Court Greenlights EPIC Suit Against Drone Advisory Committee

A federal court in Washington, D.C. has ruled that EPIC's open government case against the FAA's Drone Advisory Committee can go forward. EPIC filed suit last year against the Committee, which has conducted much of its work in secret and ignored the privacy risks posed by the deployment of drones—even after identifying privacy as a top public concern. The government asked the court to dismiss EPIC's suit, but the court was "unconvinced by Defendants' arguments" and indicated that the government must "provide the full list of [Committee] records" to EPIC. However, the Court ruled that the Committee did not need to release the records of its secretive subcommittees. EPIC intends to challenge that part of the court's decision. The case is EPIC v. Drone Advisory Committee, No. 18-833 (D.D.C.).