You are viewing an archived webpage. The information on this page may be out of date. Learn about EPIC's recent work at epic.org.

Seventh Circuit Court Hears Oral Argument in Students' Privacy Case

The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit heard oral arguments today in Chicago Tribune v. University of Illinois. EPIC filed a "friend of the court" brief in the case, which concerns student privacy rights protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ("FERPA"). EPIC's brief argued that Congress intended to protect student records, including admissions files, from unauthorized release and that Illinois' open government law must yield to the federal privacy law. In this case, the Tribune requested documents from the University of Illinois, under Illinois' open government law, while investigating alleged corruption in the admissions practices of the University. The University denied the Tribune's request, stating that the requested documents contained the personally identifiable information of students and were thereby protected by federal law. A lower federal court found that Illinois law required the documents to be released. The Depart of Justice also filed a brief in support of student privacy in the case. For more information, see EPIC: Chicago Tribune v. University of Illinois and EPIC: Student Privacy.


« EPIC-Led Coalition Calls for FTC Facebook Investigation | Main | EPIC Urges Supreme Court to Uphold Fourth Amendment in GPS Case »

Share this page:

Defend Privacy. Support EPIC.
US Needs a Data Protection Agency
2020 Election Security