Across the United States, evolving data collection and processing practices and advances in artificial intelligence are driving new digital services, technologies, and socially beneficial research – while also raising new opportunities, risks, and questions for individuals and communities. In response, state and federal policymakers are considering new legislative and regulatory frameworks on three interconnected fronts: comprehensive consumer privacy laws that establish baseline rights and protections for personal data across the economy; frameworks that target specific sectors and practices such as automated decisionmaking, biometric identification, companion chatbots, data-driven pricing, data brokerage, frontier AI model safety, genetic data, and health data; and youth-specific privacy and online safety laws that set distinct rules for minors. These three tracks rarely stay in their lanes: a comprehensive privacy law may include AI provisions, an AI safety bill may carve out rules for minors, a youth online safety law may hinge on biometric age verification. Understanding the landscape requires understanding both the individual pieces and how they fit together.
FPF’s U.S. Legislation team provides expert, independent, pragmatic analysis of state and federal legislative and regulatory approaches to privacy, AI, and youth online safety – three distinct but increasingly intertwined issue areas. The team tracks emerging proposals, compares new laws against existing frameworks, analyzes implementation and compliance implications, and helps policymakers and stakeholders understand how legal requirements interact with current technologies, business practices, and data uses.
Through reports, blog posts, legislative and policy analyses, webinars, in-person and virtual peer-to-peer gatherings, and educational programs, FPF helps the broader technology policy and governance community understand the mechanisms and strategies available to protect privacy, promote responsible AI development and deployment, and advance youth online safety. FPF does not typically support or oppose particular bills. Instead, the U.S. Legislation team focuses on explaining the practical and legal implications of proposals – individually and as they interact with one another. This work helps ensure that privacy, AI, and youth safety compliance and policy strategies remain future-looking, adaptable, and workable for the continued, beneficial use of data and AI.
FPF’s U.S. Legislation team is led by Tatiana Rice, Senior Director.
The Garden State Joins the Comprehensive Privacy Grove
On January 16, 2024, Governor Murphy signed S332 into law, making New Jersey the thirteenth U.S. State to adopt a comprehensive privacy law to govern the collection, use, and transfer of personal data. S332 endured a long and circuitous route to enactment, having been introduced in January 2022 and amended six times before being passed […]
Regu(AI)ting Health: Lessons for Navigating the Complex Code of AI and Healthcare Regulations
Authors: Stephanie Wong, Amber Ezzell, & Felicity Slater As an increasing number of organizations utilize artificial intelligence (“AI”) in their patient-facing services, health organizations are seizing the opportunity to take advantage of the new wave of AI-powered tools. Policymakers, from United States (“U.S.”) government agencies to the White House, have taken heed of this trend, […]
Regu(AI)ting Health: Lessons for Navigating the Complex Code of AI and Healthcare Regulations
Authors: Stephanie Wong, Amber Ezzell, & Felicity Slater As an increasing number of organizations utilize artificial intelligence (“AI”) in their patient-facing services, health organizations are seizing the opportunity to take advantage of the new wave of AI-powered tools. Policymakers, from United States (“U.S.”) government agencies to the White House, have taken heed of this trend, […]
FPF Files Comments with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Regarding Personal Financial Data Rights
On December 21st, 2023, the Future of Privacy Forum filed comments with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in response to the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding personal financial data rights. FPF’s comments focus on promoting privacy as a core tenet in the U.S. open banking ecosystem in order to protect individuals’ personal information […]
Understanding Body-Related Data Practices and Ensuring Legal Compliance in Immersive Technologies
Organizations are increasingly incorporating immersive technologies like extended reality (XR) and virtual worlds into their products and services, blurring the boundaries between the physical and digital worlds. Immersive technologies hold the potential to transform the way people learn, work, play, travel, and take care of their health, but may create new privacy risks as well. […]
FPF in 2023: A Year in Review
As 2023 comes to an end, we want to reflect on a year that saw the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) continue to expand its presence globally and domestically while organizing engaging events, publishing thought-provoking analysis, providing the latest expert updates, and more. FPF continues to convene industry experts, academics, consumer advocates, and other experts […]
Risk Framework for Body-Related Data in Immersive Technologies
Today, the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) released its Risk Framework for Body-Related Data in Immersive Technologies for organizations to structure the collection, use, and onward transfer of body-related data. Organizations building immersive technologies like extended reality and virtual worlds often rely on large amounts of data about individuals’ bodies and behaviors. While body-related data […]
Five Big Questions (and Zero Predictions) for the U.S. State Privacy Landscape in 2024
Entering 2024, the United States now stands alone as the sole G20 nation without a comprehensive, national framework governing the collection and use of personal data. With bipartisan efforts to enact federal privacy legislation once again languishing in Congress, state-level activity on privacy dramatically accelerated in 2023. As the dust from this year settles, we […]
A Blueprint for the Future: White House and States Issue Guidelines on AI and Generative AI
Since July 2023, eight U.S. states (California, Kansas, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin) and the White House have published executive orders (EOs) to support the responsible and ethical use of artificial intelligence (AI) systems, including generative AI. In response to the evolving AI landscape, these directives signal a growing recognition of the […]
ICYMI: FPF Webinar Discussed The Current State of Kids’ and Teens’ Privacy
Privacy by design for kids and teens has expanded across the globe. As policymakers, advocates, and companies grapple with the ever-changing landscape of youth privacy regulation, the Future of Privacy Forum recently hosted a webinar discussing the current state of kids’ and teens’ privacy policy. The webinar explored the current frameworks that are influential worldwide, […]