EPIC Argues Against Collection of Citizenship Data in Federal Appeals Court

EPIC Counsel John Davisson will argue before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday morning to block the Census Bureau from collecting personal data concerning citizenship status in the 2020 Census. The argument will begin around 10:00 a.m. ET and can be live streamed here. EPIC's case challenges the Census Bureau's failure to complete privacy impact assessments required by law. The Bureau concedes that it must complete the impact assessments but has so far failed to do so. As EPIC previously warned the appeals court, "major privacy risks have not been addressed by the agency." EPIC has filed several successful lawsuits to require privacy impact assessments by federal agencies, including EPIC's case that led a now-defunct Presidential Commission to delete state voter data it unlawfully obtained. EPIC's census privacy case is EPIC v. Commerce, No. 19-5031 (D.C. Cir.).