Over 40 Civil Rights, Civil Liberties, and Consumer Groups Call on Congress to Address Data-Driven Discrimination

EPIC joined 43 civil society organizations in a letter to Congress calling on legislators to protect civil rights, equity, and equal opportunity in the digital ecosystem. The organizations wrote that any privacy legislation must be consistent with the Civil Rights Principles for the Era of Big Data, which include: stop high-tech profiling, ensure fairness in automated decisions, preserve constitutional principles, enhance individual control of personal information, and protect people from inaccurate data. The groups said: "Platforms and other online services should not be permitted to use consumer data to discriminate against protected classes or deny them opportunities in commerce, housing, and employment, or full participation in our democracy." EPIC supports "algorithmic transparency", the public's right to know the data processes that impact their lives so they can contest decisions made by algorithms.