A federal court, ruling in EPIC v. AI Commission, has ordered the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence to open its meetings to the public. The Commission is charged with developing recommendations on the use of AI in national security and defense contexts. But after the Commission conducted much of its work in secret and without public input, EPIC filed an open government lawsuit against the Commission last year. In Monday’s decision, Judge Trevor N. McFadden ruled that the Commission is subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act and must therefore hold open meetings and regularly publish its records. “Today, the Court holds that Congress can and did impose Janus-like transparency obligations upon the AI Commission,” Judge McFadden wrote. “No rule of law forced Congress to choose just one.” EPIC previously won a court ruling that the AI Commission is subject to the Freedom of Information Act, and the Commission recently began disclosing its past records. The case is EPIC v. AI Commission, No. 19-2906.
Through a Freedom of Information request, EPIC has obtained records concerning Utah’s "Healthy Together” COVID-19 app. The documents include a presentation from Twenty Holdings, Inc., the company that developed the app, and include details of its development. The records reveal that “[o]nce the economy resumes normalcy, the App will continue to provide the mechanism to monitor any emerging risks.” It has been reported that Twenty hopes to sell the app and app back end to other states and private companies. The developers of the app plan to integrate the Apple/Google API when it is available. The app current methodology relies on collated location data from all users, rather than decentralized proximity tracking. The Utah Governor’s Office of Management and Budget found no records of any audits or independent privacy assessments of the contact tracing app. EPIC has called on Congress to ensure that government agencies and private companies establish privacy safeguards for digital contact tracing. But without audits and independent privacy assessments, contact tracing apps like Healthy Together cannot be "robust, scalable, and provable."
The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence is seeking public comments on federal AI policy—a step that EPIC has repeatedly urged the Commission to take. The Commission is charged with developing recommendations on the use of AI in national security and defense contexts. But the Commission has conducted much of its work in secret and without public input, leading EPIC to file an open government lawsuit against the Commission. EPIC won a court ruling that the AI Commission is subject to the Freedom of Information Act, and the Commission has begun disclosing its records. EPIC is also litigating to enforce the Commission's obligation to hold open meetings. Public comments to the AI Commission are due by September 30, 2020.
