• Gillibrand DPA press conference photo

    Sen. Gillibrand Reintroduces Data Protection Act

    Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has reintroduced the Data Protection Act which would create an independent Data Protection Agency in the U.S. to safeguard the personal data of Americans. EPIC, many leading consumer and civil rights organizations, privacy experts, and scholars support Senator Gillibrand's non-partisan bill. Last year, EPIC Advisory Board Member Professor Ari Waldman and EPIC Deputy Director Caitriona Fitzgerald stood with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand for introduction of the bill.

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  • What the FTC Could Be Doing (But Isn't) To Protect Privacy

    EPIC Report: What the FTC Could Be Doing (But Isn't) To Protect Privacy

    EPIC has released a report highlighting numerous statutory authorities that the Federal Trade Commission has failed to use to safeguard privacy. The report, What the FTC Could Be Doing (But Isn't) to Protect Privacy, identifies untapped or underused powers in the FTC's toolbox and explains how the FTC should deploy them to protect the public from abusive data practices.

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  • EPIC Champions of Freedom Awards 2021

    Save the Date: EPIC Champions of Freedom Awards, Nov. 3

    Save the date for EPIC's Champions of Freedom Awards, taking place on November 3rd! This will be a hybrid event, pursuant to local health guidelines, with both in-person and virtual attendance options. EPIC will honor privacy advocates who work tirelessly to ensure that personal data is protected and to tackle the most important emerging privacy issues. Please save the date and join EPIC's celebration of those who protect privacy, freedom of expression, and democratic values in the information age!

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  • Liberty At Risk

    Liberty at Risk: Pre-trial Risk Assessment Tools in the U.S.

    Federal, state, and local governments use Risk Assessment Tools to make key decisions about defendants in criminal cases, depriving accused individuals of their liberty based on subjective assessments of the likelihood that they will flee or commit crimes in the future. Many of these tools are opaque and not subject to independent review. "Liberty at Risk: Pre-trial Risk Assessment Tools in the U.S." provides an overview of Risk Assessment Tools that practitioners and scholars can use to understand the nature of these systems, understand the broader context in which they are used, and help focus their evaluations of the fairness of these systems.

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  • Defend Privacy. Support EPIC.

    Defend Privacy. Support EPIC.

    EPIC is on the front lines of the major privacy and civil liberties debates. In 2020, EPIC has worked 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.

    Defend Privacy. Support EPIC. »

  • EPIC Word Cloud 2021

    EPIC 2021

    EPIC is on the front lines of the major privacy and civil liberties debates. In 2021, EPIC has important work to do on artificial intelligence, face surveillance, data protection, and algorithmic fairness, among many other issues. Please donate to EPIC today to help us continue this important work.

    Defend Privacy. Support EPIC. »

  • Alan Butler on CBS

    EPIC Files Complaint with FTC about Employment Screening Firm HireVue

    EPIC General Counsel Alan Butler discussing EPIC's case about the use of AI for employment screening on CBS News.

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  • Jeramie Scott on CBS

    EPIC's Jeramie Scott: Ban Face Surveillance

    EPIC Senior Counsel Jeramie Scott on CBS News discussing the dangers of face surveillance.

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  • EPIC - Ban Face Surveillance

    EPIC Launches Campaign to Ban Face Surveillance

    EPIC has launched a campaign to ban face surveillance. EPIC will publish information on face surveillance laws, reports, and protests worldwide.

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Top News

Supreme Court to Continue Live Audio Streaming of Arguments Through Fall

The U.S. Supreme Court announced Wednesday that it will continue streaming live audio of its oral arguments at least through December of this year. The justices will also resume holding arguments in person, though the Court building will remain closed to the public. The Court's announcement came the same day that EPIC and a coalition of over 75 civil society, transparency, media, and disability rights organizations wrote to the Court urging it to make live audio access to oral arguments permanent. The letter emphasized that "[f]air and equal justice can't be delivered without accountability and transparency. Ensuring that live audio of oral arguments remains accessible to the public . . . would promote transparency and increase public confidence in the nation's highest court." At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Court began streaming live audio feed oral arguments for the first time in its history. More than 130,000 people streamed arguments live during the Court's May 2020 sitting, and oral arguments since the beginning of the pandemic have been streamed nearly three million times. During its last term, the Court held oral arguments by teleconference in four cases in which EPIC filed an amicus brief, including U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service v. Sierra Club, Van Buren v. United States, Facebook v. Duguid, and TransUnion v. Ramirez.


Sixth Circuit Says Callers Liable for Illegal Robocalls Made in 2015-2020

The Sixth Circuit has rejected a robocall defendant's bid to use the Supreme Court's decision last year in Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants to create immunity for illegal robocalls made between 2015 and 2020. In Barr, the Supreme Court found that an exception added in 2015 to the decades-old robocall restriction was unconstitutional and must be severed from the law. The defendant in the case before the Sixth Circuit, Lindenbaum v. Realgy, LLC, argued that the decision in Barr made the broad robocall ban unenforceable for the period between the unconstitutional exception's enactment and the Supreme Court's decision to sever, from 2015-2020. The district court agreed and threw the lawsuit out. The Sixth Circuit's decision reverses the district court and allows the robocall suit to continue. EPIC and the National Consumer Law Center filed an amicus brief in the case arguing that granting robocallers immunity “would reward those who made tens of billions of unwanted robocalls and deprive consumers of any remedy for the incessant invasion of their privacy.” EPIC regularly files amicus briefs supporting consumers in illegal robocall cases.


EPIC Urges UK Surveillance Commissioner to Foreground Privacy, Ban Facial Recognition in Updates to Surveillance Camera Code

EPIC has submitted comments to the Biometrics and Surveillance Commissioner of the United Kingdom on proposed updates to the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice. The currents updates proposed focus on aligning the Code with developments in surveillance law and recent court decisions. EPIC's comment contains several recommends to more directly address surveillance risks to privacy and international human rights, including banning facial recognition technology, emotion recognition, and biometric categorization systems, setting clear assessment and consultation requirements criteria for databases used for matching technology and consultations, and strengthening protections against improper use of facial and biometric recognition systems. EPIC contributes substantially to ongoing efforts in protections against surveillance, including a campaign to ban facial recognition technology and filing suit against agencies misusing surveillance technology, as in a recent suit against the Postal Service .


Ireland's Data Protection Commission Fines WhatsApp €225 million »

EPIC Joins Call for Privacy Reform from Indian Government »

GAO Report Finds 10 Federal Agencies Plan to Expand Use of Facial Recognition Through 2023 »

EPIC Obtains Documents About DC's Use of Automated 'Risk Scores' for Public Benefit Recipients »

EPIC Submits Feedback on NIST AI Risk Management Framework »

Federal Trade Commission Refiles Facebook Antitrust Lawsuit »

EPIC news Archive »

EPIC's Work

Open Government image

Open Government »

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

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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.

US Capitol

EPIC Policy Project »

EPIC provides expertise to shape strong privacy and open government laws at both the state and federal level.

US Needs a Data Protection Agency

Privacy Campaigns »

EPIC recently launched a campaign to promote the creation of a Data Protection Agency in the U.S.