In advance of a hearing concerning the Office of Science and Technology Policy, EPIC said that OSTP should ensure public participation in the development of AI policy. EPIC told the Senate Commerce Committee that Congress must also implement oversight mechanisms for the use of AI. EPIC said that Congress should require algorithmic transparency, particularly for government systems that involve the processing of personal data. In a recent petition to OSTP, EPIC, leading scientific organizations, including AAAS, ACM and IEEE, and nearly 100 experts urged the White House to solicit public comments on artificial intelligence policy. EPIC has pursued several criminal justice FOIA cases, and FTC consumer complaints to promote transparency and accountability. In 2015, EPIC launched an international campaign for Algorithmic Transparency.
EPIC has advised the FTC on algorithmic decision tools, artificial intelligence, and predictive analytics for the hearings on "Competition and Consumer Protection in the 21st Century." In the comments, EPIC urged the FTC to (1) prohibit unfair and deceptive algorithms, (2) seek legislative authority for "algorithmic transparency" to establish consumer protection in automated decision-making, (3) provide guidance on the ethical design and implementation of algorithms, and (4) make public the "Universal Tennis Rating" algorithm that secretly scores young athletes. Calling on the Commission to act on EPIC's repeated complaints on the proprietary algorithm that poses risks to children's privacy, EPIC said: "secret algorithms are unfair and deceptive," conceal bias, and deprive consumers of opportunities in the marketplace. EPIC champions "Algorithmic Transparency", and has advised Congress that algorithmic transparency is necessary for fairness and accountability.
EPIC, the Center for Digital Democracy, the Consumer Federation of America, and US PIRG submitted comments to the FTC in advance of hearings on "Competition and Consumer Protection in the 21st Century." The consumer groups said that privacy protection is critical for completion and innovation. The groups told the FTC that it should: 1) unwind the Facebook-WhatsApp deal; 2) require Facebook and Google to spin off their advertising units into independent companies; 3) block all future acquisitions by Facebook and Google that would enable the companies to increase their monopoly over consumer data; 4) impose privacy safeguards for all future mergers that implicate data privacy concerns; and 5) perform audits of algorithmic tools to promote accountability and to limit anticompetitive conduct. This will be the first time the FTC has reexamined its approach to consumer protection and competition since the FTC's 1995 hearings on "Global Competition and Innovation." EPIC participated in the 1995 hearings which led to the FTC's work on consumer privacy.
