Laws play an important role in protecting privacy and some of the best privacy laws in the world, such as the federal wiretap law, can be found in the United States. We are committed to developing practices that restore to individuals what ought to be considered the natural right of controlling and shaping the use of personal information. EPIC's primary concern with the business community is its use of personal information that go far beyond what individuals expected when they originally provided such information. This problem is particularly clear with direct marketing and credit reporting, and has raised serious privacy concerns about the ownership of personal information, the development of psychological profiles, and the manipulation of consumers. EPIC believes that privacy safeguards are necessary for all forms of personal data.
EPIC is specifically interested in encouraging new technologies that protect personal privacy.
EPIC works closely with leading cryptographers and computer researchers around the world on innovative ways to protect privacy, including encryption, blind signatures, pseudo- anonymous identifiers, anonymous remailers, and electronic cash technologies. EPIC will sponsor a major cryptography policy conference in Washington, DC in early June. Experts from across the federal government, the business community, and the technology sector will participate. EPIC will be hosting a public conference in early 1995 on emerging privacy issues. EPIC will be testifying before several Congressional committees this spring on medical record privacy, the Clipper proposal, and a proposal for a privacy agency in the United States.