ACLU on Homeland Security American Civil Liberties Union

USA Freedom Act should be first small step of more reforms

• Rein in surveillance under Executive Order 12333, which has been used to collect information about millions of Americans absent any judicial process
• Reforming FISA Section 702, which allows the government to collect the content of Americans' communications with individuals abroad
• Reforming administrative subpoena statutes which have been used for bulk collection
• Reforming Section 215, FISA's pen-register and trap-and-trace provisions, and national security letters
• Rejecting efforts to expand surveillance through cybersecurity information-sharing legislation.

Require a warrant to get location info from cell phones

Veto message:This bill simply goes too far. To obtain location data on a cell phone currently, police obtain a court order. This allows them to access historic--not real-time--location data. Many crimes would not have been solved if this law had been in place.

Summary by the ACLU: "We are thrilled that the legislature recognized the importance of protecting Mainers' privacy and stepped up to make sure this bill became law," said the Executive Director of the ACLU of Maine. "As technologies advance, it's important that the law keeps up. With these warrant requirements in place, privacy protections in Maine are among the strongest in the nation."

Legislative outcome:Vetoed by Gov. LePage 7/8/13; Override Passed House 125-17-9, Roll Call #442 on 7/9; Passed Senate 22-11-2, Roll Call #369 on 7/9.