EPIC Amicus Curiae Briefs
EPIC frequently files amicus curiae, or "friend of the court", briefs in federal and state appellate cases concerning emerging privacy and civil liberties issues.
We work closely with technical experts and legal scholars, members of the EPIC Advisory Board, on these briefs. EPIC's amicus briefs assist judges in their analyses of novel privacy issues, often involving new technology. Many of these cases are complex and technical. Judges often acknowledge EPIC's briefs in their opinions, and have expressed gratitude for EPIC's participation in important cases. EPIC's decision to participate as amicus in a particular case typically follows an extensive review of matters pending before federal and state courts.
Interested in potential amicus opportunities in pending privacy, civil liberties, and technology cases? Visit the EPIC Amicus Tracker.
FEATURED CASE
United States v. Microsoft 17-2
U.S. Supreme Court | Electronic Communications Privacy ActWhether the Stored Communications Act authorizes warrants for personal data stored outside of the United States
Documents
EPIC's Amicus Brief
January 18, 2018
Jackson, et al v. McCurry, et al 18-10231
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | Fourth AmendmentWhether school administrators may access and search the contents of a student's cell phone without consent
Documents
EPIC's Amicus Brief
March 12, 2018
Campbell v. Facebook 17-16873
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit | Consumer PrivacyWhether the lower court erred in approving a proposed class action settlement that allowed Facebook to continue scanning private messages as long as the company posts a notice about the practice in its privacy policy
Documents
EPIC's Amicus Brief
February 1, 2018
Dahda v. United States 17-43
U.S. Supreme Court | WiretappingWhether cell phone communications collected under an invalid wiretap order should be excluded from evidence pursuant to the Wiretap Act
Documents
EPIC's Amicus Brief
December 7, 2017
In re: Google Cookie Placement Settlement 17-1480
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | Consumer PrivacyWhether the lower court erred in approving a proposed class action settlement in the Google "cookie placement" litigation that did not provide direct relief to class members and would distribute funds to groups with prior connections to Google and class counsel.
Documents
EPIC's Amicus Brief
November 22, 2017
Byrd v. United States 16-402
Supreme Court | Fourth AmendmentWhether a driver can challenge a warrantless search of a rental vehicle under the Fourth Amendment if they are not registered on the car rental contract
Documents
EPIC's Amicus Brief
November 20, 2017
hiQ Labs v. LinkedIn Corp. 17-16783
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | Consumer PrivacyWhether a court can compel a professional networking platform to provide access to users’ profile information to a third-party data mining company
Documents
EPIC's Amicus Brief
October 10, 2017
Eichenberger v. ESPN 876 F.3d 979 (9th Cir. 2017)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | StandingWhether ESPN's tracking of video viewing habits of streaming users violates the Video Privacy Protection Act and whether consumers whose VPPA rights have been violated can establish Article III standing to sue in federal court
Smith v. Facebook No. 17-16206
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | Consumer PrivacyWhether Facebook's tracking of users' visits to medical websites violates California and Federal privacy laws
Documents
EPIC's Amicus Brief
September 26, 2017
Carpenter v. United States 16-402
Supreme Court | Fourth Amendment, Location PrivacyWhether the Fourth Amendment Permits the Government to Obtain Six Months of Cell Phone Location Records Without a Warrant
Documents
EPIC's Amicus Brief
August 14, 2017
Does v. Daleiden 695 Fex. Appx. 265 (9th Cir. 2017)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | Open GovernmentWhether a Court Properly Enjoined Release of Names and Other Identifying Information Under the Washington Public Records Act
Americans for Prosperity Found. v. Becerra 16-55727, 16-55786
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | First AmendmentWhether the First Amendment Protects the Privacy of Donors in Charitable Giving
Documents
EPIC's Amicus Brief
January 27, 2017
Attias v. Carefirst, Inc 865 F.3d 620 (D.C. Cir. 2017)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit | StandingConcerning Whether Victims of Data Breaches Must Suffer Certainly Impending or Actual Concrete Harms (i.e., Damages) In Order to Sue
Packingham v. North Carolina 137 F.3d 1730 (2017)
Supreme Court | First Amendment, Social Media PrivacyWhether a State Can Ban Registered Sex Offenders From Accessing Internet News Sites
Marquis v. Google SJC 12103
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court | WiretappingWhether Google's interception of e-mail is a violation of the MA Wiretap Act
Documents
EPIC's Amicus Brief
October 24, 2016
Gubala v. Time Warner Cable 846 F.3d 909 (7th Cir. 2017)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit | StandingWhether consumers can sue for violations of the Cable Communications Policy Act
Cahen v. Toyota Motor Corporation 2017 WL 6525501
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | StandingWhether drivers can sue for privacy and security vulnerabilities in connected cars
Perry v. CNN 854 F.3d 1336 (11th Cir. 2017)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | Video Privacy Protection ActWhether sharing the MAC address and video viewing history collected from a free mobile app violates the Video Privacy Protection Act
In re SuperValu Customer Data Security Breach Litigation 870 F.3d 763 (8th Cir. 2017)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit | StandingConcerning Whether Victims of Data Breaches Must Suffer Certainly Impending or Actual Concrete Harms (i.e., Damages) In Order to Sue
Veasey v. Abbott 830 F.3d 126 (5th Cir. 2016)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit | Voter IDConcerning the Legality of the Texas Voter Photo Identification Law
Storm v. Paytime, Inc. No. 15-3690
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit | StandingConcerning Whether Victims of Data Breaches Must Suffer Identity Theft or Financial Fraud In Order to Sue
Documents
EPIC's Amicus Brief
April 18, 2016
Liberty v. GCHQ App No. 24960/15
European Court of Human Rights | International PrivacyConcerning Whether Alleged Surveillance Activities by MI5, MI6, and GCHQ Violated Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights
Documents
EPIC's Amicus Brief
March 18, 2016
Apple v. FBI CM 16-10 (SP)
Central District of California | Fourth AmendmentConcerning an Order Requiring Apple to Create Custom Software to Assist the FBI in Hacking a Seized iPhone
Documents
EPIC's Amicus Brief
March 3, 2016
Smith v. LexisNexis Screening Solutions 837 F.3d 604 (6th Cir. 2016)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit | Consumer PrivacyConcerning the Standard of Care for Data Brokers Providing Employment Background Checks
Utah v. Strieff 136 S. Ct. 2056 (2016)
Supreme Court | Fourth AmendmentConcerning Whether An Outstanding Arrest Warrant Attenuates the Taint of an Unlawful Detention
ACA International v. FCC 15-1211
U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit | Telephone Record PrivacyConcerning the Federal Communication Commission's 2015 Order Interpreting of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act
Documents
EPIC's Amicus Brief
January 22, 2016
Commonwealth v. White SJC-11917
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court | Fourth AmendmentWhether schools may turn over to the police a student's cell phone without a warrant
Spokeo, Inc v. Robins 136 S. Ct. 1540 (2016)
Supreme Court | StandingWhether courts have jurisdiction to review cases brought by individuals based on violations of their federal privacy rights
United States v. Ganias 824 F.3d 199 (2d Cir. 2016)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit | Fourth AmendmentWhether the Government violated the Fourth Amendment when they retained non-pertinent files for more than two years after the files were seized in an unrelated investigation
In re Nickelodeon 827 F.3d 262 (3d Cir. 2016)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit | Video Privacy Protection ActWhether the Video Privacy Protection Act protects from disclosure personal information collected by the Nick.com website
City of Los Angeles v. Patel 135 S. Ct. 2443 (2015)
Supreme Court | Fourth AmendmentWhether a city ordinance authorizing warrantless and suspicionless searches of hotel guest registries violates the Fourth Amendment
FTC v. Wyndham 799 F.3d 236 (3d Cir. 2015)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit | Consumer PrivacyWhether the FTC can enforce data security standards under its Section 5 "unfairness" authority
State v. Davis 360 P.3d 1161 (N.M. 2015)
New Mexico Supreme Court | Fourth AmendmentWhether aerial surveillance within the super adjacent space surrounding a dependant's home is a search under the Fourth Amendment and the New Mexico Constitution
Smith v. Obama 9th Cir. ___
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | Government SurveillanceWhether the ongoing collection of all telephone call records of all Americans violates the Fourth Amendment
Documents
EPIC's Amicus Brief
September 9, 2014
Bass v. Aitkin County 8th Cir. ___
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit | Drivers Privacy Protection ActWhether the statute of limitations under the DPPA accrues based on when the violation occurs or when it is discovered
In re National Security Letter 9th Cir. ___
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | First AmendmentWhether the nondisclosure provision in the National Security Letter statute violates the First Amendment
Documents
EPIC's Amicus Brief
March 31, 2014
Riley v. California 134 S. Ct. 2473 (2014)
Supreme Court | Fourth AmendmentWhether a warrantless search of a cell phone during an arrest violates the Fourth Amendment
Fraley v. Facebook 9th Cir. ___
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | Consumer PrivacyWhether Facebook's proposed settlement of privacy claims arising from "Sponsored Stories" advertisements is fair and sufficient for class members
Documents
EPIC's Amicus Brief
February 20, 2014
Maryland v. King 569 U.S. 435 (2013)
Supreme Court | Fourth AmendmentConcerning the Constitutionality of Mandatory DNA Collection Pre-Conviction
New York Times v. DOJ 13-422
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit | Freedom of Information ActWhether FOIA Deliberative Process Privilege Exemption Applies to Final DOJ-OLC Opinions
Jennings v. Broome 569 U.S. 918 (2013)
Supreme Court | Electronic Communications Privacy ActConcerning the Scope of Protections for Stored E-mail Under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act
McBurney v. Young 569 U.S. 221 (2013)
Supreme Court | Freedom of Information ActConcerning the Constitutionality of State FOI Disclosure Restrictions for Non-Residents
Documents
EPIC's Amicus Brief
January 1, 2013
Court Opinion
April 29, 2013
Brief for Amici Curiae CREW, EPIC, et al in Support of Petitioners (cert stage)
Maracich v. Spears 570 U.S. 48 (2013)
Supreme Court | Drivers Privacy Protection ActConcerning the Scope of the 'Litigation' Exception to the Drivers' Privacy Protection Act
Clapper v. Amnesty Int'l USA 568 U.S. 398 (2013)
Supreme Court | StandingConcerning the Standing of Public Interest Organizations, Journalists, and Lawyers to Challenge the Constitutionality of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008
Florida v. Harris 568 U.S. 237 (2013)
Supreme Court | Fourth AmendmentWhether an investigative technique that law enforcement asserts reliably identifies the presence of contraband is sufficient to satisfy the probable cause requirement of the Fourth Amendment and thereby allows routine warrantless searches.
CREW v. FEC 12-5004
U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit | Freedom of Information ActWhat constitutes an adequate FOIA determination such that a FOIA requester who has not received such a determination from an agency within FOIA's time limits may file suit
Gordon v. Softech Int'l Inc. 726 F.3d 42 (2d Cir. 2013)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit | Drivers Privacy Protection ActConcerning Reseller Liability for an Alleged But Undisclosed Impermissible Use of Driver Information Under the DPPA
United States v. Hamilton 701 F.3d 404 (4th Cir. 2012)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit | Workplace PrivacyConcerning the Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in Personal E-Mails Stored on a Work Computer
Ben Joffe v. Google 746 F.3d 920 (9th Cir. 2013)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | Electronic Communications Privacy ActConcerning Google's Civil Liability Under The Wiretap Act For Interception of Wi-Fi Payload Data
State v. Earls 70 A.3d 630 (2013)
New Jersey Supreme Court | Location PrivacyWhether the government can constitutionally obtain and use locational information from a defendant's cell phone provider to track a suspect's location without a warrant under the Fourth Amendment
In re US Application for CSLI 724 F.3d 600 (5th Cir. 2013)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit | Location PrivacyConcerning the Constitutionality of the Government's Request for Historical "Cell-Site Location Information" Under Section 2703(d) of the Stored Communications Act
First American v. Edwards 567 U.S. 756 (2012)
Supreme Court | StandingConcerning Standing and Liquidated Damages for Federal Statutory Rights
FAA v. Cooper 566 U.S. 284 (2012)
Supreme Court | Privacy ActConcerning Emotional Injury as Harm Under the Privacy Act
United States v. Jones 565 U.S. 400 (2012)
Supreme Court | Fourth AmendmentConcerning Warrantless GPS Installation and Tracking Under the Fourth Amendment
United States v. Pool 09-10303
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | Biometric PrivacyConcerning the Constitutionality of Mandatory DNA Collection
Documents
EPIC's Amicus Brief
July 25, 2011
Chicago Tribune v. Univ. of Illinois 11-2066
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit | FERPAConcerning the Privacy of Education Records Under FERPA
Doe v. Luzerne County 660 F.3d 169 (3rd Cir. 2011)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit | Informational PrivacyConcerning the right of public employees to remain free from surreptitious video surveillance while undressed as they shower at their workplace
In re Google Street View 794 F. Supp. 2d 1067
Northern District of CA | Electronic Communications Privacy ActConcerning Google's Civil Liability Under The Wiretap Act For Interception of Wi-Fi Payload Data
Sorrell v. IMS Health 564 U.S. 552 (2011)
Supreme Court | Medical Record privacyConcerning the Use of Prescriber-Identifiable Data for Targeted Marketing
Tolentino v. New York 563 U.S. 123 (2011)
Supreme Court | Fourth AmendmentConcerning Suppression of Evidence Accessed After an Illegal Police Search
FCC v. AT&T 562 U. S. 397 (2011)
Supreme Court | Freedom of Information ActDoes FOIA give corporations the same personal privacy rights as natural born people?
NASA v. Nelson 562 U.S. 134 (2011)
Supreme Court | Informational PrivacyConcerning Informational Privacy for Federal Contract Employees
G.D. v. Kenny 15 A.3d 300 NJ 275
New Jersey Supreme Court | ExpungementConcerning preserving the value of expungement
Doe v. Reed 561 U. S. 186 (2010)
Supreme Court | First AmendmentConcerning the Compelled Disclosure of Petition Signatures
SEC v. Galleon 622 F.3d 159 (2d Cir. 2010)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit | WiretappingWhether an individual is required to turn over more than 18,000 wiretapped conversations acquired by the government in a criminal case when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) compels the disclosure of such material in a separate but related civil case
City of Ontario v. Quon 560 U. S. 746 (2010)
Supreme Court | Fourth AmendmentConcerning Text Messaging Privacy in the Workplace
Harris v. Blockbuster 622 F.Supp.2d 396
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit | Video Privacy Protection ActConcerning the Substitution of Privacy Rights by Arbitration
Documents
EPIC's Amicus Brief
November 3, 2009
Ostergren v. Cuccinelli 615 F.3d 263 (4th Cir. 2010)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit | CybersecurityConcerning the Publication of Social Security Numbers
Google Books Settlement 05 CIV 8136
Southern District of New York | Internet PrivacyConcerning the Google Books Settlement
Commonwealth v. Connolly 454 Mass. 808 (2009)
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court | Fourth AmendmentConcerning GPS Tracking of a Vehicle as a "Search and Seizure"
Flores-Figueroa v. United States 556 U.S. 646 (2009)
Supreme Court | Identity TheftConcerning Proper Application of the Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act
Bunnell v. MPAA 567 F.Supp.2d 1148 (2008)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | Electronic Communications Privacy ActWhether the Wiretap Act protects e-mail messages in circumstances when the messages are briefly stored while they pass through mail servers.
Documents
EPIC's Amicus Brief
August 1, 2008
Herring v. United States 555 U.S. 135 (2009)
Supreme Court | Database errorsConcerning a Faulty Arrest Based on Incorrect Information in a Government Database
NCTA v. FCC 555 F.3d 996 (D.C. Cir. 2009)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit | Consumer PrivacyConcerning Privacy of Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI)
Crawford v. Marion County 553 U.S. 181 (2008)
Supreme Court | Voter IDConcerning Photo Identification Requirements for Voters
IMS Health v. Ayotte 550 F.3d 42 (2008)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit | Medical Record privacyConcerning the Use of Prescriber-Identifiable Data for Targeted Marketing
New Jersey v. Reid 194 N.J. 386, 954 A.2d 503 (N.J. 2008)
New Jersey Supreme Court | Fourth AmendmentConcerning ISP subscriber privacy
Hepting v. AT&T
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | Government SurveillanceConcerning NSA Warrantless Domestic Spying Program
In re Marriage of [Redacted]
District Court, Colorado | Telephone Record PrivacyTelephone record privacy
Documents
EPIC's Amicus Brief
April 16, 2007
Documents
EPIC's Amicus Brief
June 30, 2006
Peterson v. NTIA 06-1548
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit | First AmendmentConcerning Privacy for Domain Name Holders
ACLU v. DOD 05-6286
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit | Freedom of Information ActConcerning Freedom of Information Act Exemption 7(F)
Documents
EPIC's Amicus Brief
March 10, 2006
Nelson v. Salem State College 446 Mass. 525
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court | Workplace PrivacyConcerning employee privacy in the state workplace
Kohler v. Englade 470 F. 3d 1104 (5th Cir. 2006)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit | Fourth AmendmentConcerning DNA Dragnets
Gonzales v. Doe 449 F. 3d 415 (2nd Cir. 2006)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit | First AmendmentConcerning National Security Letters
Documents
EPIC's Amicus Brief
October 2, 2005
Forensic Advisors, Inc. v. Matrixx Initiatives, Inc. 907 A.2d 855 (2006)
Maryland Court of Appeals | First AmendmentConcerning Subscriber List Privacy
United States v. Councilman 385 F.3d 793 (1st Cir. 2004)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Firsth Circuit | Electronic Communications Privacy ActConcerning whether email can be "intercepted" in violation of federal wiretap law while it is temporarily stored on an email server
ABA v. Brown 04-16334
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | PreemptionConcerning federal preemption of state privacy laws
Kehoe v. Fidelity Bank 421 F.3d 1209 (11th Cir. 2005)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | Drivers Privacy Protection ActConcerning the Driver's Privacy Protection Act
Gilmore v. Gonzales 435 F.3d 1125 (9th Cir. 2006)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | Secret LawConcerning Secret Law
United States v. Kincade 379 F.3d 813 (9th Cir. 2004)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | Fourth AmendmentConcerning DNA collection
Hiibel v. Sixth Judicial Dist. Ct. of Nev., Humbolt County 542 U. S. 177 (2004)
Supreme Court | Fourth AmendmentWhether an individual who has not been arrested may refuse to identify himself to a law enforcement officer
Doe v. Chao 540 U. S. 614 (2004)
Supreme Court | Privacy ActConcerning whether a person should be required to prove actual damages to obtain relief under the Privacy Act
RIAA v. Verizon 351 F.3d 1229 (D.D.C. 2003)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit | Internet PrivacyConcerning Copyright Subpoena Privacy
BATF v. Chicago U.S. Cert., 2003
Supreme Court | Freedom of Information ActConcerning the Freedom of Information Act
Documents
EPIC's Amicus Brief
February 5, 2003
United States v. Bach 310 F.3d 1063, 1066 (8th Cir. 2002)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit | Fourth AmendmentConcerning service of a warrant by fax
Paramount Pictures v. ReplayTV CV 01-09358 FMC
Central District of California | Consumer PrivacyConcerning Electronic Surveillance of TV Usage
Watchtower Bible v. Stratton 536 U. S. 150 (2002)
Supreme Court | First AmendmentConcerning Anonymity and the First Amendment
US West v. FCC U.S. Cert. 2000
Supreme Court | Right to PrivacyConcerning Telephone Subscriber Privacy
Bernstein v. U.S. Dept of Commerce 97-16686
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | First AmendmentConcerning Crypto Export Controls
Reno v. Condon 528 U. S. 141 (2000)
Supreme Court | Drivers Privacy Protection ActConcerning whether the Driver Privacy Protection Act, which prohibits the disclosure of personally identifiable information and motor vehicle records by public agencies and private persons, was an unconstitutional breach of federalism principles.
Junger v. Daley 209 F.3d 481 (6th Cir. 2000)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit | First AmendmentConcerning Crypto Export Controls
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