Release of the 2004
Privacy & Human Rights Report

Spotlight: IRS's Inadequate Security Puts Taxpayer Data at Risk
This month, Spotlight surveys the Internal Revenue Service amid recent questions concerning its information-sharing regulations and security systems. Government reports have found that the agency has poor physical (pdf) and electronic security (pdf), and it has had considerable trouble with its contractors improperly accessing and collecting sensitive taxpayer data. In one case, an IRS contractor spent several months collecting political party affiliation data on taxpayers in 20 states, in violation of the law. See EPIC's Spotlight on Surveillance page. (Mar. 30)

Senate Holds Hearing on Warrantless Surveillance
The Senate Judiciary Committee has held its third hearing on the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program. The witness list included David S. Kris, a former high-level official in the Justice Department. Documents (pdf) obtained by EPIC earlier this month through Freedom of Information Act litigation showed Kris' skepticism that the surveillance was authorized by the Authorization for Use of Military Force Resolution. In one e-mail, Kris wrote that the the Justice Department's legal arguments for the program "had a slightly after-the-fact quality or feeling to them." For more information, see EPIC's Domestic Surveillance FOIA page. (Mar. 28)

Citing Privacy Interests, Judge Trims Google Subpoena
A federal district judge in California issued an order that limited the Justice Department's demand for records from Google. While Google must still turn over a list of 50,000 web addresses, it will not have to reveal Internet search terms. The Justice Department is seeking the records to conduct a statistical study for the defense of the Child Online Protection Act, an online censorship law that was blocked by the Supreme Court in 2004. For more information on the law, see EPIC's COPA page. (Mar. 20)

EPIC Testifies Against SSN Expansion
In testimony (pdf) today before the House Subcommittee on Social Security, Executive Director Marc Rotenberg urged Congress not to expand the uses of the Social Security number and the Social Security card. "Every system of identification is subject to error, misuse, and exploitation," Rotenberg said. Some members of Congress have proposed that the card contain digital photos, machine-readable identifiers, and biometric identifiers that could turn the Social Security card into a national ID card. For more information, see EPIC's Social Security Number page. (Mar. 16)

EPIC Introduces 2006 FOIA Gallery
In celebration of Freedom of Information Day, EPIC is proud to introduce its 2006 FOIA Gallery, which contains highlights and scanned images of some of EPIC's most interesting FOIA disclosures from the past year. For more information about the Freedom of Information Act, see EPIC's Open Government page. (Mar. 16)

Open Government Advocates Honored
EPIC General Counsel David Sobel and Advisory Board member David Burnham are among the twenty-one individuals to be inducted today into the National FOIA Hall of Fame. Inductees are chosen for their "unique roles in helping to establish, defend, and utilize the legal basis for the right to know." (Mar. 16)

Decision Expected in Google Subpoena Case
A federal judge in California is expected to rule today on whether Google must turn over a massive database of search queries demanded (pdf) by the Department of Justice. Google opposed the demand (pdf), saying it would jeopardize user privacy and trade secrets, and that the government has no right to the material. The Justice Department wants the records to help it prepare a defense of the Child Online Protection Act, an Internet censorship law blocked by the Supreme Court in 2004. For more information, see EPIC Alert 13.02 and EPIC's Ashcroft v. ACLU page. (Mar. 14)

EPIC Celebrates Sunshine Week
Open government and media organizations throughout the country are celebrating Sunshine Week by highlighting the importance of government transparency. To learn more about your right to access government information, see EPIC's Open Government page and Litigation Under the Federal Open Government Laws 2004. (Mar. 14)

EPIC, Archive File Brief Supporting Release of Abu Ghraib Photos
EPIC and the National Security Archive have filed an amicus brief (pdf) urging an appeals court to permit the disclosure of photos and digital movies showing American troops abusing detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. The Pentagon has refused to release the information to the ACLU under the Freedom of Information Act, claiming that it would "endanger the life or physical safety" of U.S. soldiers in Iraq. EPIC and the Archive argue that the government is turning FOIA on its head by claiming that information likely to expose government misconduct should be withheld to prevent public outrage. (Mar. 13)

Justice Inspector General Reports on Possible Intelligence Violations
In response to accounts of apparent intelligence violations uncovered by EPIC last year, the Department of Justice Inspector General has examined (pdf) the FBI's procedures for reporting possible agent misconduct. According to the Inspector General, the FBI reported more than a hundred instances of possible intelligence misconduct to the Intelligence Oversight Board in the past two years, a number of which were "significant." The Inspector General also found that possible violations of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act accounted for nearly 70 percent of reports to the board in 2005, up from 48 percent in 2004. For more information, see EPIC's Patriot Act FOIA page. (Mar. 13)

Patriot Act Renewal Bill Signed Into Law
President Bush has signed a bill that renews most sunsetting provisions of the Patriot Act while limiting few of the law's most controversial powers. The measure makes permanent most of the provisions of the law that were originally slated to expire at the end of last year. Intense debate over the Act's expansion of investigative powers delayed Congressional action, and lawmakers twice extended the deadline for the Act's expiration in order to continue debate. A bipartisan coalition of senators has introduced legislation to reinstate safeguards that were stripped from the renewal bill during the legislative process. For more information, see EPIC's Patriot Act, Patriot Act Sunset and Patriot Act FOIA pages. (Mar. 13)