EPIC Alert 29.07 – July 29, 2022

Top Updates
Analysis From EPIC
News
EPIC in the News

Top Updates

1. American Data Privacy and Protection Act Advances in Congress

The American Data Privacy and Protection Act was recently favorably reported by the House Energy and Commerce Committee on a 53-2 vote and now advances in Congress. EPIC commends the Committee for its work and has sent a letter urging the Senate Commerce Committee to schedule the bill for a markup.

2. EPIC’s Jeramie Scott Testifies to Congress on CBP’s Use of Facial Recognition Technology

EPIC Senior Counsel and Project on Surveillance Oversight Director Jeramie Scott testified on U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s use of facial recognition technology at a hearing of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security.

3. Leading Privacy Scholars and Advocates Join EPIC’s Advisory Board

This month, EPIC announced the addition of fifteen leading privacy scholars and advocates to its Advisory Board. These new members will help inform EPIC’s research, advocacy, and litigation work at a time when efforts to rein in large technology platforms are front and center in global policy debates.

Analysis From EPIC

The Rise of Chinese Surveillance Technology in Africa: China’s Intelligence Law and Zhong Lun Declaration

In the third of his six-part blog post series, EPIC Scholar-in-Residence Bulelani Jili breaks down China’s layered policy regime, where research & development in surveillance technologies support the state’s ambitions to be a global leader in tech innovation while also enhancing its capacity for domestic social control.

The Shakedown State: Fraud Detection and Predicting the Past

In this blog post, EPIC Scholar-In-Residence Virginia Eubanks analyzes the development of government “zombie debt” collection and explains how predictive fraud technology has been used in public benefit administration and enforcement.

Reproductive Privacy in the Age of Surveillance Capitalism

The recent Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization poses an unquestionable threat to the safety and privacy of abortion providers and patients alike. In this blog post, EPIC Law Fellows Sara Geoghegan and Dana Khabbaz examine the potential implications of the decision in the age of data brokers and surveillance capitalism.

News

AI & Human Rights

EPIC to Attorney General: Improve Oversight of Federal Funding for Predictive Law Enforcement Tools

In a letter following up on a recent Executive Order, EPIC urged Attorney General Merrick Garland to scrutinize federal funding of predictive algorithms and biometric systems in law enforcement. EPIC called on the DOJ to establish meaningful oversight of the grants the DOJ has awarded to state and local law enforcement for predictive and biometric technologies and to temporarily suspend such grants until the DOJ’s study is complete.

EPIC Spotlights Pondera’s Fraud Detection Algorithms for Public Benefits

Pondera Solutions is one of many companies contracting with agencies across the country and claiming to “predict” and “prevent” fraud in public benefits programs by drawing from data collected by social media scrapers, data brokers, location servicers, credit reporting agencies, and government databases. EPIC is taking an in-depth look into Pondera and has published analysis of the use of Pondera in several states.

Consumer Privacy

FCC Chair Rosenworcel Probes Carriers on Geolocation Data

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel sent Letters of Inquiry to the top fifteen mobile providers, requesting information about their data retention and data sharing practices related specifically to geolocation data. EPIC routinely calls for greater protections against location tracking and recently urged the FCC to require privacy disclosures of providers in the Commission’s Broadband Nutrition Labels.

EPIC, U.S. Consumer Groups Urge FTC to Investigate Google Account Sign-Up Practices

EPIC and nine other U.S. consumer protection and privacy groups have submitted a letter to the Federal Trade Commission, urging it to open an investigation into Google’s account sign-up process. The letter states that the structure of the sign-up process hides tracking information from consumers, engages in dark patterns to manipulate consumers into accepting default invasive tracking practices, and makes opting out more difficult and time-intensive than accepting tracking.

DATA PROTECTION

EPIC Urges OSTP to Prioritize Differential Privacy

In comments to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, EPIC urged federal agencies to increase funding for privacy-enhancing technologies and to prioritize the adoption of differential privacy. Differential privacy is a method of data analysis that is achieved through the controlled injection of statistical noise into a published study or analysis of a dataset, providing a mathematical guarantee of privacy while preserving the research value of the information.

Open Government

EPIC Urges Administrative Conference to Recommend Sweeping Open Government Reforms

In comments to the Administrative Conference of the United States, EPIC urged the agency to recommend numerous fixes to the Freedom of Information Act, E-Government Act of 2002, and Federal Advisory Committee Act that would require federal agencies to disclose more records and make those records easier to access.

Privacy Laws

EPIC Urges Senate Commerce Committee to Markup American Data Privacy and Protection Act

This month, the Senate Commerce Committee held a markup of two bills related to the privacy of children and teens. EPIC joined over 100 advocacy organizations in supporting the legislation, but also sent a letter to Chair Maria Cantwell and Ranking Member Roger Wicker urging the Committee to schedule the American Data Privacy and Protection Act for a markup. “All Americans, young and old, deserve privacy. Privacy is a fundamental right, and it is long past time for Congress to act to protect the privacy rights of all Americans,” EPIC told the Committee.

American Data Privacy and Protection Act Advances in Congress

The American Data Privacy and Protection Act was favorably reported by the House Energy and Commerce Committee on a 53-2 vote and now advances in Congress. The bill would set data minimization obligations for companies that collect and use personal data, impose special protections for particularly sensitive data and the data of minors, establish digital civil rights safeguards, require transparency of algorithmic decision-making, prohibit cross-context behavioral advertising, and provide for enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission, state attorneys general, and individuals.

European Parliament Adopts DSA, DMA

This month, the European Parliament voted by a large majority to adopt both the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act. These laws will address competition, transparency, and consumer protection in digital markets and are likely to significantly impact tech giants like Facebook, Google, Amazon, and more.

Surveillance Oversight

EPIC’s Jeramie Scott Testifies to Congress on CBP’s Use of Facial Recognition Technology

Jeramie Scott, EPIC Senior Counsel and Project on Surveillance Oversight Director, testified on U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s use of facial recognition technology at a hearing of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security. Scott recommended that CBP end its use of facial recognition technology and urged Congress, at a minimum, to implement restrictions on CBP’s use of the technology to mitigate risks to privacy and civil liberties.

EPIC, Coalition Call on Congress to Address Overbroad Authorities in Counter-Drone Bill

EPIC and a coalition of privacy and civil liberties groups urged the Senate Homeland Security & Government Affairs Committee and Senate Judiciary Committee to push back against “the overbroad authority and insufficient protections in the administration’s proposed legislation expanding government power to counter malicious drones.”

EPIC Urges PCLOB to Investigate Fusion Centers, Aerial Surveillance

In comments to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, EPIC urged the Board to investigate fusion centers and federal agencies’ use of aerial surveillance, providing specific instances of protest policing and surveillance abuses that the Board should use its authority to investigate.