Privacy

Improvements in technology, combined with a weakening of our legal protections, have resulted in unprecedented government power.

The ACLU of Ohio advocates for a transparent, accountable government and an open, free society. We believe that significant improvements in technology paired with a weakening of our legal protections put these core principles at risk when left unchecked. The ACLU of Ohio continues to be an outspoken critic of oversurveillance and its infringement on privacy rights and civil liberties. Our work centers on raising concerns regarding the increasing prevalence of technology use within the criminal justice system, including the expansion of license-plate readers and facial recognition platforms. When these devices are utilized without guardrails or specific attention paid to privacy concerns, they can lead to unprecedented overreach and over-policing.

The ACLU of Ohio is a strong supporter of the Community Control Over Police Surveillance (CCOPS) initiative, which aims to pass local laws and ordinances to ensure residents are empowered to decide if and how surveillance technologies are used. Increased police surveillance without public oversight threatens civil liberties, particularly for the country’s most marginalized, including immigrants and BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities. Individuals participating in protests or public dissent may also be at risk. By maximizing communities’ influence over laws regarding surveillance technologies, we can increase transparency within law enforcement and protect the rights and privacy of all Ohioans.

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