In an op-ed for The Hill, Baker Botts partner and former U.S. Federal Trade Commission acting chairman and commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen said policymakers made "meaningful progress" on consumer privacy legislation last year and 2023 "marks a perfect time to continue down this path to progress." The FTC is exploring ways to protect consumer data privacy, she said, and private-sector leaders can take proactive steps.
The Public Interest Privacy Center, a new U.S. nonprofit, will help school administrators work with parents and vet new education technologies, Government Technology reports. The organization, formed at the end of 2022, will be under the auspices of the American Associations of School Administrators, which serves superintendents of schools around the country.
The constitutionality of a keyword search warrant served to Google in a Colorado arson case is being challenged in the state Supreme Court, Bloomberg reports. After a 2020 fire killed five people, police failed to identify any suspects in their initial investigation. They then served a warrant to Google for any users who searched for the fire's address. Three teenagers were eventually arrested and charged with murder.
Morocco's National Commission for the Control and the Protection of Personal Data announced the first iteration of its National Register for the Protection of Personal Data will go live Jan. 16. The register will help inform the regulator on data controllers' views on management of personal data and aims to bring "transparency and to best contribute to the climate of digital trust." The final version of the register will go live Feb.
France's data protection authority, the Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés, issued a 5 million euro fine to TikTok over alleged cookie consent violations. An investigation by the CNIL revealed the platform's consent mechanism did not give users sufficient options to opt out of cookie settings or information regarding purpose of the cookies.
Canada is poised to potentially pass several major private sector privacy law reforms on both the federal and provincial levels, Dentons Canada Privacy and Cybersecurity National Practice Leader Chantal Bernier writes. She said the provinces of British Columbia and Quebec could implement EU General Data Protection Regulation-level fines and improved privacy rights for individuals.
The European Data Protection Board released its binding decisions on the legal basis used by Meta's Facebook and Instagram for processing data for personalized advertising.
In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, U.S. President Joe Biden reiterated calls for U.S. Congress to pass comprehensive federal privacy legislation. Among Biden's "three broad principles for reform" against Big Tech, he said "serious federal protections for Americans’ privacy" topped the list. "That means clear limits on how companies can collect, use and share highly personal data," Biden said, adding "it's not enough" for companies to simply disclose data collection practices.
IAB Europe announced its Transparency and Consent Framework is compliant with the EU General Data Protection Regulation following an action plan approved by the Belgian Data Protection Authority.