UK and Australian Governments Sign “world-first” Online Safety and Security Memorandum of Understanding

On 20 February 2024, the UK Government and the Australian Federal Government co-signed a historic Online Safety and Security Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signifying the bilateral cooperation between the two countries to help boost their respective online safety regimes. Notably, this is the first arrangement of its kind, with the MoU intending to encompass a wide range of digital online safety and security issues. These include illegal content, child safety, age assurance, technology facilitated gender-based violence, and addressing harms caused by rapidly evolving technologies, such as generative artificial intelligence.

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U.S. Department of Justice Signals Tougher Enforcement Against Artificial Intelligence Crimes

U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco signaled robust future enforcement by the Department of Justice (DOJ) against crimes involving, and aided by, artificial intelligence (AI) in her remarks at Oxford University last week and reiterated shortly thereafter at the Munich Security Conference.

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The U.S. Plans to ‘Lead the Way’ on Global AI Policy

Policymakers around the world took significant steps toward regulating artificial intelligence (AI) in 2023. Spurred by the launch of revolutionary large language models such as OpenAI’s GPT series of models, debates surrounding the benefits and risks of AI have been brought into the foreground of political thought. Indeed, over the past year, legislative forums, editorial pages, and social media platforms were dominated by AI discourse. And two global races have kicked into high gear: Who will develop and deploy the most cutting-edge, possibly risky AI models, and who will govern them?  In this article, published by the Lawfare Institute in cooperation with Brookings, Sidley lawyers Alan Charles Raul and Alexandra Mushka suggest that “the United States intends to run ahead of the field on AI governance, analogous to U.S. leadership on cybersecurity rules and governance—and unlike the policy void on privacy that the federal government has allowed the EU to fill.”

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UK Publishes Cyber Governance Code of Practice for Consultation

On 23 January 2024, the UK government published its draft Cyber Governance Code of Practice (the “Code”) to help directors and other senior leadership boost their organizations’ cyber resilience. The draft Code, which forms part of the UK’s wider £2.6bn National Cyber Strategy, was developed in conjunction with several industry experts and stakeholders – including the UK National Cyber Security Centre. The UK government is seeking views from organizations on the draft Code by 19 March 2024.

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U.S. CFTC Seeks Public Input on Use of Artificial Intelligence in Commodity Markets and Simultaneously Warns of AI Scams

The staff of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is seeking public comment (the Request for Comment) on the risks and benefits associated with use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the commodity derivatives markets. According to the Request for Comment, the staff “recognizes that use of AI may lead to significant benefits in derivatives markets, but such use may also pose risks relating to market safety, customer protection, governance, data privacy, mitigation of bias, and cybersecurity, among other issues.”

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Unofficial Final Text of EU AI Act Released

On 22 January 2024, an unofficial version of the (presumed) final EU Artificial Intelligence Act (“AI Act”) was released. The AI Act reached political agreement early December 2023 (see our blog post here) and had undergone technical discussions to finalize the text since. It was reported that the document was shared with EU Member State Representatives on 21 January 2024, ahead of a discussion within the Telecom Working Party, a technical body of the EU Council on 24 January 2024, and that formal adoption at the EU Member State ambassador level (i.e. COREPER) will likely follow on 2 February. On Friday 26 January 2024, the Belgian Presidency of the Council officially shared the (analysis of the) final compromise text of the AI Act with Member State representatives – clearly indicating that this text will be put forward for adoption.

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Preparing for the EU AI Act: Part 2

Join Sidley and OneTrust DataGuidance for a reactionary webinar on the recently published, near-final text of the EU AI Act on February 5, 2024. This discussion with industry panelists will cover initial reactions to the text of the EU AI Act following finalization by EU legislators and examine the key points in the AI Act that businesses need to understand.

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EU Reaches Political Agreement on Cyber Resilience Act for Digital and Connected Products

On 30 November 2023, the EU reached political agreement on the Cyber Resilience Act (“CRA”), the first legislation globally to regulate cybersecurity for digital and connected products that are designed, developed, produced and made available on the EU market. The CRA was originally proposed by the European Commission in September 2022. Alongside the recently adopted Data Act, Digital Operational Resilience Act (“DORA”), Critical Entities Resilience Act (“CER”), Network and Information Systems Security 2 Directive (“NISD2”) and Data Governance Act, the CRA builds on the EU Data and Cyber Strategies, and complements upcoming certification schemes, such as the EU Cloud Services Scheme (“EUCS”) and the EU ICT Products Scheme (“EUCC”). It responds to an increase in cyber-attacks in the EU over the last few years – in particular the rise in software supply chain attacks which have tripled over the last year –as well as the significant rise in digital and connected products in daily life which magnifies the risk of such attacks.

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Regulatory Update: National Association of Insurance Commissioners Fall 2023 National Meeting

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) held its Fall 2023 National Meeting (Fall Meeting) from November 30 through December 4, 2023. This Sidley Update summarizes the highlights from this meeting in addition to interim meetings held in lieu of taking place during the Fall Meeting. Highlights include adoption of a new model bulletin addressing the use of artificial intelligence in the insurance industry, continued development of accounting principles and investment limitations related to certain types of bonds and structured securities, and continued discussion of considerations related to private equity ownership of insurers.

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Australia’s Digital Platform Regulators Release Working Papers on Risks and Harms Posed by Algorithms and Large Language Models

Australia’s Digital Platform Regulators Forum (DP-REG) has recently released two working papers relevant to developing AI policy on the global stage: Literature summary: Harms and risks of algorithms (Algorithms WP) and Examination of technology: Large language models used in generative artificial intelligence (LLM WP) (together, the Working Papers) to mark the launch of its website. The DP-REG, which comprises various prominent Australian regulators across multiple industries, was established to ensure a collaborative and cohesive approach to the regulation of digital platform technologies in Australia. The Working Papers focus on understanding the risks and harms, as well as evaluating the benefits, of algorithms and generative artificial intelligence, and provides recommendations on the Australian Federal Government’s response to AI. The Working Papers also serve as a useful resource for the Australian industry and the public as these technologies are increasingly integrated and engaged with in the Australian market. Interestingly, the recommendations set out in the Working Papers are broadly aligned with the requirements of the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act, which reached political agreement on 8 December 2023, suggesting that Australia’s proposed approach to regulating AI may be inspired at least in part by Europe’s AI regulatory framework.

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