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Supreme Court to Hear Argument in "Identity Theft" Case, EPIC Urges Justices to Protect Privacy Enhancing Technologies

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that will determine whether individuals who include identification numbers that are not theirs, but don't intentionally impersonate others, can be subject to harsh criminal punishments under federal law. In Flores-Figueroa v. United States, the petitioner challenged his conviction for "aggravated identity theft." EPIC filed a "friend of the court" brief, on behalf of 17 legal scholars and technical experts, urging the Justices to protect techniques that allow individuals to safeguard privacy. EPIC explained that the crime of "identity theft" should require an intent to impersonate another. The EPIC brief urges the Court to avoid "a precedent that might inadvertently render the use of privacy enhancing pseudonyms, anonymizers, and other techniques for identity management unlawful." For more, see EPIC's Flores-Figueroa v. United States page.


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