Government Transparency

True democracy demands government transparency. The ACLU of Massachusetts works to strengthen the public’s right to hold officials accountable.

Collage of images including hands shaking in the top left, the Massachusetts state house in the center, and a laptop in the top right corner.

In a functioning democracy, people should know what elected officials are up to. Otherwise, the government is not operating by the people, for the people. The ACLU of Massachusetts will always defend the public's right to hold the government accountable.

For example, we are fighting to make public records more accessible to Bay Staters.

The Latest

Press Release
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Massachusetts Court Blocks Religious Statues on Government Building in Quincy

Norfolk Superior Court granted a preliminary injunction blocking the planned installation of two large statues of Catholic saints outside the entrance of the new public safety headquarters in Quincy.
Issue Areas: Government Transparency, Freedom of Religion and Belief
Resource
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Press Release
Open Meeting 2

Legislative committee advances bill to modernize Open Meeting Law, guarantee hybrid meetings

In the wake of the pandemic, too many government bodies have reverted to in-person-only meetings, disenfranchising people with disabilities and others.
Issue Areas: Government Transparency
Press Release
Individual in a green baseball cap sits in a yellow chair looking down at a laptop computer. The wall behind the person is white, with a grey window frame in the right third of the frame.

Virtual access to public meetings set to expire March 31, 2025

Accessibility makes our democracy stronger, and we can’t afford to close the door on people who previously faced barriers to exclusively in-person meetings.
Issue Areas: Government Transparency
Campaign
Mar 2026

Get The FLOCK Out: Resource Guide

With Flock Safety's license plate reader (LPR) technology, law enforcement agencies across the country can track Massachusetts drivers in real-time — without a warrant, probable cause, or even reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing. Flock's nationwide data sharing model puts our civil rights and civil liberties at risk.
Campaign
Feb 2019

Data for Justice

We can’t manage what we don’t measure.