EPIC Urges D.C. Circuit to Order Disclosure of FAA Drone Committee Records

EPIC has filed its opening brief urging the D.C. Circuit to reverse a lower court decision that allowed FAA's Drone Advisory Committee to conduct much of its work in secret. "If the decision is allowed to stand, other federal agencies could circumvent the law by creating subcommittees and task forces and developing policy in secretive meetings held by entities that agencies attempt to place beyond the reach of the [Federal Advisory Committee Act]," EPIC told the Court of Appeals. EPIC filed suit in 2018 against the industry-dominated Committee, which consistently ignored the privacy risks posed by the deployment of drones—even after identifying privacy as a top public concern. As a result of EPIC's lawsuit, the Committee was forced to disclose hundreds of pages of records that it previously withheld. The case is EPIC v. Drone Advisory Committee, No. 19-5238 (D.C. Cir.).