News & Commentary

It seems as though the struggle between people and government over Internet and cellular privacy has finally found a slogan, or at least a hot-button word to describe exactly what the government has been collecting about each and every one of our private lives: metadata. No, it's not "real" data in the traditional sense, it's metadata. Or "data about the data."Although I am as confident about my knowledge of technology and cell phone usage as any 21st century teen (i.e. extremely confident), I must admit the word 'metadata' stumped me. After some research, and a bit of reading between the lines, I came to understand that the difference between metadata and data lies in the text. Metadata shows that you called your sister at 5:30pm from your house. Data can tell you what was actually said in that call. Same goes for email. Metadata shows who you email but not the actual correspondence. Politicians love to emphasize this distinction, and have used it to supply proof that what they are doing behind drawn blinds is really not that invasive.However a new website called Immersion reveals otherwise. Immersion basically does exactly what the NSA is doing, collects the metadata of your email account. All of your social, educational or professional connections becomes a network of colored spheres in various sizes. The larger ones represent the people which you contact most frequently. I input my school email into the Immersion tool, and in under a minute the screen became a road map for my educational and extra curricular life. For example, merely by looking at the metadata anyone could find that I play tennis and soccer and prefer both more to swimming (no emails from my swim coach were responded to) and that math is by far my worst subject (the bubble representing email exchanges with my math teacher was by far the largest).Remember also that this is the metadata of a benign school email of a high school senior. Imagine what could be discovered in the metadata of a personal email account. Or all of the anonymity that would be squandered in the professional relationships that we hold so dear: business partners, doctors and patients or lawyers and clients. ACLU associate Matthew Harwood takes a look at just how revealing metadata can be.In summary, "it's just metadata" is clearly a skimpy defense for our government's blatant invasion of our privacy. Tools like Immersion, and a basic understanding of what exactly metadata is, show that you don't need the specific text or the words spoken to be able to find a shocking amount of personal information about someone. Yes, the world of technology is changing but that does certainly not mean the protections ensured by the Constitution can as well. Don't take no for an answer. Demand your metadata privacy.For more information about the harm of metadata collection, read this article.

As we are all aware, tomorrow is the 4th of July. It is the time of year we celebrate the birth of our country. It is the time we have set aside to remember the day, 237 years ago, when a group of British subjects from all 13 American Colonies assembled in Independence Hall in Philadelphia to declare our independence! Independence from the British Crown, independence from tyranny, and an affirmation of a belief that each person deserves, nay, is entitled to the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (limited as their definition of “a person” was). It was a novel idea in that day and age. While the concept of self-determination was not unheard of at the time, it was certainly rare in the world, and the pursuit of this ideal was not easy. As Independence Day arrives again, it is certainly a time for celebration! Celebration of that day in 1776, and celebration of every victory for the values of freedom and equality since: the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th amendment, Women’s Suffrage and the 19th amendment, The Fair Labor Standards Act, and last week’s Supreme Court Decision striking down the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act!  This day is truly one to celebrate how far our nation has come. However, it must also give us pause to reflect on how far we have yet to go.  We should all take a moment amidst the celebration to ask ourselves what these principles of freedom and equality mean to us.  Now, especially seems a very poignant time for some sober reflection on the direction our country is moving in.  As the recent NSA tracking leaks have shown us, our leaders are not always quite as intent on upholding our founding principles as we might hope.  We see every day that the Bill of Rights, the basic freedoms which we hold to the highest standard, are only as strong as those who stand up for them.We see citizens who risk everything to bring violations of our founding principles to light mistreated before they have been convicted of any crime.  Bradley Manning faces a top-secret trial, the details of which we are forbidden from learning; Edward Snowden fled the country that he loves, likely to avoid similar treatment. So many others have had their lives ruined for standing up for ideals which are bigger than themselves. This Independence day, we should celebrate our nation, and we should celebrate our freedoms, but we must never become too comfortable; too complacent. We must always be vigilant, and always be aware that our freedoms are not guaranteed. Without concerned citizens there to say that a government action has crossed the line, there may come a time when there is no line left to cross.  It may seem a stretch of the imagination, but with every curtailment of our freedom of speech, it becomes that much harder to stand up for what is right. With every obstacle placed in the way of our freedom of assembly, it becomes that much harder to gather in protest of the wrongs committed against us. With every overstepping by the government of our right to be secure in our persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, it becomes that much easier for the next step and the step after that. Without people there to say “No, this is not right!” it will continue until a day may come when this country no longer supports those principles which we claim to hold so dear.  Now is not a time to despair, however! There are avenues that are still available to us to tell those in charge how we feel. Tomorrow is the 4th of July, and if you, like so many other of your fellow Americans, are outraged, for example, over the NSA’s unwarranted violation of your right to privacy, then you can say something. You can write a letter to the president, you can call your representative, or you can join in one of the many Restore the Fourth protests tomorrow around the country. I will leave you now with a quote from Margret Mead that I am sure we have all heard before, and something that we should all remember: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” Just as the members of the Constitutional Congress did all those years ago, and just as thousands of groups have done throughout our nations history, we must hold both ourselves and our government to the highest standard.

As we are all aware, tomorrow is the 4th of July. It is the time of year we celebrate the birth of our country. It is the time we have set aside to remember the day, 237 years ago, when a group of British subjects from all 13 American Colonies assembled in Independence Hall in Philadelphia to declare our independence! Independence from the British Crown, independence from tyranny, and an affirmation of a belief that each person deserves, nay, is entitled to the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (limited as their definition of “a person” was). It was a novel idea in that day and age. While the concept of self-determination was not unheard of at the time, it was certainly rare in the world, and the pursuit of this ideal was not easy.   As Independence Day arrives again, it is certainly a time for celebration! Celebration of that day in 1776, and celebration of every victory for the values of freedom and equality since: the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th amendment, Women’s Suffrage and the 19th amendment, The Fair Labor Standards Act, and last week’s Supreme Court Decision striking down the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act!  This day is truly one to celebrate how far our nation has come. However, it must also give us pause to reflect on how far we have yet to go.  We should all take a moment amidst the celebration to ask ourselves what these principles of freedom and equality mean to us.  Now, especially seems a very poignant time for some sober reflection on the direction our country is moving in.  As the recent NSA tracking leaks have shown us, our leaders are not always quite as intent on upholding our founding principles as we might hope.  We see every day that the Bill of Rights, the basic freedoms which we hold to the highest standard, are only as strong as those who stand up for them. We see citizens who risk everything to bring violations of our founding principles to light mistreated before they have been convicted of any crime.  Bradley Manning faces a top-secret trial, the details of which we are forbidden from learning; Edward Snowden fled the country that he loves, likely to avoid similar treatment. So many others have had their lives ruined for standing up for ideals which are bigger than themselves.   This Independence day, we should celebrate our nation, and we should celebrate our freedoms, but we must never become too comfortable; too complacent. We must always be vigilant, and always be aware that our freedoms are not guaranteed. Without concerned citizens there to say that a government action has crossed the line, there may come a time when there is no line left to cross.  It may seem a stretch of the imagination, but with every curtailment of our freedom of speech, it becomes that much harder to stand up for what is right. With every obstacle placed in the way of our freedom of assembly, it becomes that much harder to gather in protest of the wrongs committed against us. With every overstepping by the government of our right to be secure in our persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, it becomes that much easier for the next step and the step after that. Without people there to say “No, this is not right!” it will continue until a day may come when this country no longer supports those principles which we claim to hold so dear.  Now is not a time to despair, however! There are avenues that are still available to us to tell those in charge how we feel.   Tomorrow is the 4th of July, and if you, like so many other of your fellow Americans, are outraged, for example, over the NSA’s unwarranted violation of your right to privacy, then you can say something. You can write a letter to the president, you can call your representative, or you can join in one of the many Restore the Fourth protests tomorrow around the country. I will leave you now with a quote from Margret Mead that I am sure we have all heard before, and something that we should all remember: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” Just as the members of the Constitutional Congress did all those years ago, and just as thousands of groups have done throughout our nations history, we must hold both ourselves and our government to the highest standard.

Even as we celebrate a great victory in the Supreme Court on the ruling of Windsor vs. the United States (down with DOMA!) we must acknowledge that not all rulings this week have been in the favor of justice and equality. Two days ago the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on the repeal of the coverage formula of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The Voting Rights Act, implemented in 1965, protects those who have been historically disenfranchised (i.e. people of color and immigrants) from the states seizing their rights to vote through subversive tactics such as poll taxes or literacy tests. Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act prohibits tactics such as these: voting regulations with the specific intent of preventing those of any race or ethnicity from voting. Section 5 was a little bit more precise. This Section directly addressed those states whose have historically disenfranchised minority race or language groups. Section 5 decreed that any changes to voting regulations in certain "jurisdictions" must be given the stamp of approval by the Department of Justice. Basically, it was a buffer for racist disenfranchisement, protecting the rights of people in those "jurisdictions" who would steal them away. While Section 5 remains, the coverage formula, deciding which states must abide by the pre-clearance requirement, does not. Now the power lies with Congress to decide upon a new coverage formula, and we will all wait with baited breath to see if justice wins out. If certain "jurisdictions" are given the license to make their own voting regulations without pre-clearance, the voices of thousands of Americans could be stolen away overnight. Yes, in the future any individual may object to a particular law, and one day the case may make it to the Supreme Court. But in the interim who knows how many individuals will be disenfranchised. For an idea of the states response to the Supreme Court's decision, read this. Less than 48 hours from the official ruling, 6 states already began taking action in their legislature to impose more stringent voting regulations. This is scary stuff, and could affect thousands of Americans trying to have their voices heard in their state government and in our national government.  At this historical juncture, we all must hope that Congress can work together, Democrats and Republicans alike, to protect freedom and rights of all Americans, no matter their native language or the color of their skin. 

All session we've been reporting to you on the progress of some very important bills to protect privacy in Maine. We're happy to report that three of those bills - which would require warrants before the police could track your cell phone, read your text messages, or spy on you with a drone - have been passed by the Legislature and now sit on the governor's desk, one signature away from becoming law! These are the bills:

If you logged onto the ACLU of Maine Facebook page today, you were greeted with a new timeline photo: 

If you logged onto the ACLU of Maine Facebook page today, you were greeted with a new timeline photo: 

Hi there ACLU followers! My name is Sophie Raffel and I’m a summer high school intern here at the ACLU of Maine. I am a rising senior at Waynflete School and I can’t imagine a better way to spend my summer than here at the ACLU of Maine offices, on the ground floor of some of the most important debates over policy, freedom and our rights as Americans, both as Mainers and citizens of the Unites States. I was born in the city Guangzhou in southern China but I’ve lived in Portland all my life.

Each Friday, we’ll bring you updates on the latest civil liberties news from Maine and the nation. SCOTUS - the good and the bad: The Supreme Court has the ability to leave us completely disappointed or overwhelmingly happy. This week, the Justices did both.