Analysis

A Health Privacy ‘Check-Up’: How Unfair Modern Business Practices Can Leave You Under-Informed and Your Most Sensitive Data Ripe for Collection and Sale

The Seven Year Itch: On the GDPR’s Anniversary, A Look At Its History, Legacy, and Uncertain Future

When Courts Reach The Merits, Spyware Loses

On April 28, 8 jurors were empaneled to decide how much NSO Group, the notorious mercenary spyware company, would be fined for hacking WhatsApp servers in order to spy on millions of Americans. On May 6, jurors gave their decision: NSO Group’s flag…

Concern over Potential 23andMe Data Sale Highlights Weaknesses of State Privacy Laws 

While the United States’ lack of a comprehensive federal privacy law allows privacy harms to continue threatening Americans daily, 23andMe’s recent bankruptcy shines a spotlight on the problem.

Bankrupt Genetic Data: Minimizing and Privacy-Protecting Data from the Start

The scenario now at hand—an untold number of buyers able to potentially grab up the genetic data troves collected and analyzed by 23andMe—is a forceful reminder of the need for better data privacy and security protections. Nothing can eliminate t…

Update: Tracking of Real Algorithmic Harms in California as Enforcement Continues

As part of our project Assessing the Assessments—supported by the Rose Foundation—EPIC is continuing to track instances of real AI harms that are relevant to enforcement of the California Consumer Privacy Act.

Ninth Circuit To Hear Oral Argument in Case About Whether Algorithms Directed to Induce Habit-Forming Behavior Are Protected Speech

Don’t Believe Data Brokers Saying Data Deletion Is Snake Oil

A recent op-ed claiming authorized agent providers are selling "privacy snake oil" is misleading. and shift the focus away from harmful data brokers, EPIC Scholar in Residence Justin Sherman argues.

Is OPM More Interested in Surveillance than Privacy? Our Lawsuit Is Trying to Answer That 

For 30 years, FOIA has been one of EPIC’s most valuable tools for holding government accountable to the people. In this post, we will look at EPIC’s latest FOIA lawsuit against the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to understand why EPIC filed…

As Above Doesn’t Have to Be Below: States Should Be a Counterweight to Eroding Federal Transparency

We face a crisis of institutional legitimacy across the federal government. States can preserve and enhance democracy by acting as a valuable counterweight to the breakdown of federal transparency measures and implement much needed reform.