The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the government's appeal of New York v. Department of Commerce, in which a New York federal judge blocked the government from asking a citizenship question on the 2020 Census. EPIC filed an amicus brief in the case. EPIC has also sued to block the citizenship question in EPIC v. Commerce. EPIC alleges that the Bureau failed to complete privacy impact assessments before adding the question. A lower court held that the Bureau must "prepare PIAs that adequately address the collection of citizenship data in the 2020 Census," but denied a preliminary injunction. EPIC has appealed the decision.
EPIC has filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to safeguard FCC rules that protect the public from robocalls and junk faxes. The case, PDR Network v. Carlton & Harris Chiropractic, concerns a company's efforts to disregard an FCC rule about junk faxes. EPIC explained that permitting companies to avoid FCC rules "will exclude the voices of consumers" in agency decision making. EPIC also explained that the company's efforts to sidestep agency rules will benefit those "who have resources to attack FCC rules." EPIC contributed to the development of the robocall and junk fax laws. EPIC has since worked to ensure that telephone users are protected from invasive practices through agency comments and amicus briefs in cases such as ACA International and Gallion v. Charter Communications.
EPIC has submitted comments the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression for a report on the surveillance industry. The Special Rapporteur is soliciting information for a report to UN General Assembly on how surveillance technology is regulated and used around the world. EPIC's submission details a recent U.S. proposal to limit exports of surveillance technology, new limits on access to surveillance tech in the United States, and key EPIC Freedom of Information Act cases to uncover details of ICE's procurement of mobile forensics and analytics technology. EPIC pursues an extensive FOIA docket.
