EPIC proudly announces the 2016 edition of the Privacy Law Sourcebook, the definitive reference guide to US and international privacy law. The Privacy Law Sourcebook is an edited collection of the primary legal instruments for privacy protection in the modern age, including United States law, International law, and recent developments. The Sourcebook includes recent US law, such as the FREEDOM Act, and the EU General Data Protection Regulation, the UN Resolution on the Right to Privacy in the Modern Age, and regional privacy agreements. The Privacy Law Sourcebook 2016 is available for purchase from the EPIC Bookstore. EPIC will make the Privacy Law Sourcebook freely available to NGOs and human rights organizations.
The plaintiffs in the In re Nickelodeon class action recently asked the Supreme Court to hear their case. In June, a federal appeals court rejected claims that Viacom and Google violated the Video Privacy Protection Act, holding that static IP and MAC addresses are not “personally identifiable information.” The opinion contradicted a ruling from a different federal appeals court which held that unique IDs are personally identifiable under the video privacy law. EPIC filed an amicus brief in the Nickelodeon case, explaining that Congress defined personal information broadly “to ensure that the underlying intent of the Act—to safeguard personal information against unlawful disclosure—is preserved as technology evolves.” The petition is C.A.F. v. Viacom, case number 16-346.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled today in Commonwealth v. White that the Fourth Amendment prohibits law enforcement from seizing a cell phone based simply on an officer’s suspicion that a cell phone may be used in a crime, finding that a warrant must be obtained prior to the seizure of the phone. EPIC filed an amicus brief in the case, arguing that "digital is different," and therefore the legal standard for warrantless searches of contraband in schools does not apply to cell phones. EPIC also explained the significance of Riley v. California, the recent Supreme Court that established a warrant requirement for searches of cell phones. The EPIC State Policy Project coordinated the EPIC amicus brief in the case.
