A second batch of previously secret documents show that the government’s secret drone task force ignored public concerns about drone surveillance. Included in the documents are opening remarks by FAA Administrator Michael Huerta, who urged the task force to take into consideration “the interests of all stakeholders,” but who declined to invite any privacy or consumer advocates to the closed door meetings. The newly released records stem from EPIC v. DOT, a lawsuit filed to uncover records relating to the private meetings held last November in Washington, DC between agency officials and industry representatives. EPIC expects to obtain more documents from the agency.
At the National Press Club in Washington, DC, EPIC presented the 2016 EPIC Lifetime Achievement Award to lawyer Chris Wolf, the 2016 EPIC Privacy Champion Award to technologist Ashkan Soltani, and the 2016 EPIC Champion of Freedom Award to judge and law professor Nancy Gertner. The EPIC awards are presented annually to those who protect privacy, open government, and democratic institutions with courage and integrity. Manoush Zomorodi, podcaster of Note to Self, and Bruce Schneier, security technologist, cohosted.
EPIC, legal scholars, technical experts, and many leading privacy organizations have petitioned the Education Department to establish a data security rule to protect student records. The experts and groups explained that data breaches now plague schools and colleges across the country, following recent changes to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. The petition calls for the establishment of rules for encryption, privacy enhancing techniques, and breach notification.
