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  • EPIC Champions of Freedom Awards

    2021 EPIC Champion of Freedom Awards

    Join EPIC on November 3, 2021 as we celebrate this year's Champions of Freedom!

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  • Gillibrand DPA press conference photo

    Sen. Gillibrand Reintroduces Data Protection Act

    Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has reintroduced the Data Protection Act which would create an independent Data Protection Agency in the U.S. to safeguard the personal data of Americans. EPIC, many leading consumer and civil rights organizations, privacy experts, and scholars support Senator Gillibrand's non-partisan bill. Last year, EPIC Advisory Board Member Professor Ari Waldman and EPIC Deputy Director Caitriona Fitzgerald stood with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand for introduction of the bill.

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  • What the FTC Could Be Doing (But Isn't) To Protect Privacy

    EPIC Report: What the FTC Could Be Doing (But Isn't) To Protect Privacy

    EPIC has released a report highlighting numerous statutory authorities that the Federal Trade Commission has failed to use to safeguard privacy. The report, What the FTC Could Be Doing (But Isn't) to Protect Privacy, identifies untapped or underused powers in the FTC's toolbox and explains how the FTC should deploy them to protect the public from abusive data practices.

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  • EPIC Champions of Freedom Awards 2021

    Save the Date: EPIC Champions of Freedom Awards, Nov. 3

    Save the date for EPIC's Champions of Freedom Awards, taking place on November 3rd! This will be a hybrid event, pursuant to local health guidelines, with both in-person and virtual attendance options. EPIC will honor privacy advocates who work tirelessly to ensure that personal data is protected and to tackle the most important emerging privacy issues. Please save the date and join EPIC's celebration of those who protect privacy, freedom of expression, and democratic values in the information age!

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  • Liberty At Risk

    Liberty at Risk: Pre-trial Risk Assessment Tools in the U.S.

    Federal, state, and local governments use Risk Assessment Tools to make key decisions about defendants in criminal cases, depriving accused individuals of their liberty based on subjective assessments of the likelihood that they will flee or commit crimes in the future. Many of these tools are opaque and not subject to independent review. "Liberty at Risk: Pre-trial Risk Assessment Tools in the U.S." provides an overview of Risk Assessment Tools that practitioners and scholars can use to understand the nature of these systems, understand the broader context in which they are used, and help focus their evaluations of the fairness of these systems.

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  • Defend Privacy. Support EPIC.

    Defend Privacy. Support EPIC.

    EPIC is on the front lines of the major privacy and civil liberties debates. In 2020, EPIC has worked to protect democratic institutions, promote algorithmic transparency, and defend the right to privacy. We need your support. And EPIC is a top-rated non-profit - Charity Navigator (Four Star) and Guidestar (Gold). Please donate to EPIC today.

    Defend Privacy. Support EPIC. »

  • EPIC Word Cloud 2021

    EPIC 2021

    EPIC is on the front lines of the major privacy and civil liberties debates. In 2021, EPIC has important work to do on artificial intelligence, face surveillance, data protection, and algorithmic fairness, among many other issues. Please donate to EPIC today to help us continue this important work.

    Defend Privacy. Support EPIC. »

  • Alan Butler on CBS

    EPIC Files Complaint with FTC about Employment Screening Firm HireVue

    EPIC General Counsel Alan Butler discussing EPIC's case about the use of AI for employment screening on CBS News.

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  • Jeramie Scott on CBS

    EPIC's Jeramie Scott: Ban Face Surveillance

    EPIC Senior Counsel Jeramie Scott on CBS News discussing the dangers of face surveillance.

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  • EPIC - Ban Face Surveillance

    EPIC Launches Campaign to Ban Face Surveillance

    EPIC has launched a campaign to ban face surveillance. EPIC will publish information on face surveillance laws, reports, and protests worldwide.

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Top News

EPIC, Coalition Urge FTC to Issue Rules Protecting Consumers Against Data Abuse and Discrimination

Today, EPIC and a coalition of 44 consumer advocacy, civil rights, and media democracy groups urged the Federal Trade Commission to initiate a rulemaking to promote civil rights and protect against abusive data practices. “Companies use personal data to enable and even perpetuate discriminatory practices against people of color, women, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, religious minorities, persons with disabilities, persons living on low income, immigrants and other marginalized groups,” the letter explains. The letter calls for a rulemaking that would address the collection, use, management, retention, and deletion of personal data. "This country faces a deepening crisis of data abuse and discrimination,” John Davisson, Senior Counsel at EPIC. “But the FTC has the power to set industry-wide rules that will rein in exploitative data practices and protect privacy and civil rights. We join the president and members of Congress in urging the FTC to use that power as soon as possible.” EPIC has frequently challenged the FTC over its failure to address consumer privacy harms, has filed a rulemaking petition with the FTC on commercial AI use, and has long advocated for the creation of a U.S. Data Protection Agency. EPIC also published a report on the FTC’s unused statutory authorities, What the FTC Could Be Doing (But Isn’t) to Protect Privacy, in June.


Senate Dials Back Plan to Force SSN Collection by Payment Services, As EPIC Urged

The Senate Finance Committee has significantly scaled back a proposal in the pending budget reconciliation bill to expand the mandatory reporting regime for private financial information in the United States, a move that EPIC and peer organizations called for last month. The original proposal would have required peer-to-peer apps and services to provide the IRS with Tax Identification Numbers and other data for accounts with inflows and outflows of more than $600 per year. Because most individuals do not hold a separate TIN from their Social Security Number, this plan would have forced private entities to collect the SSNs of millions of Americans. The revised proposal raises the threshold from $600 to $10,000, a significant step toward recommendations by EPIC and other privacy and consumer rights groups. “At minimum, the expanded reporting requirement should be scaled back to apply only to business accounts or individual accounts with a high de minimis threshold, adjusted for inflation over time,” the coalition wrote in its letter to the Senate Finance Committee. U.S Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also praised the change.


EPIC Urges Canadian Privacy Commissioner to Ban Facial Recognition

In comments on the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, EPIC urged the Commissioner to ban police use of facial recognition. EPIC's comments respond to the Commissioner's recently published Draft Guidance on Facial Recognition for Police Agencies. The Draft Guidance is a set of non-binding recommendations that would govern how police agencies in Canada use facial recognition technology. EPIC's comments argue that police cannot be trusted with facial recognition, that the Draft Guidance would not prevent abuses of the technology, and that the only privacy-protective approach to facial recognition is a complete ban. EPIC has joined a number of coalitions urging a ban on facial recognition including: an international letter opposing the technology, a statement of concerns on police use of FR, and EPIC's Ban Face Surveillance campaign.


EPIC and NCLC Encourage FCC to Impose Specific Requirements on VoIP Providers to Reduce Illegal Robocalls »

EPIC Applauds FTC SpyFone Ban, Urges Similar Remedies in Future Privacy Cases »

California Enacts Genetic Information Privacy Act »

European Parliament Calls for Ban on Facial Recognition, Social Scoring »

EPIC Joins Coalition Urging FCC Not to Permit Unfettered Ringless Voicemails »

Senate Committee Hears Testimony of Facebook Whistleblower »

EPIC news Archive »

EPIC's Work

Open Government image

Open Government »

EPIC v. DOJ: Seeking the final report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller concerning Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

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Appellate Advocacy »

Department of Commerce v. New York: Whether the Department of Commerce and Census Bureau violated the Administrative Procedure Act when it added a citizenship question to the 2020 Census.

US Capitol

EPIC Policy Project »

EPIC provides expertise to shape strong privacy and open government laws at both the state and federal level.

US Needs a Data Protection Agency

Privacy Campaigns »

EPIC recently launched a campaign to promote the creation of a Data Protection Agency in the U.S.