Privacy Post: July 12th

Rise and shine ☀️

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This is issue #8 of Privacy Post - the not-so-private privacy newsletter, where I share privacy news, knowledge, and technology happenings to keep you: professionals, amateurs, enthusiasts, and anyone looking to learn more, informed on the ever-changing privacy landscape.

A full agenda today:

🧠 2023 halfway recap: 6 monumental privacy moments in 6 months

🗞 TikTok fightings, FTC commissioners, & more evidence that data brokers are bad

🤣 Meme Post

6 monumental privacy moments in 6 months

Not sure how we are already halfway through 2023, but here we are, cruising along. 6 months plus a dash in and it has already been quite the year for privacy. Let’s recap!

📈 Record number of U.S states passed privacy bills

5 states signed consumer data privacy bills into law – Iowa, Indiana, Tennessee, Montana, and Texas. And two more are in the pipeline, Oregon and Delaware, waiting and expected to be signed by their governors.

With the 2023 state legislative sessions closed the U.S. is expected to end the year with a grand total of 12 state privacy laws.

🤖 AI ambush making us all think about our privacy

Voice cloning, deepfake images, AI regulations, ethical AI, algorithmic bias – all buzzwords filling up our newsfeeds, but all valid concerns or gray areas perpetrated by AI.

While privacy concerns have always been there regarding AI, the release of ChatGPT to the world kicked off an AI tidal wave and in parallel the privacy issues that come with it.

💸 Eye-watering GDPR fine

The largest fine to date. Meta paid $1.3B over violation of international data transfers between the E.U. and the U.S.

📊 Record high for annual GDPR fine amount in only 5 months

In the first 5 months of 2023, the combined fine amounts ($1.6B) surpassed those from 2019, 2020, 2021, & 2022.

🔵 Major bills moving forward & two at a stand-still

The EU AI Act, the first comprehensive set of AI rules, was passed by the European Parliament. It’s not a law yet, but it’s on its way.

The long-awaited EU-US Data Privacy Framework entered into force yesterday (July 11th) after its approval from the European Commissioner. Also not a law yet, but it’s on its way.

India & the U.S. had no success in pushing national comprehensive privacy bills. They are two major players in the global economy and the tech world, so no national privacy law has risks to consumers.

🚀 Global growth

162 national data privacy laws are in effect today. In 2021, there were 145.

In the news…

• TikTok isn’t going away without a fight. They filed to block Montana's ban.

• Biden nominated two FTC commissioners. This is a big deal because the FTC is the recess supervisor watching over the kids.

• Australia's competition regulator examined the data broker industry. And yes… they determined data brokers are conducting shady business in the shadows.

Meme Post

Thanks for reading today’s post! See you next week. If you want more, be sure to follow me on LinkedIn (@annapeterson).

😄 This newsletter is a place for all to learn about data privacy, question the technology we use, and understand how it fits into the world we live in.

Disclaimer: The thoughts and ideas of Privacy Post are my own and not of my employer.2023