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.
A Welcome Call for ECPA Reform
A lot has changed technologically, and otherwise, since the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) was enacted in 1986. In addition, the law has never been a model of clarity. I litigated a case under ECPA in the late-90’s, McVeigh v. Cohen, representing an individual against the government when the Navy violated ECPA by obtaining online […]
WMACCA Tech & IP Forum: Behavioral Advertising – How to Protect Your Brand While Taking Advantage of Advanced Advertising Techniques
WMACCA Tech and IP Forum: Behavioral Advertising – How to Protect Your Brand While Taking Advantage of Advanced Advertising Techniques Tuesday, February 23, 2010 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM LIVE at the offices of Morrison & Foerster LLP 1650 Tysons Boulevard Suite 400 McLean, Virginia OR by WEBCAST Overview The online collection of information over […]
Ubiquitous Biometrics
Guest Post from privacy expert Kathy Harman-Stokes Speakers at the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) 2010 Biometrics Conference emphasized the value of “ubiquitous biometrics.” For biometrics to become ubiquitous, one speaker said biometrics should be widely used for facilities access, by employers for time and attendance recording of employees, and customer identification for various transactions, […]
Social Networking: Your Key to Easy Credit
Social Networking: Your Key to Easy Credit? CNBC.com By Erica Sandberg January 13, 2010 You probably don’t analyze the chatter or quality of your social media connections, but creditors may be doing just that. In their quest to identify creditworthy customers, some are tapping into the information you and your friends reveal in the virtual […]
Privacy's Zietgeist Moment
This second guest post from FPF Advisory Board member Professor Danielle Citron is cross-posted with Concurringopinions.com, one of the top legal blogs. Check out Concurringopinions.com for regular legal and policy from top privacy scholars, including among others FPF Advisory Board members Daniel Solove, Frank Pasquale and Danielle Citron. Privacy’s Zietgeist Moment By Danielle Citron Privacy […]
Massachusetts Tweaks Its Data Security Regs
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, home of the infamous 2007 TJX data security breach, is the first state to require detailed regulation over how personal data is secured. As an incubator of a new kind of law, it has found that getting the regs right is no easy task. The regs have been revised once already, […]
Regulating Online Ads – today on the Hill
If you are around DC today, join us for what I hope will be an exciting panel!Some advance thoughts — I suspect that I am personally far less allergic to legislation than some of my colleagues on today’s PFF Regulating Online Advertising Panel. I do think that effective legislation here will be very difficult, but […]
A Posterboy for Advertising’s Pro-Consumer Quid Pro Quo | The Technology Liberation Front
I enjoy reading the Tech Liberation Front blog, even though I am far less sure that the “privacy” free market is working as well as the TLF bloggers contend. But the writers are often witty, sharp and entertaining and are deeply immersed in privacy issues. It has been nice getting to know Berin Szoka, TLF […]
Behavioral Advertisers Need to Change Their Behavior
Behavioral Advertisers Need to Change Their Behavior Roll Call By Jules Polonetsky June 22, 2009 On Thursday, two House Energy and Commerce subcommittees held a joint hearing to discuss something called “behavioral advertising,” the tracking of users’ Web site visits and searches in order to deliver tailored online advertisements. Almost a decade ago to the […]
FTC Cites FPF Work in Letter to Congress Regarding Behavioral Ads
Today, the Commission sent the Energy and Commerce Subcommittees holding a joint hearing examining behavioral ads a letter, noting that the FTC is closely monitoring industry efforts to step up privacy efforts. Within the letter, they also reference the FPF research project underway. After members gave opening statements, the hearing was interrupted by a series […]