For litigation documents, amicus briefs, and more on the case: epic.org/documents/ch...
05.03.2026 15:46
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For litigation documents, amicus briefs, and more on the case: epic.org/documents/ch...
3. A broad search warrant isn’t enough. Any geofence warrant, if constitutional at all, must be drawn exceedingly narrowly to minimize privacy harms.
2. You don't waive your Fourth Amendment rights just by using services like Google Maps. People can't reasonably parse privacy policies, and companies use dark patterns to manipulate consent. Voluntary consent is a fiction.
1. Under Carpenter v. United States, geofence searches require a warrant. Carpenter established a heightened privacy interest in digital location data — meaning old "third-party doctrine" rules don't apply.
EPIC's brief, written on behalf of 14 law & technology professors, argues geofence searches require a warrant meeting exceedingly high standards under the Fourth Amendment.
Three key arguments:
Geofence searches let the government identify anyone whose device was in a specific place at a specific time. They expose innocent people to investigation simply for being near a crime scene and have led to wrongful convictions.
EPIC filed an amicus brief in Chatrie v. United States — set to be the Supreme Court's first landmark Fourth Amendment case in 7 years. The case will clarify whether geofence searches are constitutional. 🧵
Today, EPIC sent a letter to Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger urging her to sign a bill banning the sale of precise geolocation data. The bill would put a stop to some of the most harmful abuses of our personal data happening today. epic.org/epic-urges-v...
EPIC Advisory Board members @hartzog.bsky.social and Neil Richards make a strong case for the Massachusetts Legislature to pass the Massachusetts Consumer Data Privacy Act in WBUR's Cognoscenti today. www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/...
And so much more! Explore our consumer privacy work in full here: epic.org/issues/consu...
Urging HUD to withdraw a proposed rule that would eliminate a regulation critical to combatting discrimination as automated decision-making tools continue to proliferate in the housing sector: epic.org/epic-urges-h...
Calling on the FTC to crack down on hidden surveillance pricing: epic.org/epic-joins-g...
Urging the FTC to broaden its quantitative and qualitative conceptions of the privacy injuries caused by unlawful data practices: epic.org/epic-oti-urg...
Happy National Consumer Protection Week! 🎉 Consumer Privacy is one of our top priorities here at EPIC, and we’ve played a leading role in developing the FTC’s authority to address emerging privacy issues.
Here's a sampling of what we've been up to in the consumer privacy space recently ⬇️
EPIC Senior Counsel Sara Geoghegan will speak Wednesday at noon as part of “Increased Surveillance, Decreased Access to Reproductive Care,” a panel convened by the George Washington University Law School’s Reproductive Data Privacy Initiative.
Register for the event here: epic.org/events/georg...
Connecticut’s AG released a memorandum this week detailing how existing state laws can be applied to govern the development and use of artificial intelligence.
It includes guidance on civil rights, privacy and data security, trade, and antitrust laws.
📬 February’s edition of The Alert is live! Our monthly newsletter is the best way to stay up to date on all things EPIC, from lawsuits to legislation.
Didn't receive The Alert in your inbox this morning? Take a look at this month's issue here:
“This has contributed to a systematic under-recognition of privacy harms in the Commission’s regulatory and enforcement decisionmaking, which in turn has allowed unfair and otherwise harmful data practices to flourish.” (5/6)
“[T]he Commission has too often held to an arbitrary conception of “substantial injury” and harm that is both in tension with the FTC Act and ineffective at protecting consumers in the digital era,” we add. (4/6)
“[M]odern data practices frequently produce consequences that are diffuse, delayed, or structural—such as loss of control over personal information, discrimination, reputational harms, or chilling effects on speech—and not captured in this limited conception,” we explain. (3/6)
The FTC often evaluates the costs and benefits of particular business practices to inform regulatory and enforcement decisions. But as EPIC and OTI explain, “prevailing judicial, statutory, and regulatory frameworks tend to assess data-related injury too narrowly.” (2/6)
As the FTC holds a workshop today on consumer injuries, EPIC and @newamerica.org’s Open Technology Institute are calling on the Commission “to take a more comprehensive view of consumer harm in the data-driven economy.” 🧵(1/6)
This week, EPIC joined a group of national consumer protection and privacy groups to urge the FTC to crack down on hidden surveillance pricing by requiring companies to tell consumers when they are using the invasive practice.
This month, Kentucky joined the growing list of states that have introduced legislation based on EPIC’s Model Age-Appropriate Design Code. The Kentucky Kids Code focuses on protecting kids from companies’ harmful design choices and promoting safer and more privacy-protective platform design.
Join GW Law’s RDPI for “Increased Surveillance, Reduced Access to Reproductive Care.”
Mar 4 | 12pm | SCC — with Andrew Ferguson, Sara Geoghegan (@epic.org), Briana Torres (@nhelp.bsky.social), Ashley Kurzweil (@npwf.bsky.social), and RDPI Co-Lead Riya Chhabra.
Lunch provided!
Earlier this month, EPIC called on the Department of Housing and Urban Development to withdraw its proposed rule to eliminate a crucial HUD regulation meant to combat discrimination as automated decision-making tools continue to proliferate in the housing sector.
🗣️ CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS: EPIC wants to hear from workers!
EPIC and the National Institute for Workers’ Rights are investigating how employers use workplace monitoring tools to disrupt or prevent worker organizing.
Want to share your story? Learn more about the project here:
EPIC Deputy Director Caitriona Fitzgerald testified today before a Virginia House of Delegates committee in support of S.B. 338, a bill to ban the sale of precise geolocation data. EPIC urges the Virginia House of Delegates to pass this vital legislation this session.
