As reported on Hunton’s Employment & Labor Perspectives blog, on October 30, 2023, President Biden issued a wide-ranging Executive Order to address the development of artificial intelligence (“AI”) in the United States. Entitled the Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence (the “Executive Order”), the Executive Order seeks to address both the “myriad benefits” as well as what it calls the “substantial risks” that AI poses to the country. It caps off a busy year for the Executive Branch in the AI space. In February 2023, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission published its Strategic Enforcement Plan, which highlighted AI as a chief concern, and in April 2023, the White House released an AI Bill of Rights. The Executive Order, described as a “Federal Government-wide” effort, charges a number of federal agencies, notably including the Department of Labor (“DOL”), with addressing the impacts of employers’ use of AI on job security and workers’ rights.
Continue Reading Biden’s AI Order and the Implications for EmployersDraft AI Bill Introduced to UK Parliament
On November 22, 2023, the Artificial Intelligence (Regulation) Bill was introduced into the UK Parliament’s House of Lords. The purpose of the Bill is to make provision for the regulation of AI and for connected purposes.
Continue Reading Draft AI Bill Introduced to UK ParliamentCalifornia Privacy Protection Agency Publishes Draft Regulations on Automated Decisionmaking Technology
On November 27, 2023, the California Privacy Protection Agency (“CPPA”) published its draft regulations on automated decisionmaking technology (“ADMT”). The regulations propose a broad definition for ADMT that includes “any system, software, or process—including one derived from machine-learning, statistics, or other data-processing or artificial intelligence—that processes personal information and uses computation as whole or part of a system to make or execute a decision or facilitate human decisionmaking.” ADMT also would include profiling, which would mean the “automated processing of personal information to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to a natural person and in particular to analyze or predict aspects concerning that natural person’s performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behavior, location, or movements.”
Continue Reading California Privacy Protection Agency Publishes Draft Regulations on Automated Decisionmaking TechnologyUK and U.S. Develop Global Guidelines for AI Security
On November 27, 2023, the UK government announced the first global guidelines to ensure the secure development of AI technology (the “Guidelines”), which were developed by the UK National Cyber Security Centre (“NCSC”) and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (“CISA”), in cooperation with industry experts and other international agencies and ministries. The guidelines have been endorsed by a further 15 countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Nigeria, and certain EU countries (full list here).
Continue Reading UK and U.S. Develop Global Guidelines for AI SecurityUK and Republic of Korea Issue Warning about DPRK State-Linked Cyber Actors
On November 23, 2023, the UK government’s National Cyber Security Centre (“NCSC”) and the Republic of Korea’s National Intelligence Service (“NIS”) issued a joint advisory detailing techniques and tactics used by cyber actors linked to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (“DPRK”) that are carrying out software supply chain attacks. The publication follows the recent announcement of a new Strategic Cyber Partnership between the UK and the Republic of Korea where the two nations have committed to work together to tackle common cyber threats.
Continue Reading UK and Republic of Korea Issue Warning about DPRK State-Linked Cyber ActorsIn an FTC First, Proposed Order Requires Global Tel*Link Corp. to Notify Users and Facilities of Future Breaches
On November 16, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission released a proposed order in connection with a complaint filed in August of 2020 against Global Tel*Link Corp. (“GTL”) and its subsidiaries, Telmate and TouchPay, which offers communication and payment services for incarcerated individuals. The complaint centered around a security breach where a technician for a vendor of GTL placed unencrypted, personally identifiable information in a test environment to test a new search and storage software. The test environment allegedly was accessible on the internet without password protections which permitted an unauthorized actor to access and exfiltrate the data between August 11-13, 2020. Though GTL restricted access to the test environment, GTL allegedly failed to notify its customers for roughly nine months, while also falsely representing to prospective customers that it had never experienced a security breach.
Continue Reading In an FTC First, Proposed Order Requires Global Tel*Link Corp. to Notify Users and Facilities of Future BreachesProxy Advisory Firm Issues Guidance on Cyber Oversight and Disclosure
Glass Lewis & Co. recently published its updated Benchmark Policy Guidelines for 2024 (the “Policy”), which reflect investors’ continuing focus on corporate disclosure and board oversight of cyber risks. The Policy indicates that Glass Lewis may recommend “against” directors following a cybersecurity incident if it finds the board’s risk oversight or its post-incident response to be insufficient. The Policy also provides guidance on what Glass Lewis expects companies to disclose after such an incident.
Continue Reading Proxy Advisory Firm Issues Guidance on Cyber Oversight and DisclosureUK ICO Issues Statement on the Use of Cookies
On November 21, 2023, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) issued a statement explaining that it has recently written to companies operating some of the UK’s most visited websites regarding their compliance with data protection laws when using cookies. The ICO noted that certain websites are not providing users with fair choices as to whether or not they are tracked for personalized marketing purposes, and referred to its guidance on making it simple for users to “Reject All” advertising cookies.
Continue Reading UK ICO Issues Statement on the Use of CookiesEDPB Publishes Guidelines to Clarify Scope of EU “Cookie” Notice and Consent Requirements
On November 16, 2023, the European Data Protection Board (“EDPB”) published its Guidelines 2/2023 on the Technical Scope of Art. 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive (the “Guidelines”).
Continue Reading EDPB Publishes Guidelines to Clarify Scope of EU “Cookie” Notice and Consent RequirementsAustralian Privacy Regulator Sues in Data Breach Case
Patrick Gunning from King & Wood Mallesons reports that, on November 2, 2023, the Australian Information Commissioner filed proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia against Australian Clinical Labs Limited seeking a civil penalty (i.e., a fine) in connection with the company’s response to a data breach that occurred in February 2022. The case is significant because: (1) it is only the second time that the Australian regulator has brought court proceedings of this kind despite having the power to do so since 2014; and (2) it signals the regulator’s priority in ensuring that cybersecurity incidents are responded to swiftly. The Australian legislature increased maximum penalties for ‘serious’ contraventions of the Privacy Act with effect from December 2022 to at least A$50 million. However, the maximum penalty available in this case will be A$2.2 million because the company’s conduct occurred prior to December 2022.
Continue Reading Australian Privacy Regulator Sues in Data Breach Case