American Civil Liberties Union

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Free Speech : General : Legislative Documents

ACLU Statement for the Record for a House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Hearing on Cyberbullying (09/30/2009)

ACLU Letter to Senate Judiciary Regarding the Markup of S. 448, The Free Flow of Information Act of 2009 (09/09/2009)

ACLU Letter to House and Senate Conferees Regarding Hate Crimes (09/08/2009)

ACLU Letter to the Department of Defense Regarding Its Level 1 Anti-terrorism Training Materials (06/10/2009)

Joint Letter to White House Urging Rescindment of Speech Limitations for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (03/31/2009)
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (“CREW”), the American Civil Liberties Union (“ACLU”) and the American League of Lobbyists (“ALL”) respectfully request that President Barack Obama rescind Section 3 of the March 20, 2009, memorandum issued to the heads of executive departments and agencies with the subject line, “Ensuring Responsible Spending of Recovery Act Funds.”

ACLU Letter to the House of Representatives Urging Support of H.R. 985, the Free Flow of Information Act (03/30/2009)

ACLU Testimony Submitted to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law (02/11/2009)
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has more than half a million members, countless additional activists and supporters, and fifty-three affiliates nationwide. We are one of the nation’s oldest and largest organizations advocating in support of individual rights in the courts and before the executive and legislative branches of government. In particular, throughout our history, we have been the nation’s pre-eminent advocate in support of individual free speech rights. We write today to express our strong support for legislation to resolve the problem known as ‘libel tourism’. Some say no such problem exists.1 Those who believe it is a problem don’t necessarily agree on the best approach to dealing with the issue. The ACLU is less concerned with these differences of opinion than with upholding the constitutional standards found in the U.S. Constitution against challenges arising out of foreign laws that fall short of accepted international standards. We encourage this committee to craft legislation to protect the free speech rights of those authors and writers entitled to such protection from the chilling effect of foreign laws that fail to conform to basic international human rights agreements.

A Quick Glance at the ACLU's Legislative Priorities for the 111th Congress (01/13/2009)

ACLU Legislative Priorities for the 111th Congress (01/13/2009)

ACLU Letter to Senator Specter Expressing Support for Free Speech Protection Act of 2008 (09/17/2008)
On behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), its more than half a million members, countless additional activists and supporters, and fifty-four affiliates nationwide, we write in strong support of S. 2977, the Free Speech Protection Act of 2008. This bill would address the growing problem of libel tourism, whereby individuals seek libel judgments in foreign countries where libel laws do not have the same free speech protections as in the U.S.

ACLU, TLP, and ACLU of PA Comments Before FCC Re: Hearing on Broadband and the Digital Future (07/21/2008)
The ACLU, Technology and Liberty Project of the ACLU, and the ACLU of Pennsylvania have been principal participants in many of the important Internet censorship and neutrality cases decided by the United States Supreme Court in the past two decades, including Reno v. ACLU, Ashcroft v. ACLU, Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition, and the Brand X decision, in which the Court held that cable companies providing broadband Internet access were “information service providers” for purposes of regulation by the FCC under the Communications Act. The ACLU of Pennsylvania was co-counsel in two of the leading Internet decisions, Reno v. ACLU and Ashcroft v. ACLU. Last year, the ACLU of Pennsylvania obtained relief in the Ashcroft litigation that permanently enjoined the Child Online Protection Act (“COPA”).

Coalition Sign-On Letter Opposing the Workplace Religious Freedom Act (05/15/2008)

ACLU Comments before the FCC regarding Broadband Industry Practices (04/17/2008)
The ACLU, Technology and Liberty Project of the ACLU, and ACLU of Northern California support the underlying petitions and urge the Commission to find in favor of Petitioners by upholding concepts of accessibility and non-discrimination in the provision of text messaging and short code services and in the delivery of broadband services.

ACLU Letter to Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation Leadership Regarding S.J. Res 28, Disapproving of the Rule Submitted by the Federal Communications Commission with Respect to Broadcast Media Ownership (04/01/2008)

ACLU Comments to FCC Regarding Net Neutrality (03/14/2008)

ACLU Letter to Congress Urging Members to Vote "No" On the Semper Fi Act (02/26/2008)

Remove the Unconstitutional Limits on Using Names and Images of Soldiers from the Conference Report (11/09/2007)

ACLU Letter Urging Senate to Vote on HR 2102 Reporters Shield Bill, Not Its Companion S 2035 (10/31/2007)

ACLU in Support of Reporter Shield Law H.R. 2102 (10/15/2007)
On behalf of the ACLU, a non-partisan organization with hundreds of thousands of activists and members and 53 affiliates nationwide, we are writing to urge you to support H.R. 2102, the Free Flow of Information Act of 2007, without amendment.

ACLU Letter in Support of Kennedy-Smith Hate Crimes Amendment to the Defense Bill (09/27/2007)

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