The European Commission announced Meta's WhatsApp agreed to improve user transparency for its EU terms of service and privacy notice. The commitments are in response to two requests in 2022 from the Commission's Consumer Protection Cooperation Network for the messaging app to clearly outline its personal data practices in disclosures to users.
European Data Protection Supervisor Wojciech Wiewiórowski criticized EU policymakers for shortcomings in proposed legislation to combat child sexual abuse materials, Euractiv reports.
The adoption of the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act show the EU is focused on reeling in the online advertising industry. While the two regulations are expected to prove transformative, a European Commission-backed report suggests policymakers want to go further with advertising technology reform. Journalist Luca Bertuzzi considers the data protection-related themes that could be looked at with increased adtech rules. Full Story
Ireland's Data Protection Commission released its 2022 annual report. The DPC highlighted its workload and regulatory accomplishments over the last year, including the finalization of 17 large-scale investigations that yielded fines totaling more than 1 billion euros.
The Iowa Senate voted 47-0 to advance Senate File 262, an act relating to consumer data protection, to House consideration. The bill covers companies holding data on more than 100,000 individuals or deriving 50% of annual revenue from data belonging to more than 25,000 consumers. Additionally, the bill does not require data protection impact assessments or the explicit right for users to opt out of targeted advertising, while providing covered entities a 90-day cure period. SF 262's effective date is Jan.
The High Court of Australia ruled against Facebook’s appeal for special leave in a 2020 case the Office of Australian Information Commissioner brought against the company. The OAIC's case alleges Facebook "committed serious and/or repeated interferences" of the Privacy Principle between March 2014 and May 2015.
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation is calling for municipal leaders pushing for smart city technologies to consider how to balance public benefit while upholding privacy, StateScoop reports.
New privacy dashboard Lighthouse is helping executives of one of the largest brewers in the world understand the cybersecurity and privacy risks it faces globally, The Wall Street Journal reports. Lighthouse’s platform allows Anheuser-Busch InBev’s technology and legal teams to "coordinate to address cybersecurity threats and privacy problems" that were neglected across a company with more than 500 brands sold in approximately 50 countries.
Across the U.S., state legislatures are again pushing for the adoption of comprehensive privacy legislation during their 2023 legislative sessions. The legislative interest is at a point where trends and similarities among state proposals are taking shape, making the prospects of chaos stemming from a regulatory patchwork potentially less worrisome.
The House of Commons of Canada plans to reopen debate on the proposed Digital Charter Implementation Act, Bill C-27, at second reading, the National Post reports.