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July 2013 Archives

July 17, 2013

"The Snitch In Your Pocket"

"The Snitch In Your Pocket"

Alan Butler,
EPIC Appellate Advocacy Counsel

Chautauqua Institution
Chautauqua, NY
July 17, 2013

July 2, 2013

EPIC Alert 20.13

======================================================================= E P I C A l e r t ======================================================================= Volume 20.13 July 2, 2013 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Published by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) Washington, DC http://www.epic.org/alert/epic_alert_20.13.html "Defend Privacy. Support EPIC." http://epic.org/donate ======================================================================== TAKE ACTION: Sign EPIC's Petition Against NSA Domestic Surveillance ======================================================================== [1] SIGN EPIC's Petition to the NSA [2] SHARE EPIC's Petition via Email, Mailing Lists [3] POST EPIC's Petition on Facebook, Social Media [4] LEARN More about the NSA's Domestic Surveillance Programs [5] SUPPORT EPIC ======================================================================== [1] SIGN EPIC's Petition to the NSA ======================================================================== "the right of the people . . . to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." - First Amendment, United States Constitution EPIC's campaign to promote a public rulemaking on the NSA domestic surveillance program is underway. EPIC will be posting updates and new signatories weekly. Below is the text of EPIC's petition to the NSA. Please sign at http://epic.org/NSApetition or send email to nsapetition@epic.org with the subject header: "I support EPIC's Petition to the NSA". "Dear General Alexander and Secretary Hagel: The undersigned individuals and organizations, concerned about the rule of law and the protection of Constitutional freedoms, hereby petition the National Security Agency to conduct a public rulemaking on the agency's monitoring and collection of communications traffic within the United States. 5 U.S.C. § 553(e). We believe that the NSA's collection of domestic communications contravenes the First and Fourth Amendments to the United States Constitution, and violates several federal privacy laws, including the Privacy Act of 1974, and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 as amended. The NSA's collection of solely domestic communications, which has been acknowledged by the President, the Director of National Intelligence, and the Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, also constitutes a legislative rule that "substantively affects the public to a degree sufficient to implicate the policy interests animating notice-and-comment rulemaking" under the Administrative Procedure Act. EPIC v. DHS, 653 F.3d 1, 6 (D.C. Cir. 2011). Accordingly, the NSA's collection of domestic communications, absent the opportunity for public comment, is unlawful. We hereby petition the National Security Agency, a component of the Department of Defense, for relief. We ask the NSA to immediately suspend collection of solely domestic communications pending the completion of a public rulemaking as required by law. We intend to renew our request each week until we receive your response. Sincerely, Marc Rotenberg Dr. Alessandro Acquisti James Bamford Grayson Barber Professor Ann Bartow Professor Colin Bennett Professor Christine Borgman Professor Julie E. Cohen Dr. Danah Boyd Simon Davies Dr. Whitfield Diffie Dr. Cynthia Dwork Professor David Farber Addison Fischer Professor David Flaherty Professor Michael Froomkin Professor Urs Gasser Deborah Hurley Professor Jerry Kang Sheila Kaplan Professor Ian Kerr Rebecca MacKinnon Mary Minow Dr. Pablo Molina Dr. Peter G. Neumann Professor Helen Nissenbaum Ray Ozzie Deborah C. Peel, MD Chip Pitts Professor Anita Ramasastry Professor Ronald Rivest Professor Pam Samuelson Bruce Schneier Dr. Barbara Simons Edward G. Viltz For More Information: EPIC: Rulemaking Petition to the NSA http://epic.org/NSApetition FISC: Order Permitting NSA Phone Surveillance (Apr. 23, 2013) http://epic.org/privacy/nsa/Section-215-Order-to-Verizon.pdf EPIC: NSA - Verizon Phone Record Monitoring http://epic.org/privacy/nsa/verizon/default.html EPIC: The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) http://epic.org/open_gov/Administrative-Procedure-Act.html ======================================================================== [2] SHARE EPIC's Petition via Email, Mailing Lists ======================================================================== EPIC's petition benefits from having as many signatories as possible. Please email and share widely on private lists: http://epic.org/NSApetition nsapetition@epic.org ======================================================================== [3] POST EPIC's Petition on Facebook, Social Media ======================================================================== EPIC will be posting the NSA petition on its Facebook page and Twitter feed. Please help get the message out by posting to your own Facebook page, Twitter feed, and Tumblr or other social media accounts: http://epic.org/NSApetition nsapetition@epic.org ======================================================================== [4] LEARN More about Domestic Surveillance ======================================================================== Stay informed with EPIC's pages on current revelations about the federal government's domestic surveillance programs and the history of domestic surveillance since 9/11: EPIC: Amicus Brief in Clapper v. Amnesty International (Sept. 24, 2012) http://www.epic.org/amicus/fisa/clapper/EPIC-Amicus-Brief.pdf‎ EPIC: Testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on the FISA Amendments Act (May 31, 2012) http://epic.org/redirect/073012-epic-fisa-testimony.html EPIC: Testimony before the 9/11 Commission on "Security and Liberty: Protecting Privacy, Preventing Terrorism" (Dec. 8, 2003) http://http://epic.org/privacy/terrorism/911commtest.pdf Marc Rotenberg Op-Ed.: "It Is Time to Return to Oversight of Surveillance Authority." The Washington Post, June 12, 2013. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/it-is-time-to-return-to- oversight-of-surveillance-authority/2013/06/12/522fe660-d217- 11e2-9577-df9f1c3348f5_story.html FISC: Order Permitting NSA Phone Surveillance (Apr. 23, 2013) http://epic.org/privacy/nsa/Section-215-Order-to-Verizon.pdf EPIC: NSA - Verizon Phone Record Monitoring http://epic.org/privacy/nsa/verizon/default.html EPIC: The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) http://epic.org/open_gov/Administrative-Procedure-Act.html NSA: Minimization Procedures in Foreign Intelligence (Jul. 28, 2009) http://epic.org/redirect/062613-nsa-minimization.html NSA: Procedures for Targeting Non-US Persons (July 28, 2009) http://epic.org/redirect/062613-nsa-targeting.html EPIC: Letter to FCC re: NSA Surveillance (Jun. 11, 2013) http://epic.org/privacy/terrorism/fisa/EPIC-FCC-re-Verizon.pdf FISA: Verizon Order (Apr. 23, 2013) http://epic.org/privacy/nsa/Section-215-Order-to-Verizon.pdf EPIC: Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act http://epic.org/privacy/terrorism/fisa/ EPIC: Clapper v. Amnesty Int'l http://epic.org/amicus/fisa/clapper/ EPIC: USA PATRIOT Act http://epic.org/privacy/terrorism/usapatriot/ ======================================================================== [5] SUPPORT EPIC ======================================================================== EPIC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. We have no clients, no customers, and no shareholders. More than ever, we need your support: http://epic.org/donate ======================================================================== [6] EPIC in the News ======================================================================== "Your child's data is stored in the cloud [video]." CNN Money, June 28, 2013. http://money.cnn.com/2013/06/28/technology/innovation/inbloom/ index.html?iid=HP_LN "FTC's 'Reclaim Your Name' alone won't rein in data brokers, experts say." CSO Online, June 28, 2013. http://www.csoonline.com/article/735616/ftc-s-reclaim-your-name- alone-won-t-rein-in-data-brokers-experts-say Opinion: "When Big Brother Meets Big Data." The Huffington Post, June 27, 2013. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-rush-holt/government- surveillance-supercomputers_b_3510905.html "FTC’s Data Privacy Expectations Could Be Clearer, Panelists Say." MainJustice.com, June 26, 2013. http://www.mainjustice.com/2013/06/26/ftcs-data-privacy- expectations-could-be-clearer-panelists-say/ "Tech companies fret over loss of consumers' trust after NSA revelations." The Hill, June 24, 2013. http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/307183-tech- companies-fret-over-loss-of-consumers-trust#ixzz2XLrdhSJV "Obama Meets with privacy watchdog panel . . . in private." The Washington Times, June 23, 2013. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jun/23/obama-meets-privacy- watchdog-panel-private/?utm_source=RSS_Feed "EPIC publishes comments on DHS biometric border management." Biometric Update, June 21, 2013. http://www.biometricupdate.com/201306/epic-publishes-comments-on- dhs-biometric-border-management/ Opinion: "BOVARD: Transportation security doesn't include the freedom to molest." The Washington Times, June 20, 2013. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jun/20/transportation- security-doesnt-include-the-freedom/ "FBI director confirms limited drone use in U.S." Constitution Daily, June 19, 2013. http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/2013/06/fbi-director-confirms- limited-drone-use-in-u-s/ "Tech companies jockey to seem the most transparent." CNN, June 18, 2013. http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/18/tech/web/tech-companies-data- transparent "Yahoo releases number of data requests, calls for transparency." The Christian Science Monitor, June 18, 2013. http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/2013/0618/Yahoo-releases- number-of-data-requests-calls-for-transparency "FBI Driver's License Photo Searches Raise Privacy Questions." Information Week Security, June 18, 2013. http://www.informationweek.com/security/privacy/fbi-drivers- license-photo-searches-raise/240156871 "More Data on Privacy, but Picture Is No Clearer." The New York Times, June 17, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/18/technology/more-data-on-privacy- but-picture-is-no-clearer.html?_r=0 "Body scanner ruling could squelch NSA domestic spying." CNet, June 17, 2013. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57589640-38/body-scanner-ruling- could-squelch-nsa-domestic-spying/ Marc Rotenberg Op-Ed.: "It Is Time to Return to Oversight of Surveillance Authority." The Washington Post, June 12, 2013. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/it-is-time-to-return-to- oversight-of-surveillance-authority/2013/06/12/522fe660-d217- 11e2-9577-df9f1c3348f5_story.html For More EPIC in the News: http://epic.org/news/epic_in_news.html ======================================================================= Join EPIC on Facebook and Twitter ======================================================================= Join the Electronic Privacy Information Center on Facebook and Twitter: http://facebook.com/epicprivacy http://epic.org/facebook http://twitter.com/epicprivacy Join us on Twitter for #privchat, Tuesdays, 11:00am ET. Start a discussion on privacy. Let us know your thoughts. Stay up to date with EPIC's events. Support EPIC. ======================================================================= Privacy Policy ======================================================================= The EPIC Alert mailing list is used only to mail the EPIC Alert and to send notices about EPIC activities. We do not sell, rent or share our mailing list. We also intend to challenge any subpoena or other legal process seeking access to our mailing list. We do not enhance (link to other databases) our mailing list or require your actual name. In the event you wish to subscribe or unsubscribe your e-mail address from this list, please follow the above instructions under "subscription information." ======================================================================= About EPIC ======================================================================= The Electronic Privacy Information Center is a public interest research center in Washington, DC. It was established in 1994 to focus public attention on emerging privacy issues such as the Clipper Chip, the Digital Telephony proposal, national ID cards, medical record privacy, and the collection and sale of personal information. EPIC publishes the EPIC Alert, pursues Freedom of Information Act litigation, and conducts policy research. For more information, see http://www.epic.org or write EPIC, 1718 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20009. +1 202 483 1140 (tel), +1 202 483 1248 (fax). ======================================================================= Donate to EPIC ======================================================================= If you'd like to support the work of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, contributions are welcome and fully tax-deductible. Checks should be made out to "EPIC" and sent to 1718 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20009. Or you can contribute online at: http://www.epic.org/donate Your contributions will help support Freedom of Information Act and First Amendment litigation, strong and effective advocacy for the right of privacy and efforts to oppose government and private-sector infringement on constitutional values. Thank you for your support. ======================================================================= Subscription Information ======================================================================= Subscribe/unsubscribe via web interface: http://mailman.epic.org/mailman/listinfo/epic_news Back issues are available at: http://www.epic.org/alert The EPIC Alert displays best in a fixed-width font, such as Courier. ------------------------- END EPIC Alert 20.13------------------------

July 9, 2013

"Domestic Surveillance and the Role of the NSA"

"Domestic Surveillance and the Role of the NSA"

Marc Rotenberg,
EPIC Executive Director

Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board

Mayflower Hotel
Grand Ballroom
Washington, DC
July 9, 2013

July 4, 2013

Restore the Fourth Rally, DC

Restore the Fourth Rally, DC

Amie Stepanovich,
Director, EPIC Domestic Surveillance Program

Washington, D.C.
July 4, 2013

July 5, 2013

Senate Adopts Immigration Bill with E-Verify Requirement

The Senate has passed an expansive immigration bill that includes employment verification by the federal government for all U.S. employees -- "E-Verify" -- within five years. In testimony before Congress, EPIC warned of inaccurate employment determinations in the E-Verify system and said that Privacy Act safeguards must be strengthened to ensure fairness and accountability. In June 2011, EPIC filed comments with the Department of Homeland Security in opposition to the expansion of E-Verify. For more information, see EPIC: E-Verify and Privacy and EPIC: Spotlight on Surveillance - E-verify System.

European Parliament to Investigate US NSA Surveillance Programs and impact on EU Citizens' Privacy

The European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly (483 to 98, with 65 abstentions) to investigate "PRISM" and other surveillance programs of the US National Security Agency. (Press release.) The investigation with be undertaken by the influential Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice, and Home Affairs ("LIBE"). Members of Parliament also urged European representatives to reexamine current arrangements that allow the transfer of banking and travel data from EU countries to the United States. The resolution was adopted as the European Union is considering a new trade deal with the United States and a proposal to strengthen privacy protections is pending. EPIC has appeared several times before the European Parliament to urge the adoption of a comprehensive privacy framework to safeguard the transatlantic transfer of personal information. For more information, see EPIC - EU Data Protection Directive, and Madrid Privacy Declaration.

July 8, 2013

Privacy International Files Complaint Against NSA, GCHQ Surveillance Programs

Privacy International, a leading privacy organization based in London, filed a legal complaint today with a UK tribunal about the recently disclosed surveillance programs. Privacy International asserts that the NSA and its United Kingdom counterpart, GCHQ, have been conducting dragnet surveillance of American and British citizens, without any public accountability. PI also charges that by accessing the NSA's information pool, the British government is acting outside the rule of law. EPIC today filed a petition in the US Supreme Court, alleging that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court exceeded its legal authority when it issued the order to Verizon to turn over all of the phone records of its customers. For more information, see EPIC: NSA Petition and EPIC: NSA - Verizon Phone Record Monitoring.

EPIC Files Supreme Court Petition, Challenges Domestic Surveillance Program

EPIC has filed a Petition with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the Court vacate an unlawful order by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court that enables the collection of all domestic phone record by the NSA. The order, directed to Verizon, requires the production of all "call detail records" for calls made "wholly within the United States, including local telephone calls." EPIC said "It is simply not possible that every phone record in the possession of a telecommunications firm could be relevant to an authorized investigation. . . . Such an interpretation of [the law] would render meaningless the qualifying phrases contained in the provision and eviscerate the purpose of the Act." For more information, see In re Electronic Privacy Information Center.

July 10, 2013

EPIC Speaks to Oversight Board, Former Judge Questions FISC

EPIC, in a prepared statement, addressed the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board regarding NSA surveillance under the Patriot Act and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act at day long workshop. Retired Judge James Robertson, who served on the FISA Court, told the panel that he was "stunned" by the news that the government was collecting all of the telephone records of Americans. EPIC, which has recently filed a challenge to the domestic surveillance program with the Supreme Court, recommended increased public reporting for FISA and new limitations on the authority of the FISA court. EPIC previously provided recommendations to the Board for future work. Several of the recommendations were incorporated in the Board's semi-annual report. For more information, see EPIC: Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and EPIC: NSA Petition.

July 14, 2013

EPIC Asks FTC To Investigate "Magna Carta" App

EPIC filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission against Samsung, the publisher of a mobile app for Jay-Z's new album "Magna Carta Holy Grail." The Magna Carta App collects massive amounts of personal information from users, including location data and data pulled from other accounts and other apps on the users phones. The Magna Carta app also includes hidden spam techniques that force users to promote the album. Well known music critic John Pareles wrote "Jay-Z Is Watching, and He Knows Your Friends." EPIC asked the Commission to require Samsung to suspend the distribution of the app until the privacy problems are fixed and to implement the privacy protections contained in the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights. Previously, EPIC filed an FTC complaint against Snapchat, the publisher of a mobile app that falsely claimed to delete photos and videos "forever." For more information, see EPIC: Federal Trade Commission and EPIC: Samsung "JAY-Z Magna Carta" App.

July 15, 2013

EPIC Urges Oversight Board to Uphold Strong Open Government Rules

In extensive comments, EPIC has urged the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board not to weaken the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Sunshine Act as the agency has proposed. According to EPIC, the Board proposes to adopt vague, broad, and otherwise unlawful definitions that would permit the oversight agency to withhold information and delay document production. The proposed regulations would also allow the Board to encourage other agencies to classify information. The Board proposes to terminate public participation in Board meetings "at any time for any reason." EPIC routinely comments on agency proposals that impact the rights of FOIA requesters. In 2011, EPIC submitted extensive comments to the Department of Justice, warning the agency not to erect new obstacles for FOIA requesters. For more information, see EPIC: Open Government.

EPIC Renews Petition to NSA to Suspend Domestic Surveillance Program

EPIC, joined by over 2,000 members of the public, leading privacy experts, and journalists, has again petitioned the National Security Agency, urging the suspension of the NSA domestic surveillance program pending public comments. EPIC, joined by leading privacy experts including James Bamford, Whitfield Diffie, and Bruce Schneier, first petitioned the agency on June 17, 2013. Because the NSA has failed to respond, EPIC has renewed the petition on a weekly basis. EPIC's petition states "NSA's collection of domestic communications contravenes the First and Fourth Amendments to the United States Constitution, and violates several federal privacy laws, including the Privacy Act of 1974, and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 as amended." EPIC's petition further states that NSA's domestic surveillance "substantively affects the public to a degree sufficient to implicate the policy interests" that require public comment, and that "NSA's collection of domestic communications absent the opportunity for public comment is unlawful." By law, the NSA is required to respond. EPIC intends to renew its request for a public rule making each week until the NSA responds. For more information and to join EPIC’s petition, see EPIC: NSA Petition also #NSApetition.

July 16, 2013

Justice Department Revises Rules on Obtaining Reporters' Records

The Department of Justice has issued a report outlining the department's revised rules for obtaining records from journalists. The change in policy comes after the controversy concerning the Justice Department's subpoena of Associated Press calling records. The new rules establish a presumption that reporters will be notified when their records are sought and also raises the legal standard for access under the [3]Privacy Protection Act of 1980[/3], a law that is intended to protect journalists' records from government access. Following the AP controversy, EPIC filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking the legal basis for the Justice Department's subpoena of reporters' phone records. For more information, see EPIC: Free Flow of Information Act and EPIC: Privacy Protection Act.

EPIC Updates Congress on Organization's Response to NSA Surveillance

EPIC has sent a letter to the House Judiciary Committee describing EPIC's response to the NSA domestic surveillance program in anticipation of a hearing on FISA oversight. "In our view, the secret court simply lacks the legal authority to authorize this program of domestic surveillance," EPIC writes. EPIC has filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the Verizon Order issued by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. EPIC is also petitioning the NSA to create public rules governing its surveillance authorities. For more information, see In Re EPIC and EPIC: NSA Petition.

"The Future of Commerce"

Marc Rotenberg,
EPIC President

Aspen Institute
Aspen, CO
July 14-17, 2013

July 17, 2013

Working Group Rejects Industry Do Not Track Proposal

The World Wide Web Consortium has rejected a Do Not Track standard proposed by the online advertising industry. The industry proposal would have allowed advertising companies to continue to collect data about the browsing activities of consumers, but would have limited the way companies could characterize users based on that data. The group stated that industry's proposal was "less protective of privacy and user choice than their earlier initiatives." Senator Rockefeller, the Commerce Committee Chairman, has introduced legislation to regulate the commercial surveillance of consumers online. EPIC has previously recommended to Congress that an effective Do Not Track initiative would need to ensure that a consumer's decision is "enforceable, persistent, transparent, and simple." For more information, see EPIC: Online Tracking and Behavioral Profiling.

July 18, 2013

New Jersey Court Issues Landmark Location Privacy Decision

Today the Supreme Court of New Jersey held that individuals have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their cell phone location data under the NJ state constitution. In State v. Earls, the New Jersey high court found that "cell-phone location information, which users must provide to receive service, can reveal a great deal of personal information about an individual." This decision is the first to establish a Constitutional right in location data since the U.S. Supreme Court decided United States v. Jones, a GPS tracking case in which several Justices expressed concern about the collection of location data. EPIC participated as amicus curiae in Earls. The New Jersey Supreme Court noted that "EPIC offered helpful details about the current state of cell-phone technology." For more information, see EPIC: State v. Earls and EPIC: Locational Privacy.

July 19, 2013

Study Finds Flaws in Proposed Mobile Short-Form Notice

A study by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University has found that the mobile app short-form notice currently proposed by participants in the Department of Commerce's privacy multistakeholder process creates confusion among consumers. The draft notice contains a list of data categories for which mobile apps must provide notice, but the study surveyed 800 individuals and found that "participants had low agreement on how different data and entities should be categorized." EPIC has previously pointed out the flaws in privacy notices, recommending last year that the FTC focus on substantive privacy protections instead of notice. For more information, see EPIC: NTIA Multistakeholder Process.

July 22, 2013

FISA Court Renews Unlawful Surveillance Program, DOJ Defends Program

According to the Director of National Intelligence, on July 19, 2013 the Government "filed an application with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court seeking renewal of the authority to collect telephony metadata in bulk, and that the Court renewed that authority." In a separate filing, in a July 18 response to a challenge brought by the ACLU, the Department of Justice said that a federal district court in New York could not overturn the order of the FISA court. And in a July 16 letter to Congressman Sensenbrenner the Department asserts that "because the telephony metadata must be available in bulk to allow the NSA to identify records of terrorist communications, there are 'reasonable grounds to believe' that the data is relevant to an authorized investigation. EPIC has recently filed a petition with the US Supreme Court, challenging the lawfulness of the NSA domestic surveillance program. For more information, see EPIC - In re Electronic Privacy Information Center.

July 25, 2013

Whistleblowers, Journalists, and the New War Within

Whistleblowers, Journalists, and the New War Within

Amie Stepanovich,
Director, EPIC Domestic Surveillance Project

Government Accountability Project
National Press Club
Washington, D.C.
July 25, 2013

July 23, 2013

EPIC to Defend Student Privacy Rights in Federal Court

On July 24, EPIC President Marc Rotenberg and EPIC Administrative Law Counsel Khaliah Barnes will present arguments in federal district court in Washington, DC in support of student privacy. In EPIC v. Dept. of Education, No. 12-327, EPIC is challenging recent changes to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) that allow the release of student records for non-academic purposes and undercut parental consent provisions. In 2011, EPIC submitted extensive comments to the agency opposing the changes. After the Education Department failed to modify the proposed regulation, EPIC filed a lawsuit and argued that the agency exceeded its authority with the changes, and also that the revised regulations are not in accordance with the 1974 privacy law. EPIC is joined in the lawsuit by members of the EPIC Board of Directors Grayson Barber, Pablo Garcia Molina, Peter Neumann, and Deborah Peel. For more information, see EPIC: EPIC v. The U.S. Department of Education and EPIC: Student Privacy.

July 25, 2013

House Narrowly Defeats Bill to End NSA Domestic Surveillance Program

In a surprisingly close vote, the House of Representatives voted 217 to 205 not to suspend funding for the controversial NSA program that has resulted in the collection of all call records of all American telephone customers. The outcome followed intense lobbying by the Administration and leaders of the intelligence community. The measure was introduced by Justin Amash (R-MI) and John Conyers (D-MI). EPIC has filed a petition with the US Supreme Court, charging that the program violates section 215 of the Patriot Act. A decision by the Court is expected in early October. For more information, see EPIC - In re Electronic Privacy Information Center.

July 30, 2013

NSA Surveillance to Get Senate Scrutiny

"NSA Surveillance to Get Senate Scrutiny"

Marc Rotenberg,
EPIC Executive Director

and

Steven Bradbury, former head
the Office of Legal Counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice

Minnesota Public Radio
The Daily Circuit
July 30, 2013

July 31, 2013

Chairman Leahy Calls For End of NSA Telephone Surveillance Program

Senator Patrick Leahy said in an oversight hearing that the NSA's domestic telephone surveillance program should be terminated. "This program is not effective. It has to end," said the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Senator Leahy has also introduced the FISA Accountability and Privacy Protection Act, to strengthen oversight of the government surveillance programs. Representatives from the NSA and Justice Department testified about the legality of the NSA's collection of all telephone records in the United States. But both Democratic and Republican Committee members expressed concern about the scope and secrecy of the program. EPIC has filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the legal authority of the FISA Court to authorize the NSA's program. For more information, see In re EPIC - NSA Telephone Records Surveillance.

In Driver Privacy Case, Second Circuit Requires Data Resellers to Exercise Reasonable Care

The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled today in Gordon v. Softech that under the Driver Privacy Protection Act data brokers may be liable for the use of personal information that they obtain from DMVs and then sell to others. "Based on the language of the statute, its structure, and its legislative history, we conclude that the DPPA imposes a duty on resellers to exercise reasonable care in responding to requests for personal information drawn from motor vehicle records," the federal appeals court announced. The court cited the sensitivity of the personal information available through motor vehicle records, including social security numbers, medical or disability information, and home addresses. In reversing the decision of the lower court, the appeals court said It is not enough for a reseller to simply provide a "drop down list" of permissible purposes. EPIC filed an amicus brief arguing that strict liability was necessary to ensure that resellers take adequate precautions to avoid impermissible downstream uses of sensitive personal data that individuals are required to provide to obtain a drivers license. The court essentially adopted a position between the lower court decision and the position urged by EPIC. For more information, see EPIC: Gordon v. Softech Int'l, Inc.

EPIC Supports International Principles for Privacy Protection

EPIC has joined with leading human rights organizations and privacy experts in support of the "International Principles on the Application of Human Rights to Communications Surveillance." The Principles were adopted in response to growing concern about the surveillance of Internet communications by governments and private companies. Among the key principles in the framework document are Necessity, Adequacy, Proportionality, Competent Judicial Authority, Due Process, User Notification, Transparency, Public Oversight, and Safeguards Against Illegitimate Access.

Government Releases Secret Court Order Authorizing NSA Telephone Surveillance

The Director of National Intelligence has published the "Primary Order" from the FISA Court which describes the scope of the NSA's data analysis activities for telephone call records. The order details the procedures the NSA is expected to follow when reviewing data, but is heavily redacted. The order does not include a legal analysis of the surveillance laws being applied. The government also released past reports on the NSA's domestic surveillance program. For more information, see In re EPIC - NSA Telephone Records Surveillance and EPIC: NSA Petition.

About July 2013

This page contains all entries posted to epic.org in July 2013. They are listed from oldest to newest.

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