Keypoint: It was a very busy week with Kentucky on the cusp of passing a consumer data privacy bill, Maryland advancing consumer and children’s bills, and movement on bills in Minnesota, Vermont, Georgia, Maine, and New York.

Below is the eighth weekly update on the status of proposed state privacy legislation in 2024.

Continue Reading Proposed State Privacy Law Update: March 18, 2024

Keypoint: While not as far-reaching as bills under consideration in other states, the Utah bill creates some obligations for private sector companies deploying generative artificial intelligence, including disclosing its use.

In early March, the Utah legislature unanimously passed SB 149. The bill is now with Utah Governor Spencer Cox for signature. In general, the bill: (1) specifies that Utah’s consumer protection laws apply equally to an entity’s use of generative artificial intelligence as they do to the entity’s other activities, (2) requires private sector entities to take steps to disclose and/or respond to inquiries about their use of generative artificial intelligence, and (3) creates the Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy which is charged with, among other things, administering an artificial intelligence learning laboratory program. Once signed by the Governor, the law will go into effect on May 1, 2024.

In the below article, we provide a brief analysis of the bill’s provisions.

Continue Reading Utah Legislature Passes Private Sector AI Bill

Keypoint: The European Parliament voted to approve the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act and it will enter force 20 days after publication in the EU Official Journal.

On March 13, 2024, the European Parliament voted to approve the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act (commonly referred to as the EU AI Act). The vote, originally scheduled for April of 2024, was moved up by one month after all relevant parties reached agreement on the text of the Act. Following this final vote, the EU AI Act will “enter into force” 20 days after publication in the EU Official Journal, which typically occurs within a few days of an affirmative vote and starts the relevant compliance timelines within the EU AI Act.

Continue Reading EU Parliament Approves EU AI Act

Keypoint: The Utah legislature repealed and replaced the Utah Social Media Act in response to a lawsuit challenging the law on constitutional grounds.

Prior to closing in early March, the Utah legislature passed two bills (SB 194 and HB 464) that repeal and replace the Utah Social Media Regulation Act, which the legislature passed just last year. The bills are the second part of a legislative process in which Utah lawmakers amended the Act in response to a lawsuit filed by an Internet trade association challenging the Act on constitutional grounds. The Utah legislature previously pushed back the Act’s effective date to delay the legal challenge while lawmakers worked to revise the Act. In the below article, we provide a brief background on the Act and then discuss the changes made by the two bills.

Continue Reading Utah Legislature Repeals and Replaces Utah Social Media Regulation Act

Keypoint: Last week, consumer data privacy bills advanced in Minnesota, Maryland, and Missouri, New Hampshire’s Governor signed SB 255 into law, Maryland’s AADC bill advanced in the Senate, and the Hawaii House passed a consumer health data privacy bill.

Below is the seventh weekly update on the status of proposed state privacy legislation in 2024.

Continue Reading Proposed State Privacy Law Update: March 11, 2024

Keypoint: Courts continue to issue conflicting decisions in wiretapping cases while one court has expanded who may be considered a “video tape service provider” under the VPPA.

Welcome to the eleventh installment in our monthly data privacy litigation report. We prepare these reports to provide updates on how courts in the United States have handled emerging data privacy trends. In this month’s post, we look at wiretapping decisions from courts that have come out differently on whether plaintiffs have plead facts to sufficiently allege “interception” of chat communications, two decisions that rejected defendant’s arguments concerning plaintiffs’ consent to being recorded, and a failed attempt to compel arbitration. We also look at three session reply technology decisions, all of which grappled with whether the plaintiff had plead the third-party had the capability to use the alleged communications for the third-party’s own benefit. We also take a look at three VPPA decisions that continue to show the balancing act courts have struck when assessing VPPA claims at the pleading stage, including a decision that expands what type of company may be considered a “video tape service provider.”

If you are a ByteBack+ member, you will also see our coverage on recent lawsuits beyond the wiretapping and VPPA claims, including the recent trend of cases brought under pen registry laws and efforts against plaintiffs who have brought wiretapping claims in private arbitration rather than the public courts. Interested in learning more about ByteBack+? Click here.

There are many courts currently handling data privacy cases across the nation. Although illustrative, this update is not intended to be exhaustive. If there is another area of data privacy litigation about which you would like to know more, please reach out. The contents provided below are time-sensitive and subject to change. If you are not already subscribed to our blog, consider doing so to stay updated. If you are interested in tracking developments between blog posts, consider following us on LinkedIn.

Continue Reading U.S. Privacy Litigation Update: February 2024

Keypoint: Since our inaugural post on US artificial intelligence legislation, the first AI bill from this year is set to pass in Utah, new bills have been introduced in Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, and several bills have stalled in Virginia, Rhode Island, and Washington.

Below is our second update on the status of pending US artificial intelligence (AI) legislation that would affect the private sector.

Continue Reading AI Legislation Update: March 6, 2024

Keypoint: Last week chambers in West Virginia and Georgia passed consumer data privacy bills while a VCDPA amendment bill focused on children’s privacy passed the Virginia legislature.

Below is the sixth weekly update on the status of proposed state privacy legislation in 2024.

Continue Reading Proposed State Privacy Law Update: March 4, 2024

We are excited to introduce our newest value-added client resource, Byte Back+. Designed to maximize value for our privacy clients, this client-only resource will provide a seamless end-user experience for our privacy thought leadership and offer exclusive content on the topics that matter most to you. In addition to aggregating content from our Byte Back blog and webinar offerings, Byte Back+ will include other produced materials and exclusive content developed solely for our clients, that dives deeper into emerging privacy issues.

Continue Reading Introducing Byte Back+

Keypoint: Last week the Kentucky House passed a consumer data privacy bill, the Colorado House passed a biometric privacy bill, and Virginia moved closer to amending the VCDPA to add children’s privacy provisions.

Below is the fifth weekly update on the status of proposed state privacy legislation in 2024.

Continue Reading Proposed State Privacy Law Update: February 26, 2024