EPIC - Electronic Privacy Information Center

01/21/2026

NEW: Today, EPIC published a major report detailing the health privacy crisis in which our data is collected and used to profile us, manipulate our behavior, and charge us more for care.
Some our key takeaways on the crisis:

1. Commercial surveillance disproportionately impacts marginalized communities and harms minors in unique ways;
2. The ubiquitous tracking and profiling of consumers leads to and exacerbates health inequities;
3. Under commercial surveillance, our health data is extracted to profile us, reveal our health conditions, manipulate our behavior, and charge us more for health care;
4. Data breaches negatively impact our health and can lead to a loss of trust in medical providers; and
5. The proliferation of AI is exacerbating the crisis.

But a better world is possible. Here's what policymakers and industry leaders can do to protect our health data:

1. Embrace a data minimization approach to sensitive health information;
2. Ban the sale of sensitive health data; and
3. Update our health privacy standards to meet the moment.

Read “Beyond HIPAA: Reimagining How Privacy Laws Apply to Health Data to Maximize Equity in the Digital Age” in full here:

We face a health data privacy crisis. Unregulated digital technologies, mass surveillance, and weak privacy laws have created a health privacy crisis in which our health data is collected and used to profile us, manipulate our behavior, and charge us more for care. This crisis pushes people away fro...

01/16/2026

📣 Yesterday, EPIC Counsel Kara Williams testified in support of the New York AI Act (S1169A), which would prohibit algorithmic discrimination in housing, employment, and healthcare. The bill requires companies to disclose when they’re using AI to make sensitive decisions about consumers’ lives, allow users to opt out of such algorithms, and includes a private right of action for New Yorkers to sue violators. Want to learn more? Read Kara’s testimony in full here:

EPIC Counsel Kara Williams testified in support of the New York AI Act ( S1169A), a bill prohibiting algorithmic discrimination.

01/13/2026

EPIC recently joined two comments as part of an ongoing civil society campaign calling on the FTC to renew its click-to-cancel rulemaking. The click-to-cancel rule—which was vacated in 2025 over so-called procedural defects—was a broadly popular initiative that stopped companies from unfairly trapping people in subscriptions that they cannot easily cancel.

Last week, EPIC joined two comments to the FTC calling on the Commission to renew its click-to-cancel rulemaking, which was dubiously vacated last year on procedural grounds.

01/12/2026

How we talk about AI matters, and describing AI as if it has human-like abilities is dangerous. EPIC’s new blog post explains why anthropomorphizing AI is inaccurate, obscures the real-life harms, and plays into the Big Tech narrative. https://epic.org/a-new-years-resolution-for-everyone-stop-talking-about-generative-ai-like-it-is-human/

Generative AI chatbots are often described by researchers, journalists, AI developers, and the general public as if they can think, feel, or lie. Anthropomorphizing chatbots like this makes for splashier headlines but sets back accountability for AI harms. Projecting human-like intentions and abilities onto generative AI tools implies that they are responsible and autonomous, drawing the attention away from the developers who should be held accountable for creating products that cause harms.

EPIC's work has always centered people over technology, and AI is no different. AI tools are products, not human, and we should talk about and regulate them as such. Learn more about EPIC's approach to regulating chatbots in our recently published model legislation, the People-First Chatbot Bill.https://epic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/CFA-Model-Chatbot-Bill.pdf

Anthropomorphizing genAI is not only technically inaccurate, but it also exacerbates the harms generative AI causes and allows Big Tech to control the narrative around regulating generative AI tools.

01/09/2026

EPIC recently pushed back on a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services's proposed rule that would dangerously expand the government's use of biometric data. In a submitted comment, EPIC urged the Agency to rescind the rule because increasing biometric data collection is unnecessary, against current practice, and carries significant privacy risks.

EPIC has long highlighted concerns over increased use of biometric data, particularly facial recognition technology.

On Jan. 2, EPIC submitted comments to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in response to the Proposed Rule published on November 3, 2025.

01/08/2026

EPIC added another action to our long history of fighting to protect people from robocalls this week by joining a comment submitted to the FCC. EPIC joined the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) and National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) in urging the FCC to adopt measures that better protect consumers, including blocking illegal traffic.

On January 5, EPIC and the National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) joined a comment filed by the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) urging the FCC to protect consumers from unwanted calls in its Ninth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

01/07/2026

Join EPIC for "Beyond HIPAA: Reimagining How Privacy Laws Apply to Health Data to Maximize Equity in the Digital Age" on Wednesday, January 21 at 2 pm ET.

EPIC Senior Counsel Sara Geoghegan will moderate a discussion among Amir Sadeghi (Center for HIV Law & Policy), Amy O'Hara (Massive Data Institute), and Kierra B. Jones (Center for American Progress) about how surveillance and weak privacy laws threaten health equity and what we can do to build a more privacy-protective future.

Register now: epic.org/beyond-hipaa-event

01/06/2026

EPIC commends the FTC for making clear that companies cannot make misrepresentations about their data security practices. In comments about the FTC's proposed consent order to Illuminate Education, EPIC also urged the Agency to strengthen the data minimization provisions in its proposed order and make them ongoing obligations for the company.

In comments, EPIC commended the FTC for taking action against harmful data security practices, recognizing specifically that misrepresentations of data security measures and false assurances that data breaches will be timely disclosed constitute unfair and deceptive acts. To make the proposed order....

01/05/2026

We're thrilled to welcome three new distinguished privacy experts to our Board of Directors: David Brody, Ryan Calo, and Katherine Strandburg. We're looking forward to their guidance as we continue fighting to protect the fundamental right to privacy in 2026.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) welcomes Kathrine Strandburg, Ryan Calo, and David Brody to its Board of Directors. Since its establishment, EPIC’s work has been guided by leading scholars, practitioners, and advocates in the fields of privacy, technolo...

12/31/2025

Tax-deductible donations accepted through TONIGHT. In 2025, EPIC challenged illegal databases, advised state legislators, investigated surveillance, and held corporations accountable. Help us start 2026 strong:

EPIC’s mission is to secure the fundamental right to privacy in the digital age for all people through advocacy, research, and litigation. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit research and advocacy center. We have no clients, no customers, and no shareholders. We need your support.Please donate below, o...

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