• EPIC Boston image

    Join EPIC in Boston for an Update from Washington

    Join EPIC on August 18, 2016 at 5pm to hear EPIC President Marc Rotenberg and EPIC State Policy Coordinator Caitriona Fitzgerald give an update on EPIC's work in both Washington and Boston.

    More info and registration »

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    EPIC Defends Right of Data Breach Victims to Seek Legal Relief

    EPIC has filed an amicus brief urging a federal appeals court to protect a consumer’s ability to sue companies that fail to protect their personal information. A group of consumers sued a grocery chain after faulty security practices left their credit card information exposed to hackers. In its brief, EPIC said courts should focus on whether companies have violated a legal obligation such as safeguarding personal data, including credit card information.

    Read More »

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    EPIC Launches "Data Protection 2016" to Make Privacy a Campaign Issue

    Noting widespread concern about the state of privacy in America, EPIC has launched "Data Protection 2016," a non-partisan campaign to make data protection an issue in the 2016 election. DataProtection2016 shows widespread support for stronger privacy protections in the United States. Campaign materials, including buttons and stickers, are available.

    Visit dataprotection2016.org »

  • EPIC Cloud 2016

    EPIC 2016

    EPIC is on the front lines of the major privacy and civil liberties debates. In 2016, EPIC has important work to do on algorithmic transparency, student privacy, and government surveillace, among many other issues. Please donate to EPIC today to help us continue this important work.

    Defend Privacy. Support EPIC. »

  • Privacy Law and Society

    Privacy Law and Society Casebook, Third Edition

    The Third Edition of Privacy Law and Society by Anita Allen and Marc Rotenberg is the most comprehensive casebook on privacy law ever produced. It traces the development of modern privacy law, from the early tort cases to present day disputes over drone surveillance, facial recognition, and the Internet of Things.

    Learn more at privacylawandsociety.org »

  • Defend Privacy. Support EPIC.

    Defend Privacy. Support EPIC.

    EPIC is on the front lines of the major privacy and civil liberties debates. In 2016, EPIC has important work to do on algorithmic transparency, student privacy, and government surveillace, among many other issues. Please donate to EPIC today to help us continue this important work.

    Defend Privacy. Support EPIC. »

  • Privacy In the Modern Age: The Search for Solutions image

    Privacy in the Modern Age: The Search for Solutions

    EPIC's new book, Privacy in the Modern Age: The Search for Solutions is an essential reference for policy makers and researchers, journalists and scholars, and others looking for answers to one of the biggest challenges of our modern day. The premise is clear: there’s a problem - let's find a solution.

    Learn more »

    Buy Now »

Top News

Data Protection 2016: Nationwide Hotel Data Breach

Sheraton, Hyatt, Westin, and Marriott hotels in 10 states and Washington, D.C. have announced that hotel payment records were breached beginning as early as March 2015. Malware discovered in at least 20 hotels across the country collected customers’ names and payment card numbers, card expiration dates, and verification codes. Surprisingly, the hotels said that they will not notify individual customers of the breach. Almost every state in the country has  a mandatory breach notification law. Hyatt announced another payment card breach earlier this year at 250 hotels in approximately 50 countries. EPIC launched “Data Protection 2016,” a non-partisan campaign to make data protection an issue in the 2016 election, calling it “the most important, least well understood issue” of this election.


EPIC’s Rotenberg Debates FBI Director at ABA Conference

EPIC President Marc Rotenberg and FBI Director James Comey debated "Emerging Issues in National Security and Law Enforcement" at a plenary session of the ABA annual conference in San Francisco. Comey stated that Americans have "never had absolute privacy." Rotenberg replied that the Fifth Amendment grants absolute privacy as a Constitutional right. In response to the Director's comments that the FBI has 650 phones it can not decrypt, Rotenberg pointed out that in 2013, more than 3.1 million cell phones were stolen. "Crime would be much higher in United States if cell phone users did not have strong encryption," said Rotenberg. The EPIC amicus brief in Apple v. FBI highlighted the risk of weak encryption, and noted that stolen cell phones are tied to identity theft and financial fraud.


Appeals Court Affirms Consumers May Sue for Violations of Federal Law

A federal appeals court has held that consumers can sue when companies fail to comply with legal obligations established by Congress. The case concerned a hospital that sent debt collection letters to consumers without disclosures required by the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act. The court concluded that “Congress has created a new right—the right to receive the required disclosures.” As a result, the consumer can bring a lawsuit when a company fails to comply with the law. EPIC has filed several amicus briefs defending the right of consumers to sue for violations of federal privacy laws.


EPIC Defends Drivers’ Right to Sue for Safety, Privacy Risks As Congress Warns of Risks to Public »

White House Hosts Drone Workshop, FAA OKs Commercial Use, Ignores Privacy »

FTC Finds Unauthorized Data Disclosure is "Substantial Injury" to Consumers »

Data Protection Experts Recommend New Protections for Internet Communications »

Privacy Shield Sign-ons Begin »

European Data Protection Supervisor Calls for Stronger Protections for Electronic Communications »

EPIC news Archive »

EPIC's Work

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Open Government »

EPIC v. DOJ: Seeking unpublished reports from the Department of Justice's Office of the Inspector General.

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Appellate Advocacy »

In re SuperValu: Whether Victims of Data Breaches Must Suffer Certainly Impending or Actual Concrete Harms (i.e., Damages) In Order to Sue

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EPIC State Policy Project »

EPIC's State Policy project, launched in the Spring of 2015, aims to track legislation across the country to identify trends and emerging issues impacting privacy and civil liberties.

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Privacy Campaigns »

EPIC has launched "Data Protection 2016," a non-partisan campaign to make data protection an issue in the 2016 election.