A federal court has rejected a challenge from internet services providers to Maine’s broadband privacy law. Enacted last year, the law prohibits broadband providers from using, disclosing, or selling consumers’ personal data without express consent. The ISPs had argued that the Maine law conflicted with Congress’s 2017 overturning of broadband privacy rules issued by the Federal Communications Commission and the FCC’s 2018 disclaimer of regulatory authority over broadband providers. But the ISPs’ “attempt to manufacture a conflict in this case is unavailing,” Judge Lance E. Walker wrote. The court also refused to hold that the Maine law violates the First Amendment or is unconstitutionally vague. EPIC has long advocated for comprehensive privacy legislation that would protect states’ ability to enact stronger privacy laws.
The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence will hold its first public plenary meeting on July 20, the Commission said today. The announcement comes after a ruling in EPIC v. AI Commission that the Commission is subject to the transparency requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Judge Trevor N. McFadden ordered the Commission to hold open meetings and regularly publish its records in the future. Judge McFadden previously ruled that the AI Commission is subject to the Freedom of Information Act, and the Commission began disclosing its past records in January. Registration for the Commission’s July 20 meeting will open July 8. The case is EPIC v. AI Commission, No. 19-2906 (D.D.C.).
A federal court, as part of an open government lawsuit brought by EPIC, has ordered the Department of Justice to answer a series of questions concerning the DOJ’s redactions to the Mueller Report. Judge Reggie B. Walton recently announced that he could not “assess the merits of certain redactions without further representations from the Department” and ordered the DOJ to attend an “ex parte” (one-on-one) hearing on July 20. Under today’s order, the DOJ is also required to file written answers by July 14. Both Judge Walton’s questions and the DOJ’s responses will be sealed from the public, the court stated. EPIC's case—the first in the nation for the disclosure of the Mueller Report—is EPIC v. DOJ, No. 19-810.
