EPIC - Electronic Privacy Information Center

D.C. Attorney General Racine Speaks at EPIC

EPIC hosted D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine for a meeting with the Privacy Coalition. General Racine discussed his office’s initiatives on privacy, algorithmic discrimination, and antitrust. Last year, the Attorney General sued Facebook under the D.C. Consumer Protection Procedures Act for the mishandling of user data that led to Cambridge Analytica breach. And General Racine joined with others AGs investigating Google for anti-competitive conduct.

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EPIC Report Finds Privacy Bills in Congress Lacking Basic Elements

EPIC has released a detailed analysis of the privacy bills in Congress. According to EPIC, Senator Ed Markey's Privacy Bill of Rights ranks #1. EPIC's report — Grading on a Curve: Privacy Legislation in the 116th Congress — reviews recent developments, sets out a model bill, and assesses pending legislation. The EPIC Report finds that many of the bills in Congress lack the basic elements of a privacy law, such as an opportunity for individuals to enforce their rights.

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EPIC Publishes First Reference Book on AI Policy

EPIC has published "The EPIC AI Policy Sourcebook 2019." The EPIC collection is the first compendium of AI policy, providing essential information to policy makers, researchers, journalists, and the public. The EPIC Sourcebook includes global AI frameworks such as the OECD AI Principles and the Universal Guidelines for AI, as well as materials from the EU, Council of Europe, national AI initiatives and professional societies IEEE and ACM. "Required reading for a necessary conversation," Sherry Turkle.

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EPIC Challenges FTC-Facebook Settlement, Asks Court to Hear from Privacy Groups

EPIC has filed a Motion to Intervene in United States v. Facebook to protect the interests of Facebook users. EPIC said the settlement "is not adequate, reasonable, or appropriate."

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EPIC Testifed at 2017 Senate Hearing on Equifax Data Breach

EPIC's Marc Rotenberg warned the Committee that "the Equifax data breach is one of the most serious in the nation's history." Pictured (L to R), Sam Lester, Alan Butler, Marc Rotenberg, Eleni Kyriakides, and Christine Bannan, and industry witnesses.
EPIC Launches Campaign For a Data Protection Agency

EPIC has launched a campaign promoting the creation of a Data Protection Agency in the United States. While the FTC helps to safeguard consumers and promote competition, it is not a data protection agency. The U.S. needs a federal data protection agency focused on privacy protection, compliance with data protection obligations, and emerging privacy challenges.

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EPIC Publishes The Mueller Report

EPIC has published The Mueller Report: EPIC v. Department of Justice and the Special Counsel’s Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election. This collection, edited by EPIC President Marc Rotenberg, includes the version of the Mueller Report provided to EPIC in EPIC v. DOJ, the original EPIC FOIA request, and more.

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EPIC Seeks Public Release of Mueller Report

EPIC has filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to obtain the final report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller concerning Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. There was a hearing in federal district court in Washington, DC Tuesday, April 9, at 9 am in EPIC v. DOJ.

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More than 26,000 Complaints Pending Against Facebook

More than 26,000 complaints against Facebook are currently pending before the FTC. In the eight years since the Commission announced the consent order against Facebook it has not taken a single enforcement action against Facebook. EPIC and a coalition of consumer privacy organizations filed the original complaint against Facebook in 2009.

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EPIC 2019

EPIC is on the front lines of the major privacy and civil liberties debates. In 2019, EPIC has important work to do on algorithmic transparency, facial recognition, data protection and democracy, among many other issues. Please donate to EPIC today to help us continue this important work.

Defend Privacy. Support EPIC. »
Defend Privacy. Support EPIC.

EPIC is on the front lines of the major privacy and civil liberties debates. In 2019, EPIC will work to protect democratic institutions, promote algorithmic transparency, and defend the right to privacy. We need your support. And EPIC is a top-rated non-profit - Charity Navigator (Four Star) and Guidestar (Gold). Please donate to EPIC today.

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Top News

Danielle Citron Testifies on Corporate Responsibility for Online Activity

EPIC Board Member Danielle Citron will testify today before the House Energy & Commerce Committee regarding corporate responsibility for online activity. In her written testimony, Professor Citron stated, "Section 230 should be revised to condition the legal shield on reasonable content moderation practices in the face of clear illegality that causes demonstrable harm. That would return the statute to its original purpose—to allow companies to act more responsibly, not less." In an amicus brief filed with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals last year, EPIC said that Section 230, a provision in the Communication Decency Act, was intended to "encourage internet service providers to police their platforms," not to "give platforms carte blanche to ignore harassment and abuse." Professor Citron was recently selected for the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship and is the author of Hate Crimes in Cyberspace, available at the EPIC Bookstore.

October 16, 2019 | Share:

In Amicus Brief, EPIC Urges Court to Reject FTC-Facebook Settlement

Today EPIC filed an amicus brief in United States v. Facebook, a case concerning the proposed settlement between the Federal Trade Commission and Facebook. EPIC argued, "This Court should not adopt the proposed Consent Decree because the parties have not established that it would be fair, adequate, reasonable, appropriate, or consistent with the public interest.” EPIC explained that the proposed settlement “largely mirrors the preexisting Consent Order from 2012. There are few new obligations on the company that would limit the collection and use of personal data, nor will there be any significant changes in business practices.” EPIC noted, the "Commission also seems entirely unconcerned by Facebook’s planned integration of the personal data of WhatsApp users even though this would violate representations both firms previously made to the Commission.” EPIC previously filed a motion to intervene in the case that has not yet been resolved by the court. Through a Freedom of Information Act Request, EPIC has uncovered more than 29,000 complaints against Facebook currently pending at the Commission.

October 16, 2019 | Share:

In Court EPIC Argues AI Commission Broke Open Records Law

EPIC will argue in federal court on Wednesday that the National Commission on Artificial Intelligence has violated the Freedom of Information Act and must immediately process EPIC’s FOIA Requests to the Commission. Created by Congress in 2018, the AI Commission is tasked with considering "the methods and means necessary to advance the development of" AI in the United States. EPIC filed multiple requests for access to Commission meetings and records. But the Commission has operated almost entirely in secret, even as it prepares to submit recommendations to Congress and the President on November 5. EPIC filed suit against the Commission last month and asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction. The Commission is chaired by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and dominated by representatives of large tech firms, including Microsoft, Amazon, and Oracle. The case is EPIC v. AI Commission, No. 19-2906 (D.D.C.).

October 16, 2019 | Share:

EPIC to Supreme Court: Public Should Have Free Access to Georgia's State Code »

Senator Cantwell to FTC: Settlement Lets Facebook "Off the Hook" »

EPIC Seeks Reversal of Decision Allowing FAA Drone Committee to Operate in Secret »

New Documents from Surveillance Court Reveal FBI Violated the Law When It Searched Americans’ Communications »

California Attorney General Announces Rulemaking on California Privacy Law »

In Mueller Case, EPIC Obtains Memos About Suspected Agent of a Foreign Power »

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The EPIC Alert is a biweekly newsletter highlighting emerging privacy issues.

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EPIC in the News

Census Bureau seeking driver's license info, admin records
Roll Call
October 16, 2019

$5B Facebook Deal Lets Gov't Grab User Data, Court Told
Law360
October 16, 2019

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Upcoming Events

17Oct2019

"Right to Be Forgotten" Panel discussion with Marc Rotenberg, EPIC President

Arena Stage
Washington D.C.

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EPIC's Work

Open Government »

EPIC v. DOJ: Seeking the final report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller concerning Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

More EPIC FOIA cases »

Appellate Advocacy »

Department of Commerce v. New York: Whether the Department of Commerce and Census Bureau violated the Administrative Procedure Act when it added a citizenship question to the 2020 Census.

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