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Being in charge of your own DNA shouldn’t be such a crazy concept.
- Montana State Senator Daniel Zolnikov
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Welcome to Snippets—President Biden released a wide-ranging executive order on AI, laying out a few new requirements for AI developers and a host of voluntary industry standards. We cover this more in our AI regulation newsletter, where our analyst noted:
"In total, the Order has less direct regulatory heft than the White House is looking to portray, but it will likely still have a substantial effect from both a legal and policy perspective."
More on this story below. Plus we're covering lobbyists' push to revise Montana's genetic privacy law, a multi-state offensive against Meta for allegedly damaging youth mental health, and Apple's fix for the private Wi-Fi address bug.
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Biden issues executive order on AI
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President Biden issued an executive order introducing a wide raft of AI measures—staking out a role for the federal government in the AI industry, while aiming to address and minimize potential AI threats.
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- According to the order, developers must test their products before launch and share results with the federal government. Products that show concerning results may be shelved at the government’s discretion.
- The order lays out several voluntary industry standards, including identifying AI-generated content with watermarks and proceeding with extreme caution when using AI to process biological material.
- Federal agencies have been instructed to lead by example by auditing their own AI systems for racial biases and civil rights abuses.
- Though the order was well-received, Cornell University professor Sarah Kreps was skeptical about enforcement, saying: “It's calling for a lot of action that's not likely to receive a response."
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🥞 Make pancakes with AI! What could go wrong??
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When using AI, control is key.
From automating decisions about something life changing, like a home loan, to doing something as simple as making pancakes—governing the flow of data into and out of an LLM is critical to using AI tools safely and responsibly.
Watch what happens when things go awry and learn how Transcend Pathfinder can help.
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Biotech lobby pushes Montana to relax genetic privacy law
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Fairfax Media via Getty Images
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Genetic testing companies and biotech lobbies are pushing to revise Montana's recently passed genetic privacy law, arguing it imposes unworkable mandates that could hinder research.
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- Taking effect on Oct. 1, the law has stricter consumer data protections and disclosure requirements than similar laws in other states.
- Notably, Montana's law does not exempt de-identified data, or data not linked to a specific person, which is the main point of contention for companies that share such data with third parties for research purposes.
- Refusing to enact a “watered-down bill”, State Senator Daniel Zolnikov said: “Being in charge of your own DNA shouldn’t be such a crazy concept.”
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Meta in hot water for harming youth mental health
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With a 233 page complaint filed by 33 states, separate lawsuits in eight other states, and a federal suit in Florida, Meta is facing another legal quagmire for negatively impacting youth mental health.
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- The crux of this multifront complaint is that Meta allegedly, “knowingly designed and deployed harmful features on Instagram and its other social media platforms that purposefully addict children and teens.”
- The complaint is taking a novel legal strategy, focusing on the addictive nature of these platforms and their effect on youth mental health—rather than pursuing data protection or privacy violations.
- Meta’s algorithm is most under the lens, as the complaints allege it uses activity data (e.g. likes and follows) to influence emotions, target ads, and populate feeds with addicting content.
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- The SEC alleges SolarWinds misled investors before the 2020 Russian cyberattack.
- Five tax prep companies are under inquiry for selling personal data.
- Canada bans WeChat on government mobile devices.
- Apple, Google, and Microsoft fixed major security flaws.
- AI threats are now part of Google's bug bounty program.
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Apple fixes ‘private Wi-Fi address’ bug
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Apple/ZDNET
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Three years after its original release, Apple has patched the dysfunctional ‘private Wi-Fi address’ feature with the rollout of iOS 17.1.
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- Apple claimed ‘private Wi-Fi address’ could help users avoid device tracking by replacing the fixed MAC address with a unique address for each Wi-Fi network.
- But security researchers Tommy Mysk and Talal Haj Bakry discovered a tool that could be used to extract the real address.
- Explaining the bug, which affected iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and AppleTV users, Mysk said: “We couldn't stop the devices from sending these discovery requests, even with a VPN and Lockdown Mode."
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What has privacy legislation done for consumer safety?
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2023 was a significant year for privacy, underpinned by a wave of state laws, the US-EU data deal, and massive advances in generative AI. Against this backdrop, experts are asking—are consumers any better for it? The answer isn’t exactly straightforward.
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- For many in Gen-Z, there’s a feeling of helplessness when it comes to digital privacy—with some even moving towards ‘digital resignation’ (rejecting smartphones and social media entirely).
- Young privacy professionals are honing in on addiction and algorithmic injustice as top issues—emphasizing the need for policies that consider the relationship between social media use and mental health.
- Concluding that the notice and consent privacy model falls short, the authors call for a collaborative path forward—focusing on privacy by design, diversity and inclusion when building new products, and an open ear to youth organizers.
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Snippets is delivered to your inbox every Thursday morning by Transcend. We're the platform that helps companies put privacy on autopilot by making it easy to encode privacy across an entire tech stack. Learn more.
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