Washington state's House Technology Committee on Tuesday cleared a bill on AI transparency out of committee with a do pass recommendation. The panel voted 8-5 for HB-1168 with one of three amendments offered at an executive session Tuesday. The bill requires developers of generative AI systems to post information about how the systems were trained.
AI Privacy
AI privacy concerns are growing as copyrighted works and personal data are used to train, optimize and operate machine learning systems. From facial recognition to inference risks, AI applications often test the limits of existing privacy laws. Regulators worldwide are developing safeguards to govern data use, bias, transparency and consent in AI development. This page tracks legislation, regulatory frameworks and enforcement actions at the intersection of AI and data protection.
Privacy Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week, in case you missed them. All articles can be found by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Despite financial pressure, geopolitical instability, more data protection rules and other challenges, the privacy profession continues demonstrating "an extraordinary capacity for adaption and resilience," the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) said in a report published Tuesday. Nine of 10 companies responding to this year's survey said they feel at least somewhat confident about their privacy governance program, it said.
Florida lawmakers are turning their attention to kids’ social media and AI regulation now that the debate over comprehensive privacy is behind them, Rep. Fiona McFarland (R) told us in a recent interview.
European collaboration with the U.S. on privacy issues is going to be tough, representatives from the European Commission and European Parliament said Tuesday at a Data Protection Day conference in Brussels.
California companies must carefully review 17 AI laws passed last year in the state, while U.S. businesses generally should “prepare for comparable laws from other states in the future, blogged Cozen O’Connor attorneys Andrew Baer and Robert Rubenstein on Monday. The California AI laws -- covering deepfakes, training data, healthcare, watermarking AI-generated content and the entertainment industry -- show “the state’s assertive stance in addressing both the potential benefits and risks associated with artificial intelligence,” the lawyers wrote.
The Virginia Senate passed a reproductive health data privacy bill on Friday. Then on Monday, the Virginia House Communications Committee advanced multiple AI and privacy bills. However, legislation that would add a private right of action and make other changes in Virginia’s comprehensive privacy law appeared to stall in a subcommittee.
Legislators in states like Texas, Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts can set the tone for privacy-related AI laws in 2025, stakeholders told the Multistate AI Policymaker Working Group during a public feedback session Monday.
Finding common ground on data protection "remains a challenging task, primarily because privacy is deeply shaped by cultural, legal, and economic contexts," Ginervra Cerrina Feroni, vice-president of Italian privacy watchdog Garante, said in an email. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), for example, is rooted in a fundamental rights-based approach, while frameworks like the Global Cross Border Privacy Rules (CPBR) system emphasize voluntary compliance and flexibility, reflecting different traditions and priorities.
"The collaborative spirit among EU institutions is not only encouraged but also necessary" for managing the plethora of EU digital laws, Thomas Regnier, European Commission tech sovereignty spokesperson, said Friday (see 250121000).