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.
Privacy Papers 2019
The winners of the 2019 Privacy Papers for Policymakers (PPPM) Award are: Antidiscriminatory Privacy by Ignacio N. Cofone, McGill University Faculty of Law Abstract Law often regulates the flow of information to prevent discrimination. It does so, for example, in Law often blocks sensitive personal information to prevent discrimination. It does so, however, without a […]
Closer than Apart: Comparing Senate Commerce Committee Bills
Together with Senator Cantwell (D-WA)’s bill, the Consumer Online Privacy Rights Act, Senator Wicker’s Discussion Draft represents a significant movement toward bipartisan negotiations in the Senate. But how do the two bills, one from leading Democrats, and one from the Republican Chairman, compare to each other? We find them to be closer together on most issues than they are apart: a promising sign for bipartisan negotiation.
Starting Point for Negotiation: An Analysis of Senate Democratic Leadership’s Landmark Comprehensive Privacy Bill
Today, Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-WA), joined by top Democrats on the Senate Commerce Committee – Senators Markey, Schatz and Klobuchar – introduced a new comprehensive federal privacy bill, the Consumer Online Privacy Rights Act (COPRA). The bill is consistent with the Senate Democratic leadership positions announced last week and comes in advance of a December 4th Senate Commerce Committee hearing convened by Senator Wicker (R-Miss), Examining Legislative Proposals to Protect Consumer Data Privacy.
Statement by Future of Privacy Forum CEO Jules Polonetsky on the Consumer Online Privacy Rights Act
WASHINGTON, DC – November 26, 2019 – Statement by Future of Privacy Forum CEO Jules Polonetsky regarding the introduction of a new comprehensive federal privacy bill, the Consumer Online Privacy Rights Act (COPRA), proposed today by Senators Maria Cantwell, Amy Klobuchar, Brian Schatz, and Ed Markey: “This is the most sophisticated federal proposal to emerge […]
What They’re Saying: Stakeholders Warn Senate Surveillance Bill Could Harm Students, Communities
Parents, privacy advocates, education stakeholders, and members of the disability rights community are raising concerns about new Senate legislation that would mandate unproven student surveillance programs and encourage greater law enforcement intervention in classrooms in a misguided effort to improve school safety. Last week, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced the RESPONSE Act, legislation that is intended to help reduce and […]
ICYMI: New Senate Legislation Mandates “Pervasive Surveillance” in Attempt to Improve School Safety
Bill would require schools nationwide to impose network monitoring technology “before there is any clear evidence that it’s effective in preventing violence.”
Increased Surveillance is Not an Effective Response to Mass Violence
By Sara Collins and Anisha Reddy This week, Senator Cornyn introduced the RESPONSE Act, an omnibus bill meant to reduce violent crimes, with a particular focus on mass shootings. The bill has several components, including provisions that would have significant implications for how sensitive student data is collected, used, and shared. The most troubling part […]
CCPA 2.0? A New California Ballot Initiative is Introduced
Introduction On September 13, 2019, the California State Legislature passed the final CCPA amendments of 2019. Governor Newsom is expected to sign the recently passed CCPA amendments into law in advance of his October 13, 2019 deadline. Yesterday, proponents of the original CCPA ballot initiative released the text of a new initiative (The California Privacy […]
10 Reasons Why the GDPR Is the Opposite of a ‘Notice and Consent’ Type of Law
The below piece was originally published on Medium. For a version with humorous images, head to the original post. A ‘notice and consent’ privacy law puts the entire burden of privacy protection on the person and then it doesn’t really give them any choice. The GDPR does the opposite of this. There is so much […]
How the FTC Became a "Super CNIL"
By Winston Maxwell European data protection authorities are quick to remind citizens and companies that the U.S. lacks adequate protection of personal data. Many Europeans therefore assume that the U.S. is a privacy no-man’s-land. Yet on July 24, 2019 the FTC levied a privacy fine against Facebook that is far above GDPR levels, and imposed […]