USPS Says Covert Surveillance Program in Line With Privacy Laws in Bid To Dismiss Lawsuit

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USPS iCOP Program Lawsuit Overview: 

• Who: The United States Postal Service has asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed against it by privacy advocates, the Electronic Privacy Information Center. 
• Why: The USPS argues it is exempt from releasing a privacy impact assessment related to its Internet Covert Operations Program (iCOP). 
• Where: The lawsuit is pending in a District of Columbia federal court. 

USPS has asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit alleging it failed to abide by federal privacy laws before forming its Internet Covert Operations Program (iCOP).

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) wants the iCOP program — which uses technologies such as facial recognition to collect personal information for its law enforcement unit — to be suspended until the agency completes what it says is a required privacy impact assessment as required by the E-Government Act of 2002. 

Privacy impact assessments are done to establish what data is being collected and why, how it will be stored and used, and what opportunity for consent was given.

EPIC alleges USPS has not published a privacy assessment on its website since 2010 and has been unwilling to fill a public records request filed by the group in an attempt to obtain the documentation. 

USPS Argues Mail Service Exempt From Privacy Lawsuit

The USPS, meanwhile, is arguing that Congress has specifically exempted it from the Administrative Procedure Act cause of action that EPIC is forming its lawsuit around. 

“Sweeping exemption of the USPS from laws otherwise generally applicable to federal agencies confirms that Congress did not intend to subject the USPS to regulatory requirements of the kind that EPIC attempts to impose in this case,” the agency said in its motion to dismiss. 

The USPS further argues that it is not required to make information about its iCOP program available to the public, and that the watchdog group has not shown it or its members were sufficiently injured by the program.

“EPIC’s complaint and supporting declarations in this case cabin their theory of injury to informational access alone,” the USPS said. “Absent any allegations of an underlying privacy harm attributable to the lack of [personally identifiable information], EPIC cannot show an informational injury to its members, and thus cannot establish standing.” 

USPS has faced several legal challenges in recent years. In the face of a lawsuit lodged by 20 states in 2020, the postal service halted plans to implement changes that could have affected voting by mail ahead of Election Day. 

The former Trump Administration was accused of enacting USPS policies to delay ballot delivery, violating First and Fifth Amendment protections and endangering Election Day results in another lawsuit lodged that year. 

What do you think of the covert surveillance program proposed by USPS? Let us know in the comments! 

EPIC is represented in-house by John Davisson.

The USPS iCOP Program Lawsuit is Electronic Privacy Information Center v. United States Postal Service et al., cCase No. 1:21-cv-02156, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

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