EPIC - Electronic Privacy Information Center

12/29/2025

We asked our Platform Accountability & Governance team to share some of the things they’d like to see more of and some they’d like to leave behind in the upcoming year—their “2026 Ins & Outs.”

EPIC’s Platform Accountability & Governance team advocates for policies that protect the speech, privacy, anti-discrimination, and safety rights of internet users. Your support will help us carry on this work in 2026! Donate now: epic.org/donate

12/26/2025

With the federal government failing to protect Americans' privacy, states stepped up, and EPIC became a go-to expert for legislators navigating AI accountability, privacy protections, and social media regulation. We helped advance safeguards in California, Vermont, Oregon, Massachusetts, and beyond while also pushing back against harmful measures in other states. This is what your donations make possible. Donate today! Epic.org/donate

12/23/2025

Here are some ways you can support EPIC's work in 2026! Find more information at epic.org

12/22/2025

We asked our Consumer Privacy team to share some of the things they’d like to see more of and some they’d like to leave behind in the upcoming year—their “2026 Ins & Outs."

EPIC’s Consumer Privacy team seeks to protect individuals from data abuses and strengthen privacy standards online. Your support will help us carry on this work in 2026! Donate now: epic.org/donate.

12/19/2025

NEW: EPIC published “Data Broker Harms to Public Officials,” a one-pager outlining how data brokers inadvertently provide tools to locate and track public officials, creating severe safety threats.

Data brokers enable and exacerbate serious harm when they sell sensitive personal information to anyone wishing to purchase it. The information being sold can be used to perpetuate discrimination, target individuals for scams and fraud, threaten national security, and even facilitate physical violence.

The updated one-pagers include new examples and resources and call on policymakers at the federal and state level to strengthen laws and rules to limit data brokers’ ability to collect, share, and sell personal data.

Read about current protections and policy recommendations here: https://epic.org/updated-epic-resources-highlight-data-broker-harms-to-different-communities/

12/19/2025

Federal agencies are attempting to gut laws meant to protect consumers from discriminatory lending practices. This week, EPIC filed comments opposing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)’s proposed rules on the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), or Regulation B.

EPIC’s comment argues that “The Bureau’s proposed rules would obliterate ECOA’s protections against discrimination in consumer lending. Not only are the proposed rules inconsistent with legal precedent and legislative history, but they would also be extremely harmful to consumers, further entrenching economic inequity.”

In addition to submitting a comment, EPIC also signed two coalition letters opposing the CFPB’s proposed rules on Regulation B. The first letter, led by the National Fair Housing Alliance, warns that the CFPB’s proposed rules could exacerbate the housing crisis, deepen housing discrimination, and limit affordable credit opportunities for underserved communities. The second letter, written by Government Information Watch, raises concerns that the CFPB may be using artificial intelligence to analyze and draft proposed rules and review public comments.

Learn more about EPIC’s advocacy for privacy and consumer protections in the financial sector.

EPIC filed comments opposing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) proposed rules on the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), or Regulation B. As the comment notes, “The Bureau’s proposed rules would obliterate ECOA’s protections against discrimination in consumer lending. No...

12/18/2025

NEW: EPIC and Just Futures Law published “How Data Brokers Harm Immigrants,” a one-pager detailing how the data broker industry sells sensitive information which can be used to target immigrants for deportation, marketing for predatory products, or criminalization.

Data brokers enable and exacerbate serious harm when they sell sensitive personal information to anyone wishing to purchase it. The information being sold can be used to perpetuate discrimination, target individuals for scams and fraud, threaten national security, and even facilitate physical violence.

The updated one-pagers include new examples and resources and call on policymakers at the federal and state level to strengthen laws and rules to limit data brokers’ ability to collect, share, and sell personal data.

Read our policy recommendations here: https://epic.org/updated-epic-resources-highlight-data-broker-harms-to-different-communities/

12/18/2025

Holiday gift prices seeming a little higher than normal this year? One factor could be something called surveillance pricing that companies are suing to keep consumers in the dark about. In this blog post, EPIC staff explains the legal and policy problems with this anti-consumer move.

Surveillance pricing is when companies crunch a consumer’s personal data to infer the maximum price they are willing to pay for a product and set that price for the consumer. Everyone gets their own price: the maximum they are willing to pay.

New York responded to this growing practice by passing a law that requires businesses to tell consumers when a price was set using their personal data. But the National Retail Foundation has sued to overturn the law, arguing that it violates their First Amendment free speech rights.

NRF’s First Amendment argument is weak, but dangerous. Their argument boils down to, “It violates our free speech rights to require us to be honest with consumers.” But there is no First Amendment right to keep consumers in the dark about facts concerning the prices we pay.

This fits into a pattern of companies attempting to turn the First Amendment into a get-out-of-regulations-free card across the country. Selling someone’s data, using dark patterns to manipulate users, and deploying a chatbot that urges and teaches a teen how to kill themselves are just a few of the things companies have claimed to be free speech.

Read more about surveillance pricing and the related lawsuit here: https://epic.org/big-techs-holiday-wish-list-surveillance-pricing/ Holiday gift prices seeming a little higher than normal this year? One factor could be something called surveillance pricing that companies are suing to keep consumers in the dark about. In this blog post, EPIC staff explains the legal and policy problems with this anti-consumer move.

Surveillance pricing is when companies crunch a consumer’s personal data to infer the maximum price they are willing to pay for a product and set that price for the consumer. Everyone gets their own price: the maximum they are willing to pay.

New York responded to this growing practice by passing a law that requires businesses to tell consumers when a price was set using their personal data. But the National Retail Foundation has sued to overturn the law, arguing that it violates their First Amendment free speech rights.

NRF’s First Amendment argument is weak, but dangerous. Their argument boils down to, “It violates our free speech rights to require us to be honest with consumers.” But there is no First Amendment right to keep consumers in the dark about facts concerning the prices we pay.

This fits into a pattern of companies attempting to turn the First Amendment into a get-out-of-regulations-free card across the country. Selling someone’s data, using dark patterns to manipulate users, and deploying a chatbot that urges and teaches a teen how to kill themselves are just a few of the things companies have claimed to be free speech.

Read more about surveillance pricing and the related lawsuit here: https://epic.org/big-techs-holiday-wish-list-surveillance-pricing/

December 18, 2025 | Tom McBrien, EPIC Counsel; Kara Williams, EPIC Counsel; Mayu Tobin-Miyaji, EPIC Counsel; Hayden Davis, EPIC Law Fellow

12/17/2025

Companies increasingly use digital labor platforms to decide who gets to work, when they work, and how much they get paid—all without paying fair wages, providing benefits, or maintaining accountability. In a letter sent to Congress last week, EPIC joined a coalition endorsing the Empowering App-Based Workers Act, a bill to create transparency and fairness for workers and accountability for tech companies.

The letter urges members of Congress to co-sponsor the bill. The coalition is led by the National Employment Law Project (NELP) and includes 34 unions, worker and economic justice organizations, and privacy advocates.

Read more about how the bill would empower workers, secure their rights, and hold tech companies accountable:

In a letter sent to Congress this week, EPIC joined a coalition endorsing the Empowering App-Based Workers Act, a bill introduced by senators Schatz, Murphy, and Baldwin to create transparency and fairness for workers and accountability for tech companies. The letter urges members of Congress to co-...

12/17/2025

NEW: EPIC partnered with the National Network to End Domestic Violence to publish a one-pager about how the data broker industry presents alarming consequences for domestic violence survivors.

Data brokers enable and exacerbate serious harm when they sell sensitive personal information to anyone wishing to purchase it. The information being sold can be used to perpetuate discrimination, target individuals for scams and fraud, threaten national security, and even facilitate physical violence.

The updated one-pagers include new examples and resources and call on policymakers at the federal and state level to strengthen laws and rules to limit data brokers’ ability to collect, share, and sell personal data.

Read our policy recommendations here: https://epic.org/updated-epic-resources-highlight-data-broker-harms-to-different-communities/

12/16/2025

NEW: EPIC published an updated series of one-pagers about threats posed by data brokers—an industry of shadowy companies that trade in personal data—to provide concise, high-level summaries of key issues and current protections across specific communities.

Data brokers enable and exacerbate serious harm when they sell sensitive personal information to anyone wishing to purchase it. The information being sold can be used to perpetuate discrimination, target individuals for scams and fraud, threaten national security, and even facilitate physical violence.

The updated one-pagers include new examples and resources and call on policymakers at the federal and state level to strengthen laws and rules to limit data brokers’ ability to collect, share, and sell personal data.

Learn more here: https://epic.org/updated-epic-resources-highlight-data-broker-harms-to-different-communities/

12/16/2025

In a notable win for consumer privacy, the FTC has upheld a 2021 consent decree against Scott Zuckerman, CEO of the stalkerware app SpyFone. Zuckerman had petitioned to reduce or void his obligations, which included a permanent ban on selling surveillance products and a requirement to implement stronger cybersecurity practices.

The FTC’s decision ensures that Zuckerman will remain blocked from marketing tools that enable covert surveillance and deceitful data security practices. EPIC and other civil rights organizations argued in comments to the agency that weakening the decree would send the wrong message and encourage more stalkerware development, which poses serious threats to privacy and safety.

This ruling is a major step forward in holding tech companies accountable and protecting consumers from surreptitious surveillance.

On December 8, the Federal Trade Commission denied the petition of Scott Zuckerman, CEO of the stalkerware app SpyFone, who sought to vacate or reduce his obligations under a 2021 FTC Consent Decree.