Across the United States, evolving data collection and processing practices are driving digital services and socially beneficial research, but also pose increasing risks to individuals and communities that America’s existing sectoral privacy frameworks are insufficient to govern. In response, leaders in law and policy are considering more comprehensive approaches to privacy regulation, which establish baseline rights and protections for personal data throughout the economy. Years of negotiations in Congress culminated in the introduction of the bipartisan American Data Privacy and Protection Act in 2022; however, its fate remains uncertain. In the absence of federal legislation, five U.S. states—California, Virginia, Colorado, Utah, and Connecticut— enacted comprehensive consumer privacy laws between 2018-2022.
The Future of Privacy Forum provides expert, independent analysis of legislative and regulatory approaches to protecting data privacy interests. FPF does not typically support or oppose particular bills, but instead focuses on analyzing proposals in relation to existing privacy frameworks, sharing information on current data practices and technologies, and ensuring that data governance strategies are future-looking and adaptable.
FPF also engages with the broader privacy community through reports, blog posts, webinars, and educational programs such as the CPRA Law + Tech Series. It is our view that robust and durable policy outcomes can be achieved when all stakeholders are equipped to understand the key technologies, business practices, and legal mechanisms available to regulate privacy and data protection. FPF’s legislation work is led by Keir Lamont, Director.
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Utah Considers Proposals to Require Web Services to Verify Users’ Ages, Obtain Parental Consent to Process Teens’ Data
Update: On March 23, Governor Spencer Cox signed SB 152 and HB 311. While amendments were made to both bills, the concerns raised in FPF’s analysis remain. SB 152 leaves critical provisions, such as methods to verify age or obtain parental consent, to be established in further rulemaking, but questions remain regarding whether these can […]
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 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. […]
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 […]
California Age-Appropriate Design Code Aims to Address Growing Concern About Children’s Online Privacy and Safety
Authors: Chloe Altieri, Kewa Jiang Kewa Jiang, CIPP/US, is a 2021 graduate of USC Gould School of Law and a Student Contractor with FPF’s Youth and Education Privacy team. On May 26, 2022, AB-2273, the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (ADCA) unanimously passed the California Assembly and moved to the Senate for consideration. California Assembly […]
FPF Releases Policy Brief Comparing Federal Child Privacy Bills
On Wednesday, July 27, 2022, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a markup of two bills this resource highlights: The Kids Online Safety Act and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0). The Committee advanced both bills with significant amendments. Both bills garnered bipartisan support, with the Kids Online Safety […]