the House Homeland Security Committee, the American Civil Liberties Union calls on the committee to exercise vigorous oversight of the many DHS programs that endanger U.S. citizens’ privacy and civil liberties without increasing security. DHS’s unchecked detention and deportation powers have resulted in abusive interrogations of families with children at checkpoints, creation of militarized zones within the U.S. and widespread fear in immigrant communities facing natural disasters.    » read more »

Washington -- 26 June 2008 -- Legislation to revise U.S. surveillance law survived a key test vote in the Senate Wednesday, despite opposition from some majority Democrats to a provision protecting telephone companies from possible privacy lawsuits. The Senate could give final approval to the bill and send it to President Bush for his signature before a congressional recess next week.

Senators voted 80 to 15 to proceed to the legislation - 20 more than the 60 votes necessary under Senate rules.

The bill, which updates the 1978 Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act (FISA), would expand the government's powers to eavesdrop on terrorism suspects while at the same time take steps to safeguard civil liberties.    » read more »

June 6, 2008 -- Washington, DC – Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) issued the following statement today after news reports indicated that Senator McCain supports President Bush’s wire-tapping program:

John McCain: Photo by Christy Frink (CC)    » read more »

May 22, 2008 -- "More recent preliminary information indicates that additional Connecticut financial institutions, companies and residents may be victims of this astonishing security breach by Bank of New York Mellon.

"We have received preliminary information and have demanded all of the details relevant to this shocking security breach, particularly as to the delay in notifying Connecticut authorities, as well as People's and its customers. The banks have cooperated so far in providing the information that the governor is directing the Department of Consumer Protection to seek, but we welcome this interest and concern.    » read more »

May 23, 2008 -- Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced that she has directed Consumer Protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell Jr. to issue two more subpoenas related to the loss of bank customer data being transported by Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BNY Mellon).

The two new subpoenas concern Webster Bank and Wachovia Corp. On Thursday, Governor Rell directed Commissioner Farrell to issue subpoenas to BNY Mellon and People’s United Bank of Bridgeport.    » read more »

May 21, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Barack Obama today released the following statement after the President signed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (H.R. 493) into law:

"The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act will protect all Americans from discrimination by insurance companies and employers on the basis of genetics, and I commend the President for signing it into law.

Senator Barack Obama: Photo by Ryan Glenn (CC)

"This landmark legislation will strengthen our privacy and civil rights protections in this new century of medical breakthroughs.    » read more »

May Affect Hundreds Of Thousands Of CT Consumers, Millions Nationwide

May 21, 2008 -- Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal today announced that a storage company for a New York bank lost an unencrypted backup tape containing Social Security numbers and bank account information belonging to as many as hundreds of thousands of Connecticut consumers and personal information of millions more nationwide.

Among the Connecticut consumers are depositors and investors of People's United Bank of Bridgeport, which gave Bank of New York Mellon the information so it could offer those consumers an investment opportunity.    » read more »