PRESS RELEASE: EPIC Publishes New Report Highlighting the Growing Importance of State AGs in Protecting Americans’ Privacy 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) published State Attorneys General & Privacy: Enforcement Trends, 2020-2024, a report authored by EPIC’s Suzanne Bernstein and Chris Frascella.  

The report examines State AG enforcement actions across six areas of privacy harms: Unwanted Calls & Texts, Data Breach, Data Privacy, Antitrust, Platform Accountability & Governance, and Algorithms & Automated Systems. EPIC’s report catalogs over 220 cases and settlements, 35 letters, and 20 public investigations from January 2020 through December 2024, providing a detailed look at the breadth and impact of state-level privacy enforcement.   

“From data breaches and unwanted calls to newer sources of privacy harms like social media platforms and algorithms, State AGs remain steadfast in their enforcement efforts to protect consumer privacy across various types of online systems,” said Suzanne Bernstein, EPIC Counsel and report co-author.  

As Congress remains gridlocked on comprehensive privacy legislation and federal agencies shift their priorities away from strong enforcement, State AGs play a vital role in protecting consumer privacy. 

“Because State AGs are determined to protect consumers from privacy harms, we see them creatively pursuing privacy-related enforcement despite limited resources and enforcement authorities that have not always kept pace with newer technologies,” said Chris Frascella, EPIC Counsel and report co-author.   

EPIC’s report captures a period of State AG enforcement through the end of 2024, before many state privacy laws had gone into effect and before AGs had time to bring enforcement actions using these new authorities.  

EPIC thanks the 56 State and Territorial Attorneys General for their ongoing efforts to protect Americans’ privacy rights. EPIC will continue tracking privacy-related enforcement actions from AGs and is happy to speak with any AGs about this report or privacy enforcement in general. Please feel free to reach out at [email protected]. 

Read the report here.

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ABOUT EPIC 

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) was established in 1994 to protect privacy, freedom of expression, and democratic values in the information age. Our mission is to secure the fundamental right to privacy in the digital age for all people through advocacy, research, and litigation.