Maria Villegas Bravo

Maria Villegas Bravo is Counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), a non-profit research and advocacy center dedicated to securing the fundamental right to privacy in the digital age for all people. Maria leads EPIC’s research and advocacy combatting the proliferation of spyware. Villegas Bravo regularly contributes to EPIC’s Surveillance Oversight Program, International Privacy Program, and Telephone Subscriber Privacy Project.  

Some of Villegas Bravo’s recent work includes:  

• EPIC Comments to USCIS re: Collection and Use of Biometrics by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 
• The Fight to Protect Our Phones: A Multi-Prong Approach to Spyware Reform
• EPIC Comment to Department of State on Notice of Proposed Information Collection: U.S. Passport Application, Renewal Application, and Limited Passport Replacement for Eligible Individuals  
• EPIC Comments to Dutch DPA on Emotion Recognition Prohibition under EU AI Act 
• EPIC Comments to DOJ on Provisions Pertaining to Preventing Access to U.S. Sensitive Personal Data and Government-Related Data by Countries of Concern or Covered Persons  

Villegas Bravo is an active member of various coalition networks. On the international level, Maria participates in the Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD) where she is the U.S. Chair of the Digital Group, European Digital Rights (EDRi), and an EU based spyware advocacy working group. In the United States, Villegas Bravo is an active member in the New York Cyber Abuse Task Force, an LGBTQ+ rights working group, and various U.S.-based surveillance reform coalitions. Maria is regularly asked to speak at panels, conferences, and university lectures.  

Maria has been quoted in numerous publications including the Washington Post, Fast Company, Bloomberg Law, HuffPost, Decrypt, and Dark Reading.  

Maria holds a J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law and a B.A. in psychology from the University of Texas at Austin. Villegas Bravo is an active member of the District of Columbia Bar.  

Areas of expertise: Spyware, encryption, mobile phone privacy, intelligence community surveillance, cybersecurity, AI in policing, the EU AI Act, government surveillance reform, and international privacy law.  

Pronouns: she/they