Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03) led a group of fellow Congressional Hispanic Caucus members in writing a letter calling on Facebook Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg to reverse the company’s decision to require WhatsApp users to accept expanded data collection or leave the platform entirely. “We write to respectfully ask Facebook to consider reversing WhatsApp’s decision to update their new terms of service. We believe Facebook is potentially offering a false choice to users across the globe: accept the sharing of metadata with Facebook by May 15th or leave the platform altogether,” the lawmakers wrote. In 2014, EPIC and the Center for Digital Democracy warned the FTC that Facebook incorporates user data from companies it acquires, and that WhatsApp users objected to the acquisition. The FTC responded to EPIC and CDD and told Facebook and WhatsApp that "if the acquisition is completed and WhatsApp fails to honor these promises, both companies could be in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act and potentially the FTC's order against Facebook." The FTC letter noted that "hundreds of millions of users have entrusted their personal information to WhatsApp. The FTC staff continue to monitor the companies' practices to ensure that Facebook and WhatsApp honor the promises they have made to those users." In their letter, the members highlight that pledge and the FTC's statement.
More than 40 state attorneys general have sent a letter to Mark Zuckerberg pressuring Facebook to drop its plans to launch a version of Instagram for children younger than 13. The Attorneys General, led by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, expressed bipartisan support to protect children’s privacy and their physical and mental health. The AGs raised concerns about Facebook’s history of privacy incidents, stating “Facebook has a record of failing to protect the safety and privacy of children on its platform, despite claims that its products have strict privacy controls[.]” The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood commented “If Facebook insists on plowing ahead, it’s the clearest sign yet that the company views itself as accountable to no one, even when it comes to the well-being of children, and must be regulated much more rigorously,” and lawmakers have similarly expressed concerns about children’s privacy issues with social media. EPIC signed on to a coalition letter by the Campaign for a Commercial-free Childhood that urged Zuckerberg to cancel plans to launch a version of Instagram for Children under 13.
According to a news report, the Biden Administration plans to rescind a proposed rule to massively expand the collection of biometric information from immigrants. The rule, proposed towards the end of the Trump Administration, would have granted the Department of Homeland Security broad authority to collect biometric data from immigrants and their families and associates. The rule would have enabled the collecting of palm prints, iris images, voiceprints, DNA, and images for facial recognition regardless of age. In comments to the Department of Homeland Security, EPIC opposed the rule and urged the agency to rescind the proposed rule. EPIC argued that DHS']s broad authorization to collect biometrics was incompatible with the Department's Fair Information Practice Principle. EPIC also specifically called on the agency to suspend the use of facial recognition technology. Last year, EPIC, joined by over 40 organizations called for the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board to recommend the suspension of face surveillance systems across the federal government.
