Hunton Retail Law Resource

On April 1, 2026, the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to amend Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 110 to accommodate certain Automated Driving System-equipped vehicles. This action is NHTSA’s latest effort to address automated vehicles and develop corresponding national standards. NHTSA seeks public comment on the proposed changes, with the 30-day comment period closing on May 1, 2026.

Over the past two weeks the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has taken notable steps in its larger effort to address and develop a uniform framework for automated vehicles (AVs). Last week NHTSA published a request for public comment on an exemption application which, if granted, would exempt certain AVs from safety requirements and enable large-scale deployment of these vehicles nationwide. This development was closely followed by NHTSA’s issuance of two notices of proposed rulemakings (NPRM), which propose to exempt AVs from specific Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). This progression suggests agency recognition of the realities of evolving technology and a corresponding willingness to take a flexible approach to the applicability of certain FMVSSs to AVs.

The Federal Trade Commission has issued a new Policy Statement encouraging the adoption of robust age‑verification technologies by pledging not to bring enforcement actions under the COPPA Rule against operators of general‑ or mixed‑audience sites that collect, use or disclose personal information solely to determine users’ ages, so long as long as they follow strict safeguards.

On February 6, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission announced its second report to Congress on its efforts to combat ransomware and other cyber attacks.