"The Real Threat to Google"

E-Commerce Times
May 3, 2008

Marc Rotenberg
EPIC Executive Director

More EPIC in the News

D.C. Council Cuts Funding for Video Surveillance System
The D.C. City Council has removed $886,000 from the Mayor's proposed homeland security budget for a system of 5,200 surveillance cameras in the nation's capital. D.C. Council members and others criticized the "Video Interoperability for Public Safety" system, which lacks privacy safeguards. The Council required the Mayor to develop rules for video surveillance cameras and technology that must be approved by the Council before future funding is authorized. See EPIC’s page on Video Surveillance and Observing Surveillance. (May 14)

FTC Issues Additional CAN-SPAM Rules, Fails to Regulate Third-Party List Brokers
This week, the Federal Trade Commission approved new rules for CAN-SPAM, the federal anti-spam law. The Commission stated that consumers cannot be charged a fee to opt out of spam. The FTC also determined that third-party list brokers (companies that sell email lists to spammers) are not subject to CAN-SPAM's opt-out requirements. In 2005, EPIC urged the FTC to impose opt-out requirements on third-party list brokers. EPIC stated that this requirement was consistent with CAN-SPAM’s goal and was more effective than the present system, which requires consumers to opt out with individual companies. For more information, see EPIC's web page: "SPAM - Unsolicited Commercial E-Mai" (May 15)

EPIC Report: "REAL ID Implementation Review: Few Benefits, Staggering Costs"
At a REAL ID Workshop at the Berkman Center, EPIC today released a new report on the Department of Homeland Security’s national identification proposal, the REAL ID system. "May 11, 2008 is the statutory deadline for implementation of the REAL ID system. Yet on this date, not one State is in compliance with the federal law creating a national identification system. In fact, 19 States have passed resolutions or laws rejecting the national ID program. The Department of Homeland Security has faced so many obstacles with the REAL ID system that the agency now plans an implementation deadline of 2017." See EPIC page on National ID Cards and the REAL ID Act, and EPIC Comments on the Draft Regulations. (May 13)

EPIC Prevails in Virginia Fusion Center FOIA Case
Yesterday, Richmond General District Court held that EPIC "substantially prevailed" on the merits of its freedom of information lawsuit against the Virginia State Police. EPIC filed the case after the State Police refused to disclose documents describing the federal government's involvement in efforts to limit Virginia's transparency and privacy laws. Through the litigation, EPIC uncovered a secret contract between the State Police and the FBI that limits the rights of Virginia citizens to learn what information the State Police collect about them. The court's letter opinion requires the State Police to pay EPIC's litigation costs, but not its attorneys' fees. For more information, see EPIC's web page EPIC v. Virginia Department of State Police: Fusion Center Secrecy Bill. For more information about fusion centers, see EPIC's Fusion Center Page (May 9)

EPIC Commends D.C. Council Committee for Blocking Funding for New Surveillance System
In a letter (pdf) to the D.C. Council, EPIC, ACLU-NCA and the Constitution Project commended the Public Safety and Judiciary Committee for cutting $886,000 from the proposed homeland security budget for a system of 5,200 surveillance cameras. D.C. Council members and others have criticized the "Video Interoperability for Public Safety" system, which lacks privacy safeguards. The groups urged the full Council to examine "the VIPS program and explore whether a centralized network of thousands of cameras throughout the District is a cost effective and appropriate strategy.” See EPIC’s page on Video Surveillance. (May 9)

EPIC Recommends Privacy Safeguards for Voting System Standards
EPIC submitted comments to the Election Assistance Commission on the proposed Voluntary Voting System Guidelines. EPIC proposed new guidance on privacy protection in the casting of ballots. EPIC alo recommended more transparency for the privacy protections provided by federally certified voting systems. For more information on EPIC's voting project visit Voting Privacy and the National Committee for Voting Integrity. (May 8)

EPIC, Privacy Groups, Technical Experts, and Legal Scholars Support Opt-In for Telephone Services
EPIC filed a “friend of the court” brief (pdf) today in federal appellate court urging support for opt-in safeguards for telephone customers. The brief was filed on behalf of consumer and privacy organizations, technical experts, and legal scholars. At issue is the Federal Communications Commission’s Order (pdf) that protects consumers’ telephone record information, which the National Cable and Telecommunications Association has challenged. “Consumers have a legitimate expectation of privacy with respect to sensitive personal information such as whom they call on a telephone,” the brief said. “An opt-out policy would provide neither adequate protection for consumer data nor sufficient notice to consumers.” See EPIC’s pages on NCTA v. FCC and CPNI (Customer Proprietary Network Information). (May 6)

D.C. Council Committee Refuses to Fund Mayor's Massive Camera Surveillance Network
The Public Safety and Judiciary Committee of the D.C. Council has cut $886,000 from Mayor Fenty's proposed homeland security budget, money designated for the consolidation of about 5,200 surveillance cameras into a single network. D.C. Council members and others have criticized the Video Interoperability for Public Safety, which does not yet have regulations to protect individual privacy. The budget will go to the full Council, which could choose to reinstate the funding. The Department of Homeland Security will provide approximately 90% of the funding for the D.C. camera system. In March, in a statement to the DC Council, EPIC urged (pdf) a careful evaluation of the cost and effectiveness of camera surveillance systems. No studies have shown a significant drop in violent crime when camera systems are used. See EPIC's page on Video Surveillance. (May 2)

FISA Orders Up, Government Reporting on National Security Letters Begins
According to the 2007 FISA report, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court approved 2,370 application to conduct electronic surveillance and physical searches in the United States in 2007, up from 2,176 applications approved in 2006. For the first time, the report includes information regarding the total number of requests made by the Department of Justice with National Security Letter authority for information concerning U.S. persons. in 2006, the government made approximately 12,583 NSL requests for information concerning 4,790 U.S. persons. The 2007 NSL statistics are expected later this year. For more information on FISA, see EPIC FISA Orders page and EPIC FISA page. (May 1)

Wiretaps Up by 20 Percent in 2007
According to the 2007 Wiretap report, federal and state courts issued 2,208 orders for the interception of wire, oral or electronic communications in 2007, compared to 1,839 in 2006. (Press release.) As in 2006, no applications for wiretap authorizations were denied by either state or federal courts. The total number of authorized wiretaps has grown in each of the five past calendar years, beginning in 2003. The 2007 Wiretap Report does not include interceptions regulated by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 or interceptions initiated by the President outside the exclusive authority of the federal wiretap law and the FISA. See EPIC Wiretapping page. (Apr. 30).

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Hot Topics

May 2008
Automated Targeting System
Domestic Surveillance
Facebook
FISA
Fusion Centers
Google/DoubleClick
Iraqi Biometric Identification System
Medical Record Privacy
National ID
National Security Letters
Open Government
Olympic Privacy
Passport Privacy
Phone Records
Search Engine Privacy
Social Networking Privacy
Voter Registration Databases

EPIC Docket Highlights

May 2008
EPIC v. FTC
EPIC v. VSP (Fusion Centers)
EPIC FTC Complaint (Google)
Gonzales v. ACLU
EPIC v. DHS (passenger data)
EPIC v. DOJ (NSA surveillance)
EPIC v. DOJ (IOB reports)
EPIC v. DOD (TIA/fee waiver)
Illegal Sale of Phone Records

EPIC amicus briefs:
Crawford v. Marion County (Voter ID)
Doe v. Chao (Privacy Act)
BATF v. Chicago (FOIA)
Watchtower Bible v. Stratton (Anonymity)
Reno v. Condon (DPPA)
Smith v. Doe (Megans Law)
Gilmore v. Ashcroft (Secrecy)
ACLU v. DOD (Secrecy)
Gonzales v. Doe (Wiretap)
Hepting v. AT&T (Wiretap)
Herring v. US (Errors in databases)
Hiibel v. Nevada (Anonymity)
IMS Health v. Ayotte
(Medical privacy)
Kehoe v. Fidelity Bank (Consumer privacy)
Kohler v. Englade (DNA)
NCTA v. FCC (Phone records privacy)
New Jersey v. Reid
(ISP subscriber privacy)
Peterson v. NTIA (WHOIS data)
US v. Councilman (Wiretap)

Complete EPIC Docket