EPIC - Electronic Privacy Information Center

International Privacy Conference in Brussels

The 40th International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners will take place in Brussels, October 24-25. The EPIC Public Voice Fund will sponsor NGO participation.

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US NGOs Meet with Members of European Parliament

Claude Moreas, Chair of the Civil Liberties Committee ("LIBE") of the European Parliament, speaking with US NGOs at the Fund for Constitutional Government in Washington, DC. July 18, 2018.
US NGOs Meet with Members of European Parliament

Members of the Civil Liberties Committee ("LIBE") of the European Parliament, meeting with US NGOs at the Fund for Constitutional Government in Washington, DC. July 18, 2018.
The Future of Privacy in America after GDPR

On June 6, 2018, EPIC hosted a discussion on the Future of Privacy in America after GDPR at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Advocates from the U.S. and abroad joined us for this important discussion.

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EPIC 2018 Champions of Freedom Awards Dinner

On June 6, 2018, EPIC hosted the 2018 Champions of Freedom Awards Dinner. EPIC honored Dr. Stephanie Perrin, Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, and Dr. Peter Neumann. (phone credit: Jenifer Morris)

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EPIC 2018 Champions of Freedom Awards Dinner

On June 6, 2018, EPIC hosted the 2018 Champions of Freedom Awards Dinner. EPIC honored Dr. Stephanie Perrin, Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, and Dr. Peter Neumann. (phone credit: Jenifer Morris)

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EPIC 2018 Champions of Freedom Awards Dinner

On June 6, 2018, EPIC hosted the 2018 Champions of Freedom Awards Dinner. EPIC honored Dr. Stephanie Perrin, Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, and Dr. Peter Neumann. (phone credit: Jenifer Morris)

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EPIC 2018 Champions of Freedom Awards Dinner

On June 6, 2018, EPIC hosted the 2018 Champions of Freedom Awards Dinner. EPIC honored Dr. Stephanie Perrin, Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, and Dr. Peter Neumann. (phone credit: Jenifer Morris)

Learn more »
EPIC 2018 Champions of Freedom Awards Dinner

On June 6, 2018, EPIC hosted the 2018 Champions of Freedom Awards Dinner. EPIC honored Dr. Stephanie Perrin, Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, and Dr. Peter Neumann. (phone credit: Jenifer Morris)

Learn more »
EPIC 2018 Champions of Freedom Awards Dinner

On June 6, 2018, EPIC hosted the 2018 Champions of Freedom Awards Dinner. EPIC honored Dr. Stephanie Perrin, Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, and Dr. Peter Neumann. (phone credit: Jenifer Morris)

Learn more »
EPIC 2018 Champions of Freedom Awards Dinner

On June 6, 2018, EPIC hosted the 2018 Champions of Freedom Awards Dinner. EPIC honored Dr. Stephanie Perrin, Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, and Dr. Peter Neumann. (phone credit: Jenifer Morris)

Learn more »
Privacy Law Sourcebook

The new European Union privacy law -- the "GDPR" -- is now central in the debate over the future of privacy. EPIC makes the complete text of the GDPR available in the Privacy Law Sourcebook.

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In Congressional Testimony, EPIC Calls For Comprehensive Privacy Law, New Privacy Agency

EPIC President Marc Rotenberg recently testified before the House Financial Services Committee. EPIC called for comprehensive data protection legislation and the creation of a federal data protection agency.

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EPIC 2018 International Privacy Champion Awards

EPIC presented the 2018 International Privacy Champion Awards to Privacy International Director Gus Hosein and Professor Artemi Rallo at the Conference on Computers, Privacy, Data Protection in Brussels, Belgium.
Defend Privacy. Support EPIC.

EPIC is on the front lines of the major privacy and civil liberties debates. In 2018, EPIC will work to protect democratic institutions, promote algorithmic transparency, and defend the right to privacy. We need your support. And EPIC is a top-rated non-profit - Charity Navigator (Four Star) and Guidestar (Gold). Please donate to EPIC today.

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Top News

International Privacy Experts Adopt Recommendations for Cross-Border Law Enforcement Requests for Data

The International Working Group on Data Protection in Telecommunications has adopted new recommendations to protect individual rights during criminal cross-border law enforcement. The Berlin-based Working Group includes Data Protection Authorities and experts who assess emerging privacy challenges. The Working Group on Data Protection calls on governments and international organisations to ensure law enforcement requests accord with international human rights norms. The Working Group recommends specific safeguards for data protection and privacy, including accountability, procedural fairness, notice and an opportunity to challenge. EPIC addressed similar issues in an amicus brief for the US Supreme Court in the Microsoft case. EPIC and a coalition of civil society organizations recently urged the Council of Europe to protect human rights in the proposed revision to the Convention on Cybercrime. In April 2017, EPIC hosted the 61st meeting of the IWG in Washington, D.C. at the Goethe-Institut, Germany's cultural institute.

August 14, 2018 | Share:

Two More Nominees for Intelligence Oversight Board

The White House announced the nomination of two board members to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB). Travis LeBlanc is a partner at Boies Schiller, and former Federal Communications Commission Enforcement Bureau Chief. Aditya Bamzai is a law professor at the University of Virginia and former Department of Justice attorney. The intelligence oversight body has been unable to act due to long-term vacancies. The European Parliament has called for suspension of the Privacy Shield if the U.S. does not to improve data protection and restore the PCLOB. Three other members have been nominated but have yet to be confirmed. EPIC opposed the nomination of Adam Klein to serve as Chairman of the Board. EPIC previously testified before PCLOB, made recommendations for PCLOB's handling of FOIA requests, and set out a broad agenda for the work of the independent agency. EPIC previously sought public release of the PCLOB report on Executive order 12333.

August 13, 2018 | Share:

Kavanaugh White House Counsel: PATRIOT Act, "measured, careful, responsible, and constitutional approach"

On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee released the first production of records for Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh’s from his time as associate counsel for George W. Bush. Roughly 5,700 pages of documents were made available to the public. The documents show that Kavanaugh assisted in the effort to pass the Patriot Act and drafted a statement that President Bush incorporated in the bill signing. Kavanaugh wrote that the PATRIOT Act will “update laws authorizing government surveillance,” which he claimed, and the President Bush restated, were from an era of “rotary phones.” In fact, the PATRIOT Act weakened numerous US privacy laws, including the subscriber privacy provisions in the Cable Act and the email safeguards in the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. Both laws were enacted after the era of rotary phones. Congress amended the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act after it was revealed that the White House had authorized warrantless wiretapping of Americans beginning in 2002. In an email exchange, Kavanaugh wrote that the PATRIOT Act was a "measured, careful, responsible, and constitutional approach . . . .” EPIC recently submitted two urgent Freedom of Information Act requests for Judge Kavanaugh’s records during his time serving as Staff Secretary for President Bush.

August 11, 2018 | Share:

Senator Feinstein Rebuts National Archives' Decision to Withhold Kavanaugh Records »

Open Government Groups Call for Full Access to Kavanaugh Records »

EPIC Opposes Citizenship Question on 2020 Census »

EPIC Urges FCC To End The Data Retention Mandate »

EPIC Sues Justices Dept. for Reports on Cell Phone Tracking »

EPIC FOIAs Kavanaugh’s White House Records on Warrantless Wiretapping, Mass Surveillance Programs »

EPIC news Archive »

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The EPIC Alert is a biweekly newsletter highlighting emerging privacy issues.

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EPIC in the News

Employee privacy at stake as surveillance technology evolves
CBS News
August 14, 2018

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Upcoming Events

13Aug2018

Next-Generation Digital Infrastructure: Towards a New Regime for Promoting Investment, Competition and Consumer Protection

Marc Rotenberg, EPIC President

Aspen, CO

27Sep2018

Privacy, News, and the Future of Freedom of the Press

Marc Rotenberg, EPIC President

Tulane Law School
New Orleans, LA

21Oct2018

"Debating Ethics: Dignity and Respect in Data Driven Life"

Marc Rotenberg, EPIC President

40th Intenational Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners
Brussels, Belgium

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EPIC is Hiring!

EPIC's Work

Open Government »

EPIC v. FTC: Seeking disclosure of Facebook assessments, reports, and related records required by the 2012 FTC Consent Order.

More EPIC FOIA cases »

Appellate Advocacy »

In re: OPM Data Security Breach Litigation: Whether the government's failure to safeguard sensitive personal data from a breach violated individuals' constitutional right to informational privacy and caused a cognizable injury under Article III.

More appellate advocacy »