Photo of Alan Friel

Alan Friel

Compliance with data protection laws is an issue of increasing complexity for most organizations these days. New laws and regulations are cropping up with increasing frequency, making companies’ compliance challenges more complicated all the time. As a result, many companies are seeking ways to simplify their compliance strategy while demonstrating compliance to individuals, clients, customers

Today at a panel before the International Association of Privacy Professionals (“IAPP”) – Europe Data Protection Congress in Brussels, leading European Union (“EU”) data protection authority commissioners cast doubt on the notion that there could ever be a lawful basis for targeted advertising based on behavioral profiling, referred to often as interest-based advertising (“IBA”).Continue Reading Privacy Challenges for Digital Advertising, Particularly in Europe

On Devil’s Night Day, two significant AI developments were announced. First, the White House’s Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence (“AI EO”)Second, the Group of 7 (“G-7”) announced its International Guiding Principles on Artificial Intelligence (“G-7 Principles”) and companion Code of Conduct for AI Developers (“G-7 Code”). All are three broad strokes – the devil will be in the details. 

Following is a short summary of each but please check back soon for more analysis and key takeaways for businesses and their AI governance programs.Continue Reading Two Significant AI Announcements:  Spooky for AI Developers?

Last week, the Attorney General for California filed a notice of appeal to overturn a federal court ruling that the state’s Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (“CAADCA”) likely violates the First Amendment.  The appeal will put the constitutionality of California’s act before the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Following unanimous votes by the California

On October 13, 2023, Singapore and the United States (US) announced at the inaugural Dialogue on Critical and Emerging Technologies (CET Dialogue) held in Washington DC, that they had launched the world’s first ever interoperable AI Governance framework.

The CET Dialogue was co-chaired by Singapore’s Minister for Communications and Information and Minister for Foreign Affairs, as well as the US National Security Advisor and Deputy Envoy for Critical and Emerging Technology, on behalf of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Both countries also co-chaired a Business Roundtable on AI Safety and Innovation, together with US Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves.Continue Reading Singapore and the US Publish First-of-its-Kind Interoperable AI Governance Framework

The UK government has published its “adequacy decision” to allow transfers of personal data from the UK to U.S. businesses that have completed certification to the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (DPF). The UK’s adequacy decision creates a “UK Extension” to the DPF that takes effect on October 12, 2023, a little more than three months after the EU’s adoption of DPF. (Please see our DPF FAQS for more information about DPA.)Continue Reading The UK Adequacy Decision for the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework

Since our July 13 post about the European Commission’s formal adoption of the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (EU DPF), members of our Data Privacy, Cybersecurity & Digital Assets Practice have been hard at work helping clients prepare for and complete the certification process. We prepared for our readers answers to some of the most frequently asked questions we have received over the past few months.Continue Reading You have Questions, We have Answers: Data Privacy Framework FAQs

Until late August 2023, California’s data protection law, the California Consumer Privacy Act, or “CCPA,” only provided for future rulemaking on automated decision-making, including profiling, on risk assessments, and on cybersecurity audits. However, during a board meeting it held this past Friday, September 8th, the California Privacy Protection Agency (“CPPA” or “Agency”), which shares enforcement authority of the CCPA with the California Attorney General, discussed a new set of draft regulations (“Regs”) it released for Agency discussion purposes in late August 2023. While not yet part of the official rulemaking, the draft and the discussions around it provides direction on its upcoming rulemaking on these topics. We will refer to the draft and related commentary as the “Roadmap.” Most notably, the Roadmap proposes that condensed versions of assessments and audits completed by businesses pursuant to their CCPA obligations be filed with the CPPA and sets forth detailed obligations surrounding such assessments and audits. The implication of this is that it may become obvious to the Agency which companies are or are not conducting assessments or audits and thus complying with their CCPA obligations. It may also provide the Agency an easily accessible way to review the evaluate businesses’ practices, especially with regard to higher risk processing activities. Furthermore, the Agency’s Roadmap suggests assessment requirements that not only incorporate, but exceed, what is required in the Colorado regulations, including risk / harm assessments of any monitoring of personnel or students, or monitoring of consumers in public places. We will be co-hosting a webinar with Ankura to take a deeper dive into what companies should be doing regarding assessments and audits. Register here to join us on October 18 to learn more.Continue Reading California’s Potential Approach to Regulations on Risk Assessments and Cybersecurity Audits Could Be a Game Changer

On July 10, the European Commission formally adopted the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (DPF). The Commission’s adequacy decision (and the documentation package accompanying it, including the FAQ) brings welcome news: for certified DPF participants, personal data can flow between the European Economic Area (EEA) and the United States (U.S.

With Gov. Abbot’s recent signing of the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment Act (SCOPE Act), Texas joins Arkansas and Utah (see our blogs here and here) in requiring age verification and parental consent before allowing minors to create accounts on social media platforms. Two key differences among these laws are (i) the SCOPE Act’s scope, which is broader than the other two state laws; and (ii) the duty imposed by the SCOPE Act to prevent harm to minors by preventing their exposure to “harmful material.”  To define “harmful material,” the SCOPE Act borrows from a different Texas law which defines it as material that “taken as a whole” (i) appeals to the prurient interest of a minor in sex, nudity, or excretion, (ii) is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable for minors, and (iii) is utterly without redeeming social value for minors.Continue Reading Texas Two-Steps into the Childrens Privacy Dance: The Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment Act