Senator Markey and Representative Welch introduced the Drone Aircraft Privacy and Transparency Act of 2015. The Act would regulate the use of drones in the United States. The Drone Privacy Act requires publicly available data collection statements from operators and warrants for drone surveillance by law enforcement. Recently announced rules by the FAA and White House "fail to adequately protect the privacy of Americans," according to the Congressmen. The Drone Privacy Act incorporates recommendations by EPIC in testimony to Congress and comments to federal agencies. EPIC petitioned the FAA to establish clear privacy rules for commercial drone operators.
A federal appeals court heard arguments today in FTC v. Wyndham, an important data privacy case. Wyndham Hotels, which revealed hundreds of thousands of customer records following a data breach, is challenging the FTC's authority to enforce data security standards. In an amicus brief joined by legal scholars and technical experts, EPIC defended the FTC's "critical role in safeguarding consumer privacy and promoting stronger security standards." EPIC explained that the damage caused by data breaches - more than $500 million last year - makes data security one of the top concerns of American consumers. EPIC warned the court that "removing the FTC's authority to regulate data security would be to bring dynamite to the dam."
EPIC has filed formal comments with the Federal Trade Commission regarding a proposed consent order with Craig Brittain, a ”revenge porn” website operator. Revenge porn refers to the online distribution of sexual images without the consent of the image subject. Under the proposed order, Brittain "will have to destroy the intimate images and personal contact information he collected while operating the site.” EPIC supported the consent order, but urged the Commission to "further investigate the growing trend of companies recontextualizing images, for profit, without the knowledge or consent of the image subject.” EPIC also explained the correlation between “revenge porn” and other image privacy issues, such as facial recognition and image-based advertising.
