EPIC Senior Counsel Jeramie Scott testified today to Senate and House Committees of the Maryland General Assembly in support of legislation protecting biometric information privacy. HB218 and SB16 are modeled after the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). Passed in 2008, BIPA has been referred to as one of the most effective and important privacy laws in America. "Unlike a password or account number, a person’s biometrics cannot be changed if they are compromised," EPIC told the Committees. EPIC stressed the importance of strong enforcement measures in privacy laws, particularly a private right of action. EPIC also submitted a recent case study on the Illinois law written by EPIC Advisory Board member Woody Hartzog. EPIC previously filed an amicus brief in Rosenbach v. Six Flags, where the Illinois Supreme Court unanimously decided that consumers can sue companies that violate the state's biometric privacy law. [Watch the hearing]
In a report released January 20, 2021 the European Parliament outlines the need for new legal frameworks for artificial intelligence and biometric surveillance. The report raises concerns about both civilian and military uses of artificial intelligence, mass surveillance, and deepfakes. The European Parliament was particularly concerned with facial recognition technology, proposing a moratorium on its use in public and semi-public spaces. EPIC leads a campaign to Ban Face Surveillance through the Public Voice coalition.
EPIC, as part of the open government case EPIC v. AI Commission, has obtained additional records from the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. The documents include emails from Commission chair and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt illustrating Schmidt’s close relationship with members of Congress. The records also reveal that the ethics disclosure form Schmidt filed with the Commission—a document that usually tops out at a dozen pages—was 38 pages long. EPIC’s FOIA request was recently highlighted in an American Prospect article on Schmidt’s role in Rebellion Defense, “a shadowy defense startup” that markets AI systems to the Defense Department. EPIC has twice prevailed in its open government case against the AI Commission, forcing the Commission to hold public meetings and disclose thousands of pages of records. In recent comments, EPIC called on the AI Commission to "advise Congress, as the nation's highest policymaking authority, to establish government-wide principles and safeguards for the use and development of AI." The case is EPIC v. AI Commission, No. 19-2906 (D.D.C.).
