My biggest concern about TikTok being sold to Trump-aligned American investors is that, at this point, there is far more cause for alarm from domestic surveillance than from foreign adversaries. www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...

Listen to EPIC Executive Director Alan Butler's (@alanindc.bsky.social's) full testimony: www.judiciary.senate.gov/committee-ac... #DataPrivacy #DataProtection #Congress

This afternoon, EPIC Executive Director Alan Butler (@alanindc.bsky.social) will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on the importance of strong federal data regulations to protect the privacy of American consumers. ➡️ Tune in at 2:30 pm ET: www.judiciary.senate.gov/committee-ac...

The Senate just passed my bill by UC to release this report to the public, to end this cover-up by CISA. Now the House needs to pass my bill so the public can see how shockingly insecure our phone system is. Then the government must hold phone companies accountable for failing cybersecurity 101.

lifetime suspects without any basis of suspicion

Brandi Collins-Dexter, an intellectual and an activist, will be missed first and foremost by her family and friends, but also by overlapping communities of scholars and advocates. Her work was brilliant, sharp, funny, empathetic, prescient. I regret that we won't benefit from more of it.

There must be zero compliance with this. Patient confidentiality is the heart and soul of care. Care without confidentiality isn’t care at all. No “but our hands are tied, we need federal funding.” There must be a brick wall. Confidentiality is a no-compromise zone.

🗓️⚠️ Happening TODAY, join us here: epic.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Our latest “Digital Authoritarianism” in @uchilrev.bsky.social Online. @ariezra.bsky.social and I explore the two-step destructive dance to silence and terrorize critics. We need to see this damage to democracy for what it is. lawreview.uchicago.edu/online-archi...

This Senate proposal advanced by Sen Cruz would cancel new and existing State laws on any aspect of tech use including civil rights, consumer protection, privacy, fraud, safety for kids, accessibility, and more. In short, we’d lose the few laws we have that ensure responsible AI use. #killthebill

After records requests from The Washington Post, officials paused the first known, widespread live facial recognition program used by U.S. police. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202... Important investigative work by @douglasmac.bsky.social & @aaronschaffer.com:

Yesterday, EPIC—represented by Harvard's Cyberlaw Clinic—filed an amicus brief in Kohls v. Bonta, a case about an important issue: How to balance free speech with regulating misleading elections-focused deepfakes that threaten election integrity? 🧵 epic.org/documents/ko...

No, you really don't "have to ask yourself" this. The right to criticize the government, even for *lawful* policies (let alone what Trump is trying to do), is not just central to the First Amendment's protection of free speech; it is one of the most critically important features of *any* democracy.

It's a high bar, but this from @radleybalko.bsky.social might be one of the most fucked up things I've read in the new Trump era. For context, this TX lawyer had just had an informal conversation with a family caught up in ICE raids. Seriously. Read this. radleybalko.substack.com/p/the-courag...

Can’t fully express what a nightmare scenario it is that eugenicists are creating a centralized database of people’s health info.

Hours ago, @politico.com revealed that DOGE is working with DHS on automating mass deportation efforts — likely explaining why many US citizens, green card holders, and even a Canadian (in Canada) got threatening emails last night terminating “your parole” and telling them to leave the US in 7 days.

Would appreciate some intrepid journalists finding out and publishing the names of every tech company involved in any part of this www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...

Right, so two things will happen as a result of this: Americans who have been the victims of identity theft will be declared dead (this is extremely inconvenient), and immigrants will start using other people's SSNs in order to survive.

The Trump administration is now canceling people's Social Security Numbers, treating them as if they are legally dead. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/10/u...

@motherjones.com shared the most comprehensive investigation to date on #ClearviewAI's surveillance tech used in federal immigration enforcement. The investigation cited government records obtained in EPIC’s #FOIA suit. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

In 2023, FTC alleged that Amazon Alexa kept recordings of little kids’ voices *forever.* Even when parents asked it to delete them, Amazon *still* kept the transcripts. FTC sued and stopped that. What happens to these cases when tech CEOs have unlimited power in our government?

One of the best explanations I’ve seen of the stakes of the disregard of data laws intended to prevent wholesale surveillance of the US public by its govt. The DOGE one-two punch is to disregard or dissolve the data regulations that protect us and then use AI to consolidate info about each of us.

RS’s head properly sums up the story: An unconfirmed Trump lackey is threatening to shut down Social Security and impoverish millions in a tantrum over a judge’s ruling. Bloomberg went with, “Social Security Says DOGE Ruling Could Force Agency to Shut Down,” as if it’s an unintended consequence.

I am a commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission. Earlier today, the president attempted to illegally fire me. This is corruption, plain and simple. I will see the president in court. My full statement:

Just so we’re all clear, the Supreme Court *expressly ruled* that the president cannot fire FTC commissioners without cause in 1935’s Humphrey’s Executor. Trump’s action here is brazenly illegal under any interpretation of the law as it stands. www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...

Because these funds come solely from DC taxpayers, this action doesn't bring any cost savings to the federal budget. This is not an act of fiscal responsibility. This is a purely political, punitive action with no impact on the federal budget, but will have a detrimental impact on people's lives.

Republicans control the House. Republicans control the Senate. Republicans control the White House (sort of). If the government shuts down it is 100% on them. Ignore the any media that claims otherwise.

🚨 Everyone needs to call their Dem Senator right now. They are starting to cave. Tell them: 1. Vote NO on Cloture AND 2. Vote NO on the Republican spending bill. Don’t let them pivot to reconciliation. GOP doesn’t need Dem votes on that and they know it. TODAY is the showdown. 🤳🏽: (202) 224-3121

What congressional Republicans are trying to do to the DC budget perfectly illustrates why DC statehood is essential. DC has a balanced budget. It is half way through its current fiscal year. These are its own (& not the federal government’s) tax dollars - and yet its budget is about to be gutted.

Musk’s hackers burglarized "a vast trove of information about the entire federal workforce” on OPM computers even as Trump was being sworn in — that is "hours before Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, was officially created by an executive order.” www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

DOGE’s latest target—the IRS—raises major red flags, as history shows how tax records have been weaponized against political opponents. DOGE claims this is “business as usual,” but @alanindc.bsky.social warns this will expose millions to potential data breaches—undermining governmental trust.

PCLOB members summarily fired by Trump file lawsuit seeking reinstatement www.nytimes.com/2025/02/24/u...

Even accepting LLMs are capable of this task (lol, no), this is set up to fail, to create excuses for arbitrarily firing people. Nobody was told that was the query; you can't tell "mission-critical" from five bullet points; a snapshot of one week won't tell you that either; the list goes on and on.

🚨 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.

🚨 EPIC, @democracyforward.bsky.social, and a federal worker filed suit today against DOGE over its illegal seizure of personnel records and payment system data—actions which constitute the largest data breach in American history. 🧵 Read our full complaint here: epic.org/wp-content/u...

"Representatives from Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service have fed sensitive data from across the Education Department into artificial intelligence software to probe the agency’s programs and spending, according to two people with knowledge of the DOGE team’s actions." www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...

@alanindc.bsky.social, EPIC Executive Director and President told Politico and Vanity Fair: “The scale here is unprecedented in terms of the risk to sensitive personal and financial information...It’s an absolute nightmare.” www.vanityfair.com/news/story/e...

Pushing live production code cooked up by some young coders over a week of sleepness nights in place of a legacy system that is fundamental to the operation of the US government is against every programming best practice.

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...

On Friday, EPIC's Jeramie Scott testified at a Maryland Senate Judicial Proceedings hearing on S.B. 0381. The bill would limit the transfer or sale of #automated traffic camera data & require a warrant or court order for agencies to use the #data outside of ticketing🚦🚗 epic.org/epics-jerami...

All of these records had disposition schedules saying if they were temporary or permanent; the permanent ones MUST be preserved to be sent to the National Archives. Even temporary ones must be available for the duration of their schedule. This is a basic requirement of the Federal Records Act.

Sensitive personnel records and U.S. gov payment systems should not be handled by political hacks. This is not a close call.

they are stealing data from the american people and depriving us of the transparency that we are entitled to by law. none of this is legal and not a single federal employee has any reason to comply.

NEW: Sources tell my office that Treasury Secretary Bessent has granted DOGE *full* access to this system. Social Security and Medicare benefits, grants, payments to government contractors, including those that compete directly with Musk's own companies. All of it.

So if I’m understanding today correctly, the world’s richest person Elon Musk, whom no one elected, is taking over federal payment systems and employee data while the federal employees who investigate and prosecute public corruption are being fired en masse.

Are you looking for a way to fight back against Big Tech, take a close look at @epic.org, the nations leading NGO for privacy. EPIC does amazing work. I am biased — I am on EPIC’s board — but it is true. The website is www.epic.org

Use Signal to talk about protests Use Signal to talk about your wordle score Use Signal to talk about abortion Use Signal to talk about your mom's knitting club Use Signal to talk about parties Use Signal to talk about gender affirming care Use Signal to talk about the weather Use Signal

And the case against DOGE is live. Here's the complaint.