Landau, "A Gateway for Hackers:
The Security Threat in
the New Wiretapping Law"

Congressional Privacy Leaders Criticize Embarq's Secret Internet Spying, Call on Internet Company to Divulge Details
Senior members of Congress criticized Embarq's recent test of Internet snooping technology. The Internet company, in partnership with NebuAd, intercepted customers' Internet activity "to create consumer profiles for the purpose of serving ads to consumers based upon their search and surfing habits." The Congressmen observed that Embarq's secret Internet surveillance raises substantial questions of compliance with federal law. Congressmen Edward Markey (D-MA) and Joe Barton (R-TX) previously urged Charter Communications, the nation's fourth-largest cable company, to back off on a similar venture with NebuAd. The cable giant scrapped the controversial plan in June. For more information, see EPIC's page on Deep Packet Inspection and Privacy. (July 15)

First European Union Privacy Seal Awarded to Search Company
The European Data Protection Supervisor presented the first EuroPriSe Seal to the search company Ixquick. EuroPri is a European initiative to determine whether information technology products and services comply with European regulation on privacy and data security. Ixquick is a meta-search engine that forwards search requests to several search engines, gathers and combines the results and presents the results to the requesting users. Ixquick serves as a proxy -- IP addresses of users are not disclosed to other search engines. Ixquick also incorporates data minimization techniques. For more information on search engine privacy, see EPIC page on Search Engine Privacy. (July 14)

EPIC Urges Protection of Passport Privacy
EPIC testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, urging new protections for passport information privacy. The hearing, held at a time of increased information collection and dissemination by the government, addressed an Inspector General report on data breaches at the State Department. EPIC's testimony recommended implementing the privacy protections of S. 495, the Personal Data Privacy and Security Act of 2007; limiting employee and contractor disclosures; increasing accounting requirements; and creating an independent privacy agency. In a FOIA request filed today, EPIC demanded the release of the complete Inspector General report, substantial portions of which have been withheld from the public. For more, see EPIC's page on Passport Privacy. (July 10)

EPIC v. FTC: EPIC Obtains Documents Detailing Conflict of Interest in Google-Doubleclick Merger Review
Pursuant to a settlement in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Federal Trade Commission, EPIC has obtained documents detailing former FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras’ conflict of interest in the Google-Doubleclick merger review. Majoras headed the Commission’s review of the proposed $3.1 billion Google acquisition while her spouse’s law firm represented Doubleclick. A July 17, 2007 memorandum obtained by EPIC flatly contradicts Majoras’ claim that “no one at the FTC” knew of the conflict “until the afternoon of Tuesday, December 11, 2007.” In 2007 EPIC and the Center for Digital Democracy urged the FTC to establish privacy safeguards as a condition of the merger. One week prior to the Commission's decision to approve the merger without conditions, EPIC learned that the Jones Day law firm represented Doubleclick. EPIC then submitted Freedom of Information requests to determine the role of the Jones Day firm in the merger review. For more, see EPIC's page EPIC v. FTC (July 8)

Senate Debates Warrantless Surveillance Bill, Telecom Immunity
Today the Senate will begin debate on the FISA Amendments Act. Votes are scheduled for tomorrow. The Act expands the President's warrantless surveillance powers, provides immunity for telecom companies that participated in warrantless surveillance, and requires review of warrantless surveillance by the executive branch Inspectors General. Senators Dodd Leahy and Feingold oppose the bill and will offer amendments to to strip the immunity provisions. Supporters of Presidential Candidate Barack Obama have urged him to oppose the legislation. The debate will be on C-Span2 beginning 10 am EDT. For more, see EPIC's page on FISA. (July 8)

Google Adds Link to Privacy Policy
Following a public request by EPIC and other privacy organizations, Google posted a link from its homepage to its privacy policy. Under California law, Google was required to post the link within 30 days and, on day 30, the word "privacy" appeared on the Google homepage. Google's posting brings the site in line with the widespread practice of commercial web sites. For more information on Google and Privacy, see EPIC's page Privacy? (July 7).

50th Anniversary of Landmark Ruling in NAACP v Alabama
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in NAACP v. Alabama, one of the most important privacy cases of the last century. Professor Anita L. Allen, a leading privacy scholar, author of many books and articles, and a member of the EPIC Board of Directors, wrote an essay to celebrate the anniversary of the decision. (June 30)

Under Pressure, Charter Cable Drops Internet Snooping Plan
Today, Charter announced that it will scrap its plan to intercept internet traffic for marketing purposes. The fourth-largest American cable company's plan recently came under fire from Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX). Congressman Markey welcomed today's news, and urged other companies to delay any similar plans until "important privacy concerns can be addressed." In May, Charter announced its intention to partner with NebuAd and spy on its customers' internet activities. Legal experts questioned the legality Charter's snooping program, citing federal laws, including the Wiretap Act and the Communications Act, which prohibit interception and disclosure of wire and electronic communications. For more information, see EPIC's page on Deep Packet Inspection and Privacy. (June 24)

OECD Secretary General Seeks to Formalize Civil Society Participation, Expresses Support for International Privacy Standards
At the OECD Ministerial conference on the Future of the Internet Economy, the Secretary General of the Paris-based research and policy-making organization recommended that the OECD "begin the process of formalising the participation of civil society and the technical community in the work of the OECD on the Internet economy." The OECD also reaffirmed support for the 1980 Privacy Guidelines, which are "the foundation for most countries privacy standards." Civil Society groups gathered in Seoul for a Public Voice Forumand to participate in the Ministerial conference. More than 70 organizations endorsed the "Civil Society-TUAC Seoul Declaration." (Jun. 20)

Supreme Court Rejects Limits on FOIA Requests
In a unanimous decision, the US Supreme Court upheld the right of individuals to request documents under the Freedom of Information Act, even if similar documents were previously requested by others. The Court rejected the Federal Aviation Administration's contention that it may ignore requests if the agency previously received identical requests from different requesters. The Court also rejected the agency's "virtual representation" claim, that a FOIA requester can be "virtually represented" by a previous requester who sought similar records. The Court based its decision on America's "deep-rooted historic tradition that everyone should have his own day in court." For more information, see EPIC's FOIA Litigation Manual and FOIA Litigation Docket. (June 13)

EPIC Urges Congress to Safeguard Medical Privacy
In response to a request from Congressman Edward Markey, EPIC recommended strong medical privacy safeguards in a bill that would establish a national framework for electronic health records. EPIC commended Congress for raising the vital issues implicated by digital health records, and recommended effective and meaningful privacy safeguards for consumers’ personal medical information. EPIC detailed the privacy threats posed by electronic medical records, and recommended that Congress: recognize Americans’ right to the privacy of their personal health information; provide enhanced protections for especially sensitive medical information; give patients the right to sue if their medical privacy is beached; and require commonsense security measures. For more, see EPIC's page on medical privacy. (June 13)

EPIC Urges Senate to Crack Down on Spyware
Today EPIC Executive Director Marc Rotenberg presented testimony on Spyware in a hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee. EPIC said Internet users face ongoing threats from Spyware and similar techniques. EPIC supported the Counter Spy Act but cautioned that a federal spyware law should not replace stronger state laws. EPIC also urged the Senate to address new surveillance techniques, such as deep packet inspection and Social Networking advertising. For more, see EPIC's page on personal surveillance technologies. (June 11)

Homeland Security Extends Control Over Workers, Travelers
President Bush has signed Executive Order 12989 which gives the Department of Homeland Security authority to review employment eligibility for all federal employees and federal contractors. The decision to expand "E-Verify" comes after Congress rejected the President's verification proposal and a federal court struck down the agency's attempt to establish similar authority by regulation. EPIC testified in Congress in 2007 against the "Employment Eligibility Verification System." Meanwhile, the Transportation Security Administration, a division of Homeland Security, will now require travelers to present identity documents or to be"cooperative." See EPIC Spotlight on Surveillance: "National Employment Database Could Prevent Millions of Citizens From Obtaining Jobs" and EPIC Amicus in Gilmore v. Ashcroft. (June
10)

Privacy Groups - "Google.com Should Link to a Privacy Policy"
EPIC and a coalition of a dozen organizations, many based in California, have urged Google to include a link from its homepage to its privacy policy. In a letter to Google CEO Eric Schmidt, the groups say that the Internet giant is required by California privacy law to post the link. They also point out that posting it is the"widespread practice of commmercial web sites." Press release. For more infomation on Google and Privacy, see EPIC's page Privacy? (June 3).

Previous Top News Archive

-On DAY 30 -
Letter from Advocates (June 3, 2008)
Current Google.com page
Proposed Google.com page

Spotlight on Surveillance

Proposed ‘Enhanced’ Licenses Are Costly to Security and Privacy

Hot Topics

July 2008
Automated Targeting System
Deep Packet Inspection
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

July 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