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.
Record Set: Assessing Points of Emphasis from Public Input on the FTC’s Privacy Rulemaking
More than 1,200 law firms, advocacy organizations, trade associations, companies, researchers, and others responded to the Federal Trade Commission’s Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) on “Commercial Surveillance and Data Security.” Significantly, the ANPR initiates a process that may result in comprehensive regulation of data privacy and security in the United States, and also marks […]
FPF Provides Input on Draft Colorado Privacy Act Regulations
On September 30th, The Colorado Department of Law released draft regulations to implement the Colorado Privacy Act. The Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) filed written comments in response to the proposed rules on November 7th. Furthermore, FPF’s Keir Lamont and Felicity Slater participated in public stakeholder sessions hosted by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office as […]
Five Big Questions (and Zero Predictions) for the U.S. State Privacy Landscape in 2023
Entering 2023, the United States remains one of the only global economic powers that lacks a comprehensive, national framework governing the collection and use of consumer data throughout the economy. Congress made unprecedented progress toward enacting baseline privacy legislation in 2022. However, the apparent impasse in the efforts to move H.R. 8152, the American Data […]
FPF Releases Comparative Analysis of California and U.K. Age-Appropriate Design Codes
The Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) today released a new policy brief comparing the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (AADC), a first-of-its-kind privacy-by-design law in the United States, and the United Kingdom’s Age-Appropriate Design Code. While there are distinctions between the two codes, the California AADC, which is set to become enforceable on July 1, […]
FPF Urges Federal Trade Commission to Craft Practical Privacy Rules
FPF Comments Regarding FTC ANPR Urge the Commission to Provide Individuals with Strong, Enforceable Rights and Companies with Greater Clarity about their Obligations under Section 5 of the FTC Act. The Future of Privacy Forum filed comments regarding the Federal Trade Commission’s Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, recommending that the Commission prioritize practical rules that […]
Meet David Sallay, FPF’s new Youth & Education Privacy Director
FPF is thrilled to announce the new Director of our Youth & Education Privacy Program, David Sallay. David comes to FPF from the Utah State Board of Education, where he previously served as the Chief Privacy Officer and the Student Privacy Auditor at the Utah State Board of Education, where he worked with schools and […]
FPF Releases Analysis of California’s New Age-Appropriate Design Code
FPF’s Youth & Education team is pleased to publish a new policy brief that builds on this first brief by providing a comparative analysis of the United Kingdom’s Age Appropriate Design Code (UK AADC) to the California AADC, which was modeled after the UK AADC. Learn more and download the UK and CA AADC Comparative policy brief here. […]
The “Colorado Effect?” Status Check on Colorado’s Privacy Rulemaking
Colorado is set to formally enter a rulemaking process which may establish de facto interpretations for privacy protections across the United States. With the passage of the Colorado Privacy Act (CPA) in 2021, Colorado, along with Virginia, Utah, and Connecticut, became part of an emerging group of states adopting privacy laws that share a similar […]
Age-Appropriate Design Code Passes California Legislature
Update: On Sep 15, 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 2273, the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act. The law will apply to businesses that provide online services, products, or features likely to be accessed by children and broadly requires businesses to implement their strongest privacy settings by default for young users up to the age of […]
FPF Addresses ‘Opt-Out Preference Signals’ in Comments on California Draft Privacy Regulations
Yesterday, the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) filed comments with the California Privacy Protection Agency regarding the Agency’s initial set of draft regulations to implement the California Privacy Rights Act amendments to the California Consumer Privacy Act. FPF’s comments are directed towards ensuring that both individuals and businesses have clarity for the implementation and exercise […]