amicus FCC v. ATT Public Opinion
Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument in "Personal Privacy" case
The Supreme Court heard oral argument in FCC v. AT&T. EPIC has filed a "friend of the court" brief in the case, which concerns the meaning of "personal privacy." EPIC urged the Justices to reject AT&T's claim that the corporation's "personal privacy" prevents the public disclosure of records subject to the Freedom of Information Act. EPIC cited the commonly understood meaning of "personal privacy" in the work of legal scholars and technical experts, as well as the use of these terms in an extensive survey of US privacy laws. The records at issue in the case pertain to contract work for the federal government. The Supreme Court agreed to review a lower court opinion which held that AT&T could assert a personal privacy interest. EPIC's brief argued that if upheld, the lower court's "interpretation of 'personal privacy' would stand as an outlier, untethered to common understanding, legal scholarship, technical methods, or privacy law." For more information, see EPIC: FCC v. AT&T.
January 19, 2011| Share:
