Tag: Surveillance

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

    June 4, 2025

    • Competition and Privacy

    • Consumer Privacy

    • Cybersecurity

    • Data Brokers

    • Data Minimization

    • Data Protection

    • Data Security

    • Enforcement of Privacy Laws

    • International Privacy

    • International Privacy Laws

    • Privacy Laws

    • Analysis

  • When Courts Reach The Merits, Spyware Loses

    May 8, 2025

    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 flagrant violation of the law would cost them $444,719 in statutory damages and $167.25 million in punitive damages, striking a major blow to the infamous company.

    • Fourth Amendment

    • Intelligence Surveillance

    • Privacy Laws

    • Surveillance Oversight

    • Analysis

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

    March 18, 2025

    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.

    • Access to Information

    • Democracy & Free Speech

    • Freedom of Information Act

    • Open Government

    • Surveillance Oversight

    • Analysis

  • Apple Pulls Encrypted Cloud Services and Rejects United Kingdom Request to Create Backdoors to Encrypted Servers

    February 28, 2025

    Encryption is at risk in the United Kingdom. On February 7, it was reported that the United Kingdom sent notices to Apple requesting blanket capability to view fully encrypted material across Apple’s customer base,

    • Cybersecurity

    • Encryption

    • Surveillance Oversight

    • Wiretapping

    • Updates

  • Scraping for Me, Not for Thee: Large Language Models, Web Data, and Privacy-Problematic Paradigms

    February 27, 2025

    More than just hypocrisy (though that as well), the supposed reaction to DeepSeek’s model speaks to a troubling AI company argument—one that positions mass web scraping and large-scale data ingestion, sans consent, as a necessity, and an act in which only the companies themselves are entitled to partake.

    • AI Policy

    • Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights

    • Commercial AI Use

    • Consumer Privacy

    • Cybersecurity

    • Data Brokers

    • Data Minimization

    • Data Security

    • Government AI Use

    • Platform Accountability & Governance

    • Social Media Privacy

    • Web Scraping

    • Analysis

  • Vehicle Fingerprinting Through Pervasive Camera Surveillance Likely Violates Fourth Amendment, Court Finds

    February 11, 2025

    On February 5, a §1983 case alleging violation of the Fourth Amendment for the City of Norfolk’s use of Flock to indiscriminately track residents’ movement around town survived a baseless standing challenge and motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim.

    • Privacy in Public

    • Surveillance Oversight

    • Updates

  • Paying for Iris Scans: AI-Fueled Surveillance Harms

    February 6, 2025

    Hype about AI research and development is driving companies to buy people’s data where they otherwise weren’t and, conversely, to sell people’s (including customers’ and users’) data where they otherwise wouldn’t. These practices are harmful already. And their acceleration by the AI craze is poised to rapidly increase data-sharing, -selling, and -monetization threats to privacy in the coming years. This enables the repeat exploitation of people’s data and causes especially pronounced harm to vulnerable people and communities.

    • AI Policy

    • Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights

    • Commercial AI Use

    • Data Protection

    • Face Surveillance & Biometrics

    • Health and Reproductive Privacy

    • Surveillance Oversight

    • Analysis

  • EPIC, Coalition Urge Congress Restore Privacy Oversight Board’s Independence from White House

    February 3, 2025

    On February 3, EPIC joined over 26 civil society organizations in demanding that Congress re-double its oversight activities to ensure that the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) retains its independence and continues its work free from White House interference.

    • Government Databases

    • Intelligence Surveillance

    • PATRIOT Act

    • Surveillance Oversight

    • Updates

  • PRESS RELEASE: EPIC Calls on Congress to Hold On Confirmations Pending White House Nominations to Fill Privacy Oversight Board

    January 30, 2025

    EPIC calls on the White House to immediately nominate a Chair and full bipartisan slate of Board Members, subject to the advice and consent of the Senate and consultation with Congressional leadership as required by the law. EPIC also calls on members of the Senate Judiciary and Intelligence Committees to hold consideration of other Intelligence Community nominations until the PCLOB Member nominations have been submitted.

    • Data Protection

    • Intelligence Surveillance

    • International Privacy

    • Surveillance Oversight

    • Updates

  • FBI’s Warrantless Section 702 Searches Violated Fourth Amendment, Court Finds 

    January 22, 2025

    Last night, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York held that warrantless queries of Americans’ communications collected under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act violated the Fourth Amendment. This landmark decision is a critical victory against warrantless surveillance of Americans.  

    • Intelligence Surveillance

    • Surveillance Oversight

    • Updates