Suzanne Bernstein

YouTube’s selfie collection, AI age checks are concerning, privacy experts say Any YouTuber wrongly labeled a teen must provide an ID, credit card, or selfie.

📰 EPIC News Roundup

▶️ Youtube AI age checks: "I think the increased surveillance of user behavior is not privacy protective," Counsel @suzannebernstein.bsky.social told @arstechnica.com, "The most privacy protective option involves retaining the least amount of information..."
#TechNews

The Trojan Horse In Your Pocket: How Everyday Tech Is Being Weaponized In a world where every device could be a weapon, the first step to defense is knowing where the vulnerabilities lie.

🛡️ How everyday devices are weaponized: “Health data collected by many wearable devices and health and wellness apps don’t fall under HIPAA’s umbrella,” Counsel Suzanne Bernstein @suzannebernstein.bsky.social told @forbes.com.

#DataPrivacy #HealthData

EPIC Testifies in Support of Massachusetts S.30/H.4229, An Act Protecting Children From Addictive Social Media Feeds <p>EPIC’s testimony explains why S.30/H.4229 would provide significant privacy and online safety protections for minors by regulating harmful data management and design practices that deprive minors o...

💬 EPIC Counsel @suzannebernstein.bsky.social testified in support of Massachusetts bills S.30/H.4229, An Act Protecting Children from Addictive Social Media Feeds: epic.org/epic-testifi...

Action Taken by Governor Phil Scott on Legislation - June 12, 2025 | Office of Governor Phil Scott

BIG NEWS! This afternoon, Governor Phil Scott signed the Vermont Age-Appropriate Design Code (AADC) into law! governor.vermont.gov/press-releas...

vtdigger.org/2025/06/01/v...

EPIC Applauds Passage of Vermont Age-Appropriate Design Code <p>Today, the Vermont Legislature passed the Vermont Age-Appropriate Design Code (AADC). The Vermont AADC protects kids’ privacy, enhances kids’ autonomy, and ensures their online safety by prohibitin...

EPIC applauds the passage of Vermont Age-Appropriate Design Code (AADC) today: epic.org/epic-applaud...

Updated COPPA Rule (Finally) Finalized Today <p>Today the updated Children’s Online Privacy Protection (COPPA) Rule was published in the Federal Register, finalizing the much-needed modernization to the COPPA Rule. After a nearly 6-year rulemaki...

Today the updated Children’s Online Privacy Protection (COPPA) Rule was published in the Federal Register, finalizing the much-needed modernization to the COPPA Rule.

Read more here: epic.org/updated-copp...

Chairmen Guthrie, Bilirakis, and Palmer Launch Investigation into 23andMe and its Handling of Americans’ Sensitive Medical and Genetic Information The Committee on Energy and Commerce is the oldest standing legislative committee in the U.S. House of Representatives and is vested with the broadest jurisdiction of any congressional authorizing com...

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...

El Salvador is a contractor providing the United States with a paid service. The idea that we couldn’t get anyone they’re holding back with the snap of a finger just by asking is so ludicrous on its face, it seems less like a real excuse and more like a test of how much shit the courts will eat.

Analysis: Trump’s Tariffs Disrupt Global Trade Without a Clear Strategy (Gift Article) The global trading system is only one example of the administration tearing something apart, only to reveal that it has no plan for how to replace it.

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/08/u...

Almost every detail in this article would have been unimaginable just a few months ago

⚠️ NetChoice v. Bonta: An oral argument explainer 🧵

EPIC Senior Counsel Megan Iorio (@meganiorio.bsky.social) and EPIC Counsel Tom McBrien (@tommcbrien.bsky.social) broke down key areas of argument ahead of today’s Ninth Circuit hearing of NetChoice v. Bonta: epic.org/ninth-circui...

Commissioner Slaughter and I just sued to clarify that we're still FTC commissioners. But this is bigger than us. This is about economic stability. If the President can break a 90-year-old Supreme Court ruling to fire us for no reason, he can do it to the Fed, the FDIC and SEC.

23andMe is filing for bankruptcy. Here's what it means for your genetic data The California biotech firm said in a statement that it is hoping to find a buyer to address its ongoing financial struggles.

🎙️ EPIC Counsel Suzanne Bernstein (@suzannebernstein.bsky.social) said to NPR: “The scale of how much highly sensitive data 23andMe has is unique" and recommended "advocating to your state and federal representatives to pass strong consumer privacy laws.” www.npr.org/2025/03/24/n...

#23andMe

Somebody Spilled the Genes: 23andMe’s Downturn Highlights Insufficient Privacy and Data Security Safeguards for Consumer Genetic Data <p>As 23andMe likely heads towards bankruptcy or sale, many consumers are understandably concerned: what will happen to their genetic data?</p>

Given 23andMe's poor track record for data security and the lack of strong consumer data privacy protections in the U.S., consumers should delete their genetic and personal data from their 23andMe account while they still can. epic.org/somebody-spi...

It is a sad day for the legal industry. Paul Weiss, didn't just bend a knee, it set a new standard for shameful capitulation. This is a stain on the firm, every one of its partners, and the entire legal profession.

PRESS RELEASE: President Trump’s Attempt to Fire FTC Commissioners Is a Lawless Gift to Big Tech

“The Federal Trade Commission has worked to protect consumers for more than 100 years. President Trump’s illegal attempt to fire independent commissioners is an affront to the rule of law and makes all Americans less safe,” said EPIC Executive Director Alan Butler.

epic.org/press-releas...

Come for the discussion of New Mexico consumer privacy bills, stay for the multiple “go birds!” Thanks Santa Fe radio for having me on. santafe.com/podcast/rich...

Grateful for the opportunity to testify in support of Vermont’s Age-Appropriate Design Code last week

Join EPIC Attorneys @sarageoghegan.bsky.social and @suzannebernstein.bsky.social at “The Legal Landscape of Reproductive Data Privacy” on 2/26 at 4 pm ET, co-hosted with EthicalTech@GW! Learn about data privacy threats to reproductive care, relevant state laws, and more. 💫

MSNBC Cancels Joy Reid’s Show in Major Shake-Up (Gift Article) Ms. Reid’s 7 p.m. program will be replaced by a panel show co-hosted by Symone Sanders Townsend, Alicia Menendez and Michael Steele.

This is a terrible move @msnbc.com. Terrible. The @joy.msnbc.com was a critical part of the evening line-up and @joyannreid.bsky.social brings trenchant political analysis that no one else in the evening line-up has brought. I urge you to reconsider this. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/23/b...

🚨 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.

It's annoying how clearly this is going to play out.

They gut the FAA.
Therefore, the FAA can't do its job well because it was gutted.
Therefore, they say "The FAA sucks, we have to privatize it." which is what Project 2025 wants to do. They're manufacturing the crises for their end goal.

my view is that as soon as the administration froze disbursement of congressional appropriations we entered constitutional crisis territory

Opinion | DeepSeek Serves as a Warning About Big Tech The arrival of DeepSeek shows us the competitive weaknesses of America’s tech giants.

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/04/o...

i'm tired of being told to stop doomscrolling. i'm just scrolling, it's not my fault there's doom on there

They want to ban the teaching of the unpleasant facts of American history because people might conclude injustices in the past that contribute to inequalities in the present should be rectified, instead of their belief, which is that some groups of people are inherently superior to others

The Attack on Trans Rights Won’t End There Once legal rights begin to fall, they fall for everyone.

“Anyone naive enough to think that the government can deny fundamental rights to one group without putting another’s at risk is in for some nasty surprises.” www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

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!

FTC Chairman Ferguson Announces that DEI is Over at the FTC Today, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew N.

This is rancid nonsense from the new FTC Chair, and it will come back to haunt him.

You're the head of a century-old independent agency with a deeply serious mandate, not a sock puppet for segregationists.

Get a grip and get back to the work of protecting consumers.

www.ftc.gov/news-events/...

Cecile Richards, former Planned Parenthood president, has died | CNN Cecile Richards, the former president of Planned Parenthood, has died, her family said Monday in a statement.

I loved and admired this woman. She was one I would follow into battle. A true fighter and ally in every way.
God bless you Cecile Richards. Rest in Peace and Power.
www.cnn.com/2025/01/20/u...