Legislation

On September 8, 2023, Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Josh Hawley (R-MO), Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, announced a new bipartisan framework for artificial intelligence (“AI”) legislation.  Senator Blumenthal said, “This bipartisan framework is a milestone – the first tough, comprehensive legislative blueprint for real, enforceable AI protections. It should put us on a path to addressing the promise and peril AI portends.” He also told CTInsider that he hopes to have a “detailed legislative proposal” ready for Congress by the end of this year.…

Continue Reading Senators Release Bipartisan Framework for AI Legislation

On April 11, the Indiana legislature passed comprehensive state privacy legislation in the form of S.B. 5. S.B. 5 shares similarities with the state privacy laws in Virginia, Connecticut, Colorado, Utah, and most recently Iowa.  If signed into law, S.B. 5 would take effect on January 1, 2026.  This blog post summarizes the statute’s key takeaways.…

Continue Reading Indiana Passes Comprehensive Privacy Statute

On March 15th, the Iowa legislature passed S.F. 262 (the “ICDPA”), making it the sixth U.S. state to pass a comprehensive state privacy statute.  The Iowa statute most closely resembles the Utah Consumer Privacy Act (“UCPA”), though it also shares some similarities with the approaches adopted in Virginia, Colorado, and Connecticut.  The statute will next go to the governor’s desk for signature.  If signed into law, the ICDPA would take effect on January 1, 2025.…

Continue Reading Iowa Passes Comprehensive Privacy Statute

On February 24, Congressman Patrick McHenry (NC-10) formally introduced his bill to modernize the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (“GLBA”) in the House as H.R. 1165.  The bill was first released as a discussion draft in June 2022, although the latest version reflects a number of updates as compared to the initial discussion draft.  The bill has…

On December 1, 2022, a committee of the Brazilian Senate presented a report (currently available only in Portuguese) with research on the regulation of artificial intelligence (“AI”) and a draft AI law (see pages 15-58) (“Draft AI Law”) that will serve as the starting point for deliberations by the Senate on new AI legislation.  When preparing the 900+ page report and Draft AI Law, the Senate committee drew inspiration from earlier proposals for regulating AI in Brazil and its research into how OECD countries are regulating (or planning to regulate) in this area, as well as inputs received during a public hearing and in the form of written comments from stakeholders.  This blog posts highlights 13 key aspects of the Draft AI Law.…

Continue Reading Brazil’s Senate Committee Publishes AI Report and Draft AI Law

In a new post on the Inside Tech Media blog, our colleagues discuss the “Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act,” which President Biden signed into law in the final days of 2022.  The Act recognizes that current encryption protocols used by the federal government might one day be vulnerable to compromise as a result of…

On September 29, 2021, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing entitled “Protecting Consumer Privacy.”  The hearing centered on strengthening consumer privacy rights, including by increasing the FTC’s resources and creating a comprehensive federal privacy law.

To explore these issues, the Committee invited David Vladeck, Professor and Faculty Director of the Center on Privacy and Technology at Georgetown Law and former Director of the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection; Morgan Reed, President of The App Association; Maureen Ohlhausen, Partner and Section Chair (Antitrust & Competition Law) at Baker Botts and former Acting Chairman of the FTC; and Ashkan Soltani, Independent Researcher and Technologist and former Chief Technologist of the FTC.
Continue Reading Consumer Privacy Hearing Focuses on Expanding FTC Resources, Creating Federal Privacy Law

To add to the growing number of bills that would amend or revoke Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, last month Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced the Health Misinformation Act of 2021 (S.2448).  Senator Ben Lujan (D-NM) cosponsored the bill.

The bill would amend Section 230 to revoke the Act’s liability shield…

To add to the growing list of federal privacy frameworks introduced this year, Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) has re-introduced the bipartisan Social Media Privacy Protection and Consumer Rights Act of 2021 (S. 1667).  Senator Klobuchar introduced the bill originally in 2018 and 2019, although it did not advance to committee in either instance.  Senators Kennedy (R-LA), Burr (R-NC), and Manchin (D-WV) have co-sponsored the bill.

Key provisions in this bill include:…
Continue Reading New Privacy Bill Provides Opt-Out Rights and New Data Security Requirements

As the push for Congress to pass comprehensive consumer privacy legislation increases, Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-WA) has re-introduced the Information Transparency & Personal Data Control Act, a compromise proposal that contains provisions sought by both parties.  This bill would create national data privacy standards and increase the enforcement authority of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state attorneys general. …
Continue Reading Bill Introduced Would Preempt State Laws and Strengthen FTC Enforcement