Privacy & Information Security Law Blog

In April 2024, the National Institute of Standards and Technology released an initial draft of its AI Risk Management Framework Generative AI Profile. This blog entry provides a summary of the Generative AI Profile.

On June 17, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion in Zellmer v. Meta Platforms, Inc., No. 22-16925, (9th Cir. June 17, 2024) affirming the Northern District of California’s order granting summary judgment in favor of Meta and dismissing the action for lack of standing. Clayton Zellmer, an individual who had never used Facebook, brought claims against the social media company under the Illinois Biometrics Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”), alleging that Meta had improperly obtained his biometric data from photos Zellmer’s friends had uploaded to the platform. Zellmer alleged that Facebook’s “Tag Suggestions” feature, which created a “face signature” using photos of Zellmer, violated Sections 15(a) and 15(b) of BIPA by collecting, using, and storing his biometric identifiers without first obtaining his written consent or establishing a public retention schedule. On appeal, the Ninth Circuit held that “face signatures” are not biometric information or identifiers, and thus are not subject to BIPA.

On June 7, 2024, following a public consultation, the French Data Protection Authority published the final version of the guidelines addressing the development of AI systems from a data protection perspective.

On May 23, the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Data, Innovation, and Commerce approved a revised draft of the American Privacy Rights Act (“APRA”), which includes significant changes from the initial discussion draft.

The Centre for Information Policy Leadership at Hunton Andrews Kurth, in partnership with WeProtect Global Alliance, held a series of interactive workshops on digital age assurance as part of its Children’s Privacy Project. They are seeking interested professionals to join their working groups as part of several workshops.

On May 16, 2024, the Illinois House of Representatives passed S.B. 2979, following the bill’s passage in the Illinois Senate in April.   S.B. 2979 would amend the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act definitions and limit liability for businesses with multiple duplicative BIPA violations that relate to the same individual.

On June 7, 2024, the New York legislature passed a bill (S.B. S7694A), the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act, addressing children’s use of social media platforms. The bill is pending Governor Kathy Hochul’s signature.

On May 1, 2024, Utah’s Artificial Intelligence Policy Act entered into effect.

On May 10, 2024, the Vermont legislature passed HB 121, which was delivered to Governor Phil Scott for signature. HB 121 will enact the Vermont Data Privacy Act, the Vermont Data Broker Security Breach Notice Act and the Vermont Age-Appropriate Design Code.

On May 23, 2024, the European Data Protection Board adopted an Opinion on the use of facial recognition technologies by airport operators and airline companies to streamline the passenger flow at airports.