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For Immediate Release
October, 23 2012, 04:24pm EDT
Contact:
Cynthia Bell, (202) 675-2312; media@dcaclu.org
ACLU to Testify Thursday Before House Field Panel on Domestic Drones and Privacy
Hearing in Houston Will Be Webcast
WASHINGTON
On Thursday, October 25, at 10 a.m. CT the American Civil Liberties Union will testify about the need for strong legal protections surrounding the government's growing use of domestic drones. Information from the forum will be used to help draft legislation on this threat to privacy rights. The forum will be held in conjunction with the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
"It's essential that the law keeps up with new surveillance technology in order to safeguard Americans' privacy rights," said Chris Calabrese, ACLU legislative counsel, who will be testifying Thursday. "We need new rules to ensure that drones do not transform our country into a surveillance state in which the government is constantly watching and recording every single move Americans make."
Today, the ACLU filed Freedom of Information Act requests with five federal agencies seeking records on the government's current use of and future plans for drones inside the U.S. Information on the FOIA requests is available at: www.aclu.org/technology-and-liberty/domestic-drones-foia-requests
More information on domestic drones and the ACLU's recommendations are available at:
www.aclu.org/blog/tag/domestic-drones
WHAT:
House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security field forum, "Domestic Drones: What are the limits?"
WHO:
Adrian Garcia, Sheriff, Harris County, Texas
Amie Stepanovich, Counsel, Electronic Privacy Information Center
Chris Calabrese, Legislative Counsel, American Civil Liberties Union
David Leebron, President, Rice University; former Dean of Columbia Law School
Todd E. Humphreys, Professor, Aerospace Engineering, University of Texas at Austin
Gretchen West, Executive Vice President, Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International
Duane Steen, Commander, Texas Department of Public Safety
David Crump, Professor, University of Houston Law Center
WHEN:
Thursday, October 25
10:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (Central Time)
WHERE:
Shell Auditorium
Rice University
6100 Main Street
Houston, Texas
To view the live webcast of this field forum, go to: jones.adobeconnect.com/r5tvzws7ooe/
The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
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