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The first annual meeting of the Fairfield County Chapter of the ACLU of Connecticut will hear a leading national ACLU strategist when it meets Sunday, October 5 at 5 p.m. at the First Congregational Church on the Green in Norwalk.
Christopher Calabrese, Project Counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union’s Technology & Liberty Project since 2004, will be keynote speaker. at the first annual meeting of the Fairfield County Chapter of ACLU-CT on October 5.
Meanwhile, volunteers are being sought to serve on the founding board. ACLU members in Fairfield County are automatically voting members of the chapter.
A graduate of Georgetown University Law School and Harvard University, Calabrese has been in his present position since 2004. He has discussed technology and privacy issues before a variety of audiences including regulatory agencies, bar associations, librarians and the public. He has appeared on radio and television programs including CBS Evening News, Fox News and National Public Radio and has been quoted in a variety of publications including the New York Times, Washington Post and Associated Press.
In addition to his communications outreach, Calabrese also oversees ACLU legislative and public education campaigns, initiates Freedom of Information Act requests and provides legal guidance on the impact of new technologies on civil liberties. The Technology & Liberty Project is focused on cutting edge technologies including large-scale databases, communication technology, biometrics, video surveillance, wiretapping, genetics and the Internet.
Calabrese is currently opposing the implementation of the Real ID Act of 2005 and the creation of a National ID card, encouraging state public utility commissions to investigate telecommunications companies’ illegal cooperation with the NSA, monitoring the use of video surveillance by municipalities and scrutinizing the use of biometrics and radio frequency identification (RFID) chips in identity documents. He has worked in the past to battle data surveillance efforts by law enforcement authorities such as the Multi-state Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange (MATRIX), Secure Flight and CALEA (which increased law enforcement surveillance of the Internet). The Project works collaboratively on ACLU litigation and legislative priorities and frequently reports on surveillance activity in American society.
Calabrese previously served as the Legal Counsel to the Massachusetts Senate Majority Leader. In that capacity he helped draft the Massachusetts Genetic Anti-Discrimination and Privacy Law and a number of other measures aimed at preserving individual rights.
Fairfield County chapter flyer
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