BIG PRIVACY WIN: A federal judge has struck down the Trump administration’s unlawful attempt to meddle in elections, finding that “the federal government has knowingly trampled on the privacy rights of American citizens in a manner that threatens the sacred right to vote.”

PRESS RELEASE: Federal Judge Shuts Down Trump-Vance Voter Purge Database

WASHINGTON, D.C. –– A Trump-Vance administration attempt to unlawfully meddle in elections was struck down today, as a federal judge ordered the

eocampaign1.com

The SECURE Data Act is not a serious effort at tackling the urgent privacy crisis facing this country. It is weaker than many existing state laws (the very state laws that it would wipe off the books with its broad preemption provision). Some examples:

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger has signed S.B. 338 into law, banning the sale of precise geolocation data! A huge win for Virginians' privacy! epic.org/virginia-gov...

Virginia Governor Signs Bill Banning Sale of Precise Location Data

<p>Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger has signed S.B. 338 into law, prohibiting the sale of Virginians’ precise geolocation data. </p>

epic.org

An article in the NYT today revealed Meta’s plan to take advantage of current political turmoil to sneak facial recognition into their smart glasses without enforcement bodies or privacy advocates noticing. But EPIC has noticed—and is ensuring that enforcers do, too. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...

Meta Plans to Add Facial Recognition Technology to Its Smart Glasses

nytimes.com

Happy Maryland Online Data Privacy Act effective date! As of today, Marylanders have some of the strongest privacy rights in the country. MODPA requires companies to align their data pratices with what consumers expect, not just collect data for whatever purpose they please. epic.org/maryland-onl...

Maryland Online Data Privacy Act Comes Into Effect

<p>Today, October 1, 2025, the Maryland Online Data Privacy Act came into effect. This law marks a significant shift in state privacy law landscape toward laws that meaningfully limit personal data co...

epic.org

Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of #privacy. I love my city.

ACLU of Massachusetts@aclum.bsky.social · last yr.

249 years ago, The Declaration of Independence was read at the Old State House. Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness would be impossible without the right of privacy. Declare digital privacy as an essential right, and support legislation to secure that right: aclum.org/data-independence

Thank you Commissioner Slaughter for getting right back to work pushing the FTC to do it's job: protecting American consumers from harmful practices lie subscription traps!

John Davisson@johndavisson.bsky.social · last yr.

Back at it! 💪

Join @carolecadwalla.bsky.social, @carissaveliz.bsky.social and me TODAY at 9am PT / noon ET / 5pm BT for a podcast on Substack entitled “Privacy Is Power”. Link is below.

The Citizens@the-citizens.bsky.social · last yr.

LIVE TODAY! On 'Privacy is Power' With @carissaveliz.bsky.social, @moonalice.com & @carolecadwalla.bsky.social 5pm BST / 9am PST on Citizens Reunited Watch here: open.substack.com/live-stream/...

🚨 JUST IN: On a 99-1 vote this morning, the Senate overwhelmingly passed an amendment to remove the "AI Moratorium," a budget bill provision that would have prevented states from passing regulations on AI systems for 10 years.

In the wee hours of the morning, amendment 2814 by Senators Blackburn, Collins, and Cantwell stripping the AI state law moratorium from the bill passed 99-1!!! A huge thanks to my Senator @markey.senate.gov for his leadership on this too.

Senate Press Gallery@senatepress.bsky.social · last yr.

By a vote of 99-1, the #Senate adopted the Blackburn amendment #2814 to strike the section relating to support for artificial intelligence. Senator Tillis voted no.

That’s my Senator! Thank you @markey.senate.gov for your leadership on this.

Senator Ed Markey@markey.senate.gov · last yr.

Last night, Republicans agreed to a so-called compromise on the AI moratorium. Don’t be fooled: This is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and it will devastate state attempts to protect children online. That’s why I filed an amendment with @cantwell.senate.gov to strip this provision

EPIC opposes the revised AI moratorium: “The multiple iterations of the AI state law moratorium demonstrate that, at the end of the day, members of Congress recognize that a sweeping ban on state-level AI regulation simply does not work,” said @caitrionafitz.bsky.social, EPIC's Deputy Director.

The House’s 10-year ban on state AI regulation would wreak havoc on our country. The language is so broad that it could upend everything from state privacy law to contract law. It could even break the internet. I will do everything in my power to stop it. www.techpolicy.press/the-big-beau...

The Big Beautiful Bill Could Decimate Legal Accountability for Tech and Anything Tech Touches | TechPolicy.Press

To understand how the so-called “AI moratorium” will destroy state laws and the internet, consider the literal meaning of its text, writes David Brody.

techpolicy.press

Inject the second paragraph of this footnote directly into my veins. (And then send it to the nine firms that have bent the knee.)

Kyle Cheney@kyledcheney.bsky.social · last yr.

Howell drips with disdain for the firms who capitulated to the White House and says of those who resisted "will be the models lauded when this period of American history is written." ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show...

Time for another musical digital security PSA! Here’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” but it’s about breaking up with Google 💔

On 4/24, EPIC Executive Director @alanindc.bsky.social and Deputy Director @caitrionafitz.bsky.social will speak at “The United States of Surveillance Capitalism vs. The Rule of Law” hosted by the Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights. tinyurl.com/asbfz4s7 Note: This event is only open to HUID holders.

The United States of Surveillance Capitalism vs. The Rule of Law

Join Shoshana Zuboff (moderator), Alan Butler, Rohit Chopra, Caitriona Fitzgerald, and Jonathan Kantor as they look at the current high-stakes clash between the competing institutional orders of surve...

tinyurl.com

Thanks to @bostonglobe.com for printing my letter pointing out that state privacy laws are only as good as their consumer protections. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/04/20/o...

Data privacy laws are only as good as their consumer protections - The Boston Globe

The biggest weakness in these laws is that they do not require companies to take proactive steps and instead put the onus on consumers to correct or delete their data — rights that very few consumers ...

bostonglobe.com

Well, well, well, the CT AG released a new report on the CT Data Privacy Act and look what it says about data minimization! Full report: portal.ct.gov/-/media/ag/p...

The leaders of the House Energy & Commerce Committee wrote to #23andme saying that since there is no federal comprehensive data privacy law, they have "great concern" about the safety of Americans' most sensitive personal info. Not at all frustrating. energycommerce.house.gov/posts/chairm...

Chairmen Guthrie, Bilirakis, and Palmer Launch Investigation into 23andMe and its Handling of Americans’ Sensitive Medical and Genetic Information

The Committee on Energy and Commerce is the oldest standing legislative committee in the U.S. House of Representatives and is vested with the broadest jurisdiction of any congressional authorizing com...

energycommerce.house.gov

President Trump just fired almost the entire staff of the CFPB, who protect you from getting scammed by Wall Street. This is another assault on consumers and our democracy by Trump's lawless Administration. We will fight back with everything we've got.

Thank you @carolecadwalla.bsky.social: "Privacy is power. [...] There is a beautiful internet of the future, free from corporate capture and data tracking. We can build it. It is going to take a movement." I'm fired up for the fight ahead. www.ted.com/talks/carole...

This is what a digital coup looks like

“We are watching the collapse of the international order in real time, and this is just the start,” says investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr. In a searing talk, she decries the rise of the “bro...

ted.com

Excited to see that Sunday's @bostonglobe.com editorial urges MA to adopt a strong comprehensive privacy law! Let's do this! www.bostonglobe.com/2025/04/13/o...

23andMe bankruptcy highlights need for data protection law - The Boston Globe

Consumers should be allowed to control how their private info is used.

bostonglobe.com

"Of course, this raises a bigger question: Why should anyone be able to buy the genetic data of millions of Americans in a bankruptcy proceeding? The answer is simple: Lawmakers allow them to." www.technologyreview.com/2025/03/28/1...

How a bankruptcy judge can stop a genetic privacy disaster

Any new owner of 23AndMe’s data will want to find ways to make money from it. Lawmakers have a big opportunity to help keep it safe

technologyreview.com

EPIC’s @caitrionafitz.bsky.social will testify before a MA Legislature Joint Committee today in support of the Massachusetts Consumer Data Privacy Act and the Massachusetts Data Privacy Act. Watch EPIC’s testimony this afternoon: malegislature.gov/Events/Heari...

Know who sends a great monthly newsletter and will never sell your e-mail address? @epic.org! Signup for the EPIC Alert here: epic.org/alert/

EPIC Alert

epic.org

EPIC & @consumerreports.org are pleased to re-release the State Data Privacy Act with lots of new endorsements! Now endorsed by: Accountable Tech | CDT | Common Sense Media | CFA | Issue One | PIRG | Public Knowledge | Young People's Alliance Learn more: epic.org/state-data-privacy-act

Jeffrey Goldberg thinking he was being pranked and then realizing he was actually just in the war plans group chat is such a good microcosm of how it feels to be alive right now, everything seems fake until you realize it’s actually real and incredibly stupid

I feel like I need a week to recover from reading this article.

The Atlantic@theatlantic.com · last yr.

American war planning usually takes place in highly secure facilities. But the Trump administration planned its strikes on the Houthis using a group chat—and accidentally included The Atlantic’s editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg. theatln.tc/IuULQFiY

Terry was scammed out of most of his savings and was supposed to get his money back—until Donald Trump and Elon Musk gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Part one:

The president is trying to illegally fire me. Who does this help? Does it help you? Or does it help the billionaires over the president’s shoulder at the inauguration?