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...

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...

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...

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

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!

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.

🚨 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.

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

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...

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

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.

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...

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...

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...

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...

"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...

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 & @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.

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?

Trump has illegally fired FTC Commissioners Slaughter and Bedoya, two incredible public servants who work tirelessly for American consumers.

JUST IN: Judge rules DOGE is likely subject to #FOIA requests. Judge Christopher Cooper, Obama appointee: 'USDS’s actions to date demonstrate its substantial authority over vast swathes of the federal government' Doc: ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show...

BREAKING: A federal judge has just blocked the Department of Education and OPM from sharing sensitive data with DOGE. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

🚨 UPDATE 🚨: EPIC’s @johndavisson.bsky.social argued in federal court today for a temporary order blocking the DOGE-directed disclosure and misuse of sensitive personal data held by OPM and Treasury. A decision is expected later today.

@asmlowenthal.bsky.social has introduced AB 566, sponsored by the CPPA. It requires browsers and mobile operating systems to give users the tools to opt out of the sale or sharing of their personal info in one step with opt-out preference signals. Read more: cppa.ca.gov/announcement...

We worked with the privacy group @epic.org to file suit against the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) for the unlawful seizure of personnel records and payment system data—constituting the largest data breach in American history. 1/2

So, so proud of EPIC and all my incredible colleagues.

NEW: An internal email obtained by WIRED from a threat intelligence team monitoring US Treasury systems advised labeling DOGE operatives an "insider threat," adding that it recommended suspending their access "immediately." | www.wired.com/story/treasu...

Elez was one of two of Musk's people given access our nation's Treasury system in an agreement filed in court last night.

VT Rep. @mepriestley.bsky.social and I argue in @vtdigger.bsky.social that policymakers can’t tackle cost of living issues for their constituents without addressing the data privacy crisis. Data abuse is driving up the cost of insurance, groceries, rent, and more. vtdigger.org/2025/02/04/r...

More of this please, Democratic members of Congress.

A bill banning the sale of precise geolocation data just passed the Virginia Senate 35-5! On to the House! #privacy lis.virginia.gov/bill-details...

"The national conversation has rightly focused on affordability. But these conversations are incomplete without addressing one of the root causes: the unchecked collection, use and sale of our personal data" @caitrionafitz.bsky.social & @mepriestley.bsky.social's op-ed: vtdigger.org/2025/02/04/r...

CDC websites about food allergies, including how to manage food allergies in schools, have been taken down. They are playing games with kids lives. www.cdc.gov/school-healt... www.cdc.gov/school-healt...

"We know you’re out of power. We understand you’re in the minority. We hear that, loud and clear. What we’re not hearing is your anger. We’re not hearing your outrage. We’re wondering whether or not you actually hear us." charlotteclymer.substack.com/p/comms-advi...

Nearly 1/2 of states that passed consumer privacy laws get a failing grade for protecting consumers’ data, according to The State of Privacy, an updated scorecard from EPIC & U.S. PIRG Education Fund. See your state’s report card: epic.org/state-of-privacy-2025 spoiler alert: no state earned an A!

Exciting #privacy news out of the MA State House this week! Numerous legislators introduced strong privacy bills, including some based on model bills EPIC has released. #mapoli epic.org/massachusett...

🚨 EPIC and Enforce (@iccl.bsky.social) urged the FTC to investigate Google’s Real-Time Bidding (RTB) data in the first ever complaint under PADFAA, the new national security data law. 🧵 Read the complaint here: epic.org/wp-content/u...

Couldn't have said it better than my colleague @meganiorio.bsky.social 👇 Imagine looking at the disaster that is X and thinking "yeah, we should emulate that." Big Tech platforms and the people who lead them are destroying our country.