Digital Library

D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Agrees with EPIC and EFF: Government Cannot Hide Lethal Injection Company’s Name from Public Based on FOIA Exemption 4

• Access to Information

• Democracy & Free Speech

• Freedom of Information Act

• Open Government

• Updates

Public Benefits, Private Vendors: How Private Companies Help Run our Welfare Programs

If you’ve been following EPIC’s work on the algorithms used in public benefits programs, you may have caught something unusual: although we talk about public welfare programs, most of the systems we’ve uncovered are developed by private companies. That isn’t a coincidence. While a few state agencies have developed their own technical systems for public benefits programs, a large and growing number of states have chosen to outsource the technological systems undergirding public benefits programs to private vendors who promise accuracy, efficiency, and cost-savings. In reality, EPIC’s research suggests the opposite: many vendor systems are costly, prone to bias and error, and developed without considering agencies’ unique needs.

• Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights

• Freedom of Information Act

• Government AI Use

• Open Government

• Screening & Scoring

• Analysis

EPIC Urges Administrative Conference to Recommend Sweeping Open Government Reforms

• Federal Advisory Committee Act

• Freedom of Information Act

• Open Government

• Privacy Impact Assessments

• Updates

EPIC Comments to ACUS on Disclosure of Agency Legal Records

• Federal Advisory Committee Act

• Freedom of Information Act

• Open Government

• Privacy Impact Assessments

• APA Comments

In EPIC Settlement, DOJ Breaks Down Number of Location Data Requests in Five Districts from 2016-2019

• Data Protection

• Freedom of Information Act

• Location Tracking

• Open Government

• Updates

EPIC v. ICE (Location and Social Media Surveillance)

• Data Protection

• Freedom of Information Act

• Location Tracking

• Open Government

• Surveillance Oversight

• Traveler Screening & Border Surveillance

• FOIA Cases

Playing Both Sides: Impact of Tech Industry on Early Federal AI Policy

This week, Politico’s Alex Thompson detailed the close relationship between the Biden administration’s Office of Science and Technology Policy and Schmidt Futures, the philanthropic initiative of former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. The links between Schmidt Futures and Biden’s OSTP add to the already significant influence of Schmidt, who is heavily invested in AI companies, in crafting AI policy for the United States.

• AI Policy

• Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights

• Commercial AI Use

• Federal Advisory Committee Act

• Freedom of Information Act

• Government AI Use

• Open Government

• Analysis

EPIC & EFF to D.C. Circuit: Agencies Cannot Withhold Contractor Names as “Commercial” Info Under the FOIA

• Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights

• Face Surveillance & Biometrics

• Freedom of Information Act

• Government AI Use

• Open Government

• Surveillance Oversight

• Updates

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) v. Department of Justice

• Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights

• Face Surveillance & Biometrics

• Freedom of Information Act

• Government AI Use

• Open Government

• Surveillance Oversight

• Amicus Brief

EPIC Urges Senators to Question Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on Key Privacy & Open Government Issues

• Article III Standing

• Consumer Privacy

• Fourth Amendment

• Freedom of Information Act

• Open Government

• Privacy Laws

• Updates