EPIC - Electronic Privacy Information Center

12/01/2020

Today is #GivingTuesday2020! Help EPIC continue to advocate for open government, democratic values, and individual #privacy! Visit epic.org/donate today! #GivingTuesday #donate #privacy

11/30/2020

#GivingTuesday is right around the corner! #Support
EPIC Visit http://epic.org/donate.

#GivingTuesday2020 #donate #privacy

11/30/2020

WSJ News Exclusive | Next Step in Government Data Tracking Is the Internet of Things

“Increasingly these radios are embedded in many, many things we wear, use and buy,” Mr. Butler said, saying that consumers remain unaware that those devices are constantly broadcasting a fixed and unique identifier to any device in range.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/next-step-in-government-data-tracking-is-the-internet-of-things-11606478401

The Air Force Research Laboratory is testing a commercial software platform that taps mobile phones as a window onto usage of hundreds of millions of computers, routers, fitness trackers and other networked devices.

10/27/2020

EPIC - EPIC Urges DHS Advisory Committee to Investigate Fusion Centers

EPIC Law Fellow, Jake Wiener, spoke at the Department of Homeland Security's Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee's public meeting today and urged the Committee to investigate rampant #privacy and civil liberties violations by fusion centers.
https://epic.org/2020/10/epic-urges-dhs-advisory-commit.html

EPIC Law Fellow, Jake Wiener, spoke at the Department of Homeland Security's Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee's public meeting today and urged the Committee to investigate rampant privacy and civil liberties violations by fusion centers. Fusion centers are centralized systems that pool....

10/27/2020

EPIC - EPIC, Coalition Urge University of Miami to Ban Face Surveillance

NEW: EPIC joined over 20 consumer, #privacy, civil liberties, and student organizations to call on the University of Miami to ban the use of facial recognition technology. https://epic.org/2020/10/epic-coalition-urge-university.html

EPIC joined over 20 consumer, privacy, civil liberties, and student organizations to call on the University of Miami to ban the use of facial recognition technology. The coalition letter comes after reports the University used facial recognition to identify student protesters. The coalition argued t...

10/27/2020

EPIC - EPIC Seeks Documents About ICE's Use of Clearview, Other Facial Recognition Services

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: @EPICprivacy filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit in the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia. EPIC challenged Immigration and Customs Enforcement's failure to respond to two Freedom of Information Act requests.
https://epic.org/2020/10/epic-seeks-documents-about-ice.html

EPIC filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit today in the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia. EPIC challenged Immigration and Customs Enforcement's failure to respond to two Freedom of Information Act requests. The first request sought information on ICE's use of Clearview AI's f...

10/26/2020

EPIC - EPIC Urges Supreme Court to Preserve Essential Robocall Protections

EPIC has filed an amicus brief in Facebook v. Duguid urging the U.S. Supreme Court to preserve the broad federal ban on #robocalls to cell phones.
#privacy
https://epic.org/2020/10/epic-urges-supreme-court-to-pr-5.html

EPIC has filed an amicus brief in Facebook v. Duguid urging the U.S. Supreme Court to preserve the broad federal ban on robocalls to cell phones. After being sued for sending automated texts to a non-user, Facebook has argued that the federal ban on automated dialing systems—or “autodialers”.....

10/20/2020

EPIC - Department of Justice Files Antitrust Suit Against Google

The Department of Justice has filed an antitrust case against @Google in federal court, alleging violations of anti-monopoly laws in the search and advertising markets.
https://epic.org/2020/10/department-of-justice-files-an.html

The Department of Justice has filed an antitrust case against Google in federal court, alleging violations of anti-monopoly laws in the search and advertising markets. EPIC has long warned regulators about the harmful privacy consequences of market consolidation by Google and other technology firms....

10/19/2020

EPIC - 2020 Election Security

The most common state deadline for state election officials to receive mail-in ballots is on Election Day when polls close.

If you live in any of these states your ballot can be submitted by mail if postmarked by Election Day and received shortly thereafter — CA, DC, IL, KS, MD, MN, MS, NV, NJ, NY, NC, PA, TX, VA, WA, and WV.

Use this resource to check your state's absentee ballot deadline: https://vote.org/absentee-ballot-deadlines/

Absentee Ballot Deadlines - Vote.org
Absentee ballot deadlines for all 50 states. Get your ballot now. Don't miss the deadline

Many states allow voters to track their ballots online. Find your state’s ballot tracker here: https://epic.org/cybersecurity/election/.

Voters should submit their ballots as soon as possible, and via drop off if possible, to ensure that their votes are counted as early as possible. However, there is still plenty of time to vote!

For more information please visit: https://epic.org/cybersecurity/election/.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) focuses public attention on emerging civil liberties, privacy, First Amendment issues and works to promote the Public Voice in decisions concerning the future of the Internet.

10/19/2020

EPIC - EPIC v. DOJ: Court Demands Trump's Position on Release of Unredacted Mueller Report

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: A federal court ordered the Department of Justice to determine President Trump's position on releasing the complete, unredacted #Mueller Report. https://epic.org/2020/10/epic-v-doj-court-demands-trump.html

A federal court ordered the Department of Justice today to determine President Trump's position on releasing the complete, unredacted Mueller Report. The President recently tweeted that he has

10/09/2020

EPIC - 2020 Election Security

ELECTION FACT: Your vote is still private with mail-in voting . There are numerous #privacy safeguards in place to protect the #secretballot.

Many states have been offering mail-in voting for years. Many states require mail-in ballots to have a “secrecy sleeve,” a second envelope without personally identifiable information.

For states without a second #privacy envelope, #election officials will take steps to separate the voter’s identity from the actual #vote and will also closely monitor procedures to tabulate votes anonymously.

Watch this to learn how mail-in voting has worked in Arizona since 1996: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JLyMZfZijY

[email protected] and many other advocacy groups have resources about voter privacy.

Learn about different types of voting equipment in the US with @VerifiedVoting Verifier: https://verifiedvoting.org/verifier/

[email protected] has a breakdown by state of policies in place to protect the election during COVID. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/preparing-your-state-election-under-pandemic-conditions#t3

There’s also 866OURVOTE’s resource on state’s voting laws and deadlines. @LawyersComm. https://866ourvote.org/state/

If you are an oversees or military voter, learn more about protecting your secret ballot in this report by @EPICprivacy: https://secretballotatrisk.org

Interested in becoming a nonpartisan Election Protection volunteer? Learn more at https://protectthevote.net

And many states still need poll workers! Find out how to sign up at: https://www.eac.gov/voters/become-poll-worker.

Last, are #WeReady2020? Today wraps up National Voter Education Week. For details see: https://votereducationweek.org/

If you haven’t done so already, make sure to register and cast your vote on or before Election Day! For more information please visit: https://epic.org/cybersecurity/election/
#vote #election2020 #privacy #votingrights

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) focuses public attention on emerging civil liberties, privacy, First Amendment issues and works to promote the Public Voice in decisions concerning the future of the Internet.

10/03/2020

ELECTION MYTH 1: Mail-in voting leads to voter fraud

During the first Presidential Debate the issue of mail-in voting fraud was raised again by President Trump. He suggested that people could vote multiple times or discard ballots favoring one candidate.

So how concerned should voters be regarding mail-in ballot fraud?

The fact is, mail-in ballot fraud is very rare and most instances of alleged fraud are actually just mistakes made by voters or administrators.

For example, in Georgia’s primary election there was an issue that led officials to incorrectly state that some individuals had “voted twice.”

These were not examples of intentional fraud, but were cases where voters had requested a mail-in ballot but never received one and then showed up in person to vote. Many reports show that there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud.

In fact there is no evidence of intentional voter fraud at any scale that could tip the outcome of a national election.

Mail-in ballots are already the primary method of voting in five states (Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah, and Washington) and none of these states have had issues with voter fraud.

Since 2000, Oregon has sent out more than 100 million mail-in ballots and only 0.00001% of all votes cast proven to be fraudulent. To put this in perspective, it's more likely for an American to be struck by lightning than to commit mail voter fraud.

And states have safeguards to protect election integrity when it comes to mail-in ballots: Identity verification, ballot tracking, bar codes, secure ballot return options, criminal and civil penalties, post-election audits, etc.

States also have systems in place to ensure that every vote gets counted. These ballot status verification systems are a key part of the U.S. election integrity infrastructure.

Make sure to register to vote and cast your vote before Election Day! For more information please visit: https://epic.org/cybersecurity/election/

09/28/2020

#Election2020 is just weeks away! Join EPIC every #Friday until November 3rd as we debunk election myths. For more information please visit: https://epic.org/cybersecurity/election/

#Vote #Voting #VotingRights #VoteEarly #ElectionDay

09/23/2020

EPIC - EPIC to Senate Commerce: the U.S. Needs a Data Protection Agency

In a statement to the Senate Commerce Committee before a hearing on the need for federal #privacy legislation, EPIC urged lawmakers to establish an independent U.S. Data Protection Agency.
https://epic.org/2020/09/epic-to-senate-commerce-the-us.html

In a statement to the Senate Commerce Committee before a hearing on the need for federal privacy legislation, EPIC urged lawmakers to establish an independent U.S. Data Protection Agency. EPIC laid out the FTC's typical privacy playbook: consent decrees, infrequent penalties, and no meaningful chang...

09/17/2020

The Price of Privacy: A Debate over Corporate Surveillance

Watch this video featuring EPIC Senior Counsel and Director of EPIC Domestic Surveillance Project, Jeramie Scott.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDq_3RnY6aM&feature=youtu.be
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https://www.RegProject.org | Data is being collected on each of us every day by the apps that we use, the websites that we visit, and the services we subscri...

09/15/2020

EPIC - IoT Security Bill Passed in House of Representatives

The House of Representatives has passed a bill governing the security of the Internet of Things. The "Internet of Things Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2019" sets baseline cybersecurity standards for IoT devices purchased by the federal government.

https://epic.org/2020/09/iot-security-bill-passed-in-ho.html

The House of Representatives has passed a bill governing the security of the Internet of Things. The

09/11/2020

EPIC - Facebook to be Ordered to Stop Sending EU Data to U.S.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: The Irish Data Protection Commissioner has reportedly issued a preliminary order instructing @Facebook to stop transferring the data of EU users to the United States.
https://epic.org/2020/09/facebook-to-be-ordered-to-stop.html

The Irish Data Protection Commissioner has reportedly issued a preliminary order instructing Facebook to stop transferring the data of EU users to the United States. The order comes in the wake of a recent the European Court of Justice (CJEU) decision which found the Privacy Shield, which permitted....

09/10/2020

Stacked Against Users: How Regulators Failed and Google Turned The Internet Into a Surveillance…

"Stacked Against Users: How Regulators Failed and Google Turned The Internet Into a Surveillance Machine" by EPIC Policy Director Caitriona Fitzgerald
https://medium.com/@epicprivacy/stacked-against-users-how-regulators-failed-and-google-turned-the-internet-into-a-surveillance-17413a46f692

By Caitriona Fitzgerald, EPIC Policy Director

08/07/2020

The Case for Banning Law Enforcement From Using Facial Recognition Technology - The Justice Collaborative Institute

Read this piece from @EPICprivacy Advisory Board Member, Woodrow Hartzog (@hartzog): The Case for Banning Law Enforcement From Using #FacialRecognition Technology
https://tjcinstitute.com/research/the-case-for-banning-law-enforcement-from-using-facial-recognition-technology/

Executive Summary Police use of facial recognition technology has become routine in the United States, posing grave risks to privacy and civil liberties, especially for people of color. Despite its ubiquity, there is no comprehensive …

06/19/2020

EPIC - Senator Brown Unveils Data Accountability and Transparency Act

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown (@SenSherrodBrown) announced that he will introduce the Data Accountability and Transparency Act of 2020, a comprehensive #privacy and data protection bill.
https://epic.org/2020/06/senator-brown-unveils-data-acc.html

Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown announced today that he will introduce the Data Accountability and Transparency Act of 2020, a comprehensive privacy and data protection bill. The bill would (1) prohibit both private companies and government agencies from collecting personal data unless it is “strictly ...

06/19/2020

EPIC - EPIC Supports the Fight Against Systemic Oppression

EPIC supports the fight against systemic oppression and stands in solidarity with protestors, community groups, and advocates that fight against systemic oppression. Please read our full statement here: https://epic.org/2020/06/epic-supports-the-fight-agains.html…
#JUNETEENTH2020
#BlackLivesMatter

The tragic deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor remind us that the needle has not moved on systemic issues of racism and police brutality in the United States. Across the country, protestors are demanding justice and challenging us to do our part to ensure this type of violence....

06/18/2020

EPIC - In Reversal, Zoom Will Make Enhanced Encryption Available to All Users

Zoom announced Wednesday that it will make enhanced encryption measures available to all users of the videoconferencing platform who provide a cell phone number—not just those who pay for the service.
https://epic.org/2020/06/in-reversal-zoom-will-make-enh.html

Zoom announced Wednesday that it will make enhanced encryption measures available to all users of the videoconferencing platform who provide a cell phone number—not just those who pay for the service. Earlier this month, Zoom said it would allow some of its users to fully encrypt their video commu...

06/12/2020

EPIC - EPIC v. DOJ: Justice Department Will Reprocess Mueller Report by June 19

#BREAKING: The Justice Department, as part of the open government case EPIC v. DOJ, has agreed to reprocess the Mueller Report by June 19 and potentially release additional material pertaining to Roger Stone. #FOIA
https://epic.org/2020/06/epic-v-doj-justice-department.html

The Justice Department, as part of the open government case EPIC v. DOJ, has agreed to reprocess the Mueller Report by June 19 and potentially release additional material pertaining to Roger Stone. The Justice Department has withheld significant portions of the Mueller Report on the theory that disc...

06/09/2020

EPIC - EPIC v. DOJ: Court Orders Justice Department to Explain Mueller Report Redactions

IMPORTANT UPDATE: A federal court, as part of EPIC v. DOJ, has ordered the Justice Department to appear before the court and provide more information about its redactions to the #MuellerReport.
https://epic.org/2020/06/epic-v-doj-court-orders-justic-1.html

A federal court, as part of EPIC v. DOJ, has ordered the Justice Department to appear before the court and provide more information about its redactions to the Mueller Report. Judge Reggie B. Walton is currently conducting an “in camera” review of the complete Mueller Report following the court....

06/09/2020

EPIC - Zoom's Additional Encryption Measures Will Only Protect Paying Users

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: The enhanced encryption measures announced by @zoom_us this week will only protect paying customers of the videoconferencing platform, according to the company’s CEO. #privacy
https://epic.org/2020/06/zooms-additional-encryption-me.html

The enhanced encryption measures announced by Zoom this week will only protect paying customers of the videoconferencing platform, according to the company’s CEO. Although Zoom said it will allow paying users to fully encrypt their video communications—a response to the security and privacy flaw...