In a rare example of legislative haste, roughly one dozen state and federal bills were introduced in the past 12 months to regulate deepfakes, the relatively modern technology that some fear could upend democracy. Though the federal proposals have yet to move forward, the state bills have found quick success at home. Already three states—California, Virginia, and Texas—have enacted deepfake … [Read more...]
January 23, 2020
November 22, 2019
IoT bills and guidelines: a global response
You may not have noticed, but Internet of Things (IoT) rules and regulations are coming whether manufacturers want them or not. From experience, drafting up laws which are (hopefully) sensible and have some relevance to problems raised by current technology is a time-consuming, frustrating process. However, it’s not that long since we saw IoT devices go mainstream—right into people’s homes, … [Read more...]
September 26, 2019
Insurance data security laws skirt political turmoil
Across the United States, a unique approach to lawmaking has proved radically successful in making data security stronger for one industry—insurance providers. The singular approach has entirely sidestepped the prolonged, political arguments that have become commonplace when trying to pass federal and state data privacy laws today. In California, for example, Big Tech lobbying groups have … [Read more...]
September 19, 2019
CEOs offer their own view of a US data privacy law
Last week, the chief executives of more than 50 mid- and large-sized companies urged Congress to pass a national data privacy law to regulate how companies collect, use, and share Americans’ data. Buried deep within the chief executives’ recommendations for such a law, presented as a policy framework for guidance, was a convenient proposal: Private individuals should not be allowed to sue … [Read more...]
February 27, 2019
Will pay-for-privacy be the new normal?
Privacy is a human right, and online privacy should be no exception. Yet, as the US considers new laws to protect individuals’ online data, at least two proposals—one statewide law that can still be amended and one federal draft bill that has yet to be introduced—include an unwelcome bargain: exchanging money for privacy. This framework, sometimes called “pay-for-privacy,” is plain wrong. It casts … [Read more...]
