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Data brokers are raking in giant profits from selling Americans’ most private information...
— Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts
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Happy Thursday! And welcome back to Snippets 👋 This week, at the intersection of privacy and tech, we're looking at:
- The Texas Attorney General's recent enforcement spree
- Evolving children's privacy laws in Maryland and Connecticut
- Democrats' continued attempts to pass laws protecting reproductive health data
- And more...
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Texas AG accuses four companies of privacy violations
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Lewis Ashton via Unsplash
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has issued violation notices to four companies—Sirius XM, MyRadar, Miles, and Tapestri—as the state intensifies enforcement of its comprehensive data privacy law.
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- All four companies were accused of sharing sensitive data, including location and vehicle information, without proper user consent or notification.
- According to Paxton’s office, the companies allegedly failed to provide clear notice of what data is collected or how consumers can exercise their privacy rights.
- MyRadar was of particular concern as the company collects extensive user data, including personal details and location, and shares this information for monetization purposes.
- These notices continue a growing trend of enforcement actions, including an investigation into National Public Data after a major data breach, from the Texas AG’s office.
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AI risks and data ethics: A conversation with CNIL's Felicien Vallet 🎥
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In the season finale of Transcend Field Trips, Ron De Jesus sits down with Felicien Vallet, Head of AI at the Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL).
The pair cover the top risks to individuals engaging with AI, the complexities of respecting data minimization, model training, and what’s next on the CNIL’s roadmap.
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Maryland and Connecticut lead the way on child privacy
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While federal efforts to protect children's online safety have largely failed, many states remain committed to pushing their own protection frameworks through the legislature.
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- Maryland’s law, the Kids Code, improves on California’s Age-Appropriate Design Code Act by introducing a duty of care framework to help providers assess potential harms to children.
- Proponents believe the law’s precise definition of harm, lack of age estimation requirements, and tighter default privacy settings for minors will likely withstand constitutional scrutiny.
- Meanwhile, Connecticut amended its comprehensive state privacy law to include a stricter duty of care provision, as well as new requirements for social media platforms regarding minors’ accounts.
- With several other states passing similar laws, legal precedent for balancing content moderation, children’s online safety, and free speech may become more defined in the coming year.
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Democrats ramp up attempts to protect reproductive healthcare privacy
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Jon Cherry/Getty Images
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Democrats are introducing legislation meant to protect women's reproductive health data ahead of Donald Trump’s second term—measures likely to be met with stiff resistance in the Republican-controlled House and Senate.
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- In Michigan, the state Senate passed a bill that will ban cycle-tracking apps from harvesting user data without consent and limit use of the collected data.
- At the federal level, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts is reintroducing the Health and Location Data Protection Act, which would ban data brokers from selling consumers’ health and location data without consent.
- Though brokers claim collected data is anonymized, researchers have found loopholes that leverage location data to trace individual phones and identify women visiting abortion clinics.
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- Georgia plans to make AI bots disclose non-human status.
- World ID takes a dig at Spotify’s privacy practices.
- WhatsApp’s ‘View Once’ bug fix meets mixed reviews.
- Pressure ramping up in Colorado to regulate AI discrimination.
- Children’s Hospital fined for violating patient privacy.
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Top executives unprepared for AI, survey reveals
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AI is transforming business operations, but a survey of nearly 400 senior leaders in the US and UK has revealed a significant skills gap at the executive level—underscoring the need for comprehensive AI upskilling across all industries.
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- Training gap: 58% of executives have never taken an AI course, with many lacking the knowledge to guide their teams on AI tools and data security.
- Policy deficiencies: Nearly half of executives report no AI usage policy, and many are unaware of existing policies, opening the door for legal and security risks.
- Adoption barriers: While 54% of leaders encourage AI use, less than half of teams use AI regularly, mainly due to a lack of training opportunities.
- Workforce disruption: Executives see their roles as safe from AI disruption, but 79% believe AI could replace other employees—highlighting a generational divide in how AI’s impact is perceived.
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Meta shareholders push for sanctions over deleted Cambridge Analytica emails
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AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File
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Meta shareholders' attorneys are seeking sanctions against Sheryl Sandberg, the company’s former COO, and Jeff Zients, a current board member, for deleting emails related to the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
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- According to the plaintiffs’ attorneys, Sandberg and Zients used personal email accounts to discuss the 2018 lawsuit and then destroyed key communications after the fact.
- Despite receiving legal orders to preserve such records, Sandberg deleted emails from her Gmail account after waiting 30 days, while Zients failed to disable an auto-delete function.
- Plaintiffs’ lawyers are arguing Sandberg and Zients were either “reckless or intentional” in deleting these communications, despite clear court orders to retain them.
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Key Takeaways from AWS re:Invent 2024—Privacy’s Role in Accelerating Business Innovation
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Last week, Transcend joined the global tech community at AWS re:Invent 2024 in Las Vegas, a flagship conference spotlighting the future of cloud technology.
The event was buzzing with critical discussions—with AI innovations and data governance at the forefront. Read Transcend Marketing Director Phyllis Fang's full recap below.
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