EPIC has filed its closing brief in EPIC v. Department of Justice, EPIC's case for the release of the complete and unredacted Mueller Report. EPIC warned the Court that “details about ongoing vulnerabilities in the US election system remain hidden from public view. The roles of well-known public officials and public figures in an effort by a foreign government to change the outcome of a US Presidential election are still kept behind a shroud of secrecy.” Judge Reggie B. Walton previously said EPIC's case should move "as expeditiously as humanly possible" and ordered the parties to brief the case on an accelerated schedule. A hearing on EPIC's motion is set for August 5. The case is EPIC v. Department of Justice, No. 19-810 (D.D.C.). Copies of the Mueller report obtained by EPIC, related materials, and background on the case are available for purchase at the EPIC Bookstore. EPIC will host a panel discussion on the Mueller Report at Busboys and Poets in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, July 23.
EPIC has filed its opening brief in EPIC v. DOJ, a Freedom of Information Act case concerning predictive policing, algorithmic transparency, and executive privilege. EPIC’s case, now before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, seeks the public release of a report on AI techniques in the criminal justice system. Last year, a lower court allowed the agency to assert the “presidential communications privilege” and withhold the report, but neither the D.C. Circuit nor the Supreme Court has ever permitted a federal agency to invoke that privilege. “The records sought in this [FOIA] case concern the use of predictive analytic techniques in the U.S. criminal justice system, a topic of vital public interest,” EPIC wrote. "But the questions presented on appeal have even broader significance for open government.” EPIC has pursued numerous FOIA cases concerning algorithmic transparency, passenger risk assessment, "future crime" prediction, and proprietary forensic analysis.
EPIC organized a coalition letter to Senator Blackburn (R-TN) and Senator Feinstein (D-CA), urging them to work with consumer and privacy groups in the newly formed Senate Judiciary tech task force. Yesterday Blackburn held a closed-door session with representatives from tech companies, including Snap and Mozilla. The coalition letter said "We need you to pursue an open and inclusive process that ensures that meetings are held in public, that a record is established, and that the voices of consumers are heard." The groups also said "the United States needs comprehensive, baseline federal legislation" and "an independent data protection agency." The groups concluded, "We can no longer let industry groups and ineffective agencies decide how much privacy Americans may have."
