Preparing for the EU AI Act

Join Sidley and OneTrust DataGuidance for a webinar on the EU AI Act. This discussion with industry panellists will cover initial reactions to the (anticipated) political agreement on the EU AI Act following key negotiations by the European legislative bodies on December 6, 2023.

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Insights from the IAPP Europe Data Protection Congress: Regulatory Convergence on AI and Sidley’s Women in Privacy Networking Lunch

The International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) held its annual Europe Data Protection Congress in Brussels on November 15 & 16, 2023. Whilst the Congress covered a wide range of topics related to privacy, cybersecurity and the regulation of data more broadly, unsurprisingly a recurring theme throughout was the responsible development, commercialization and use of AI. In this regard panelists explored (amongst other things) what practical and effective AI governance may look like, the role of a Digital Ethics Officer, how to strike a balance between enabling innovation and safeguarding individual rights, and how AI may be used to automate data breach detection and response.

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The Tenth Edition of Lexology In-Depth: Privacy, Data Protection and Cybersecurity (formerly The Privacy, Data Protection and Cybersecurity Law Review) is now available

The tenth edition of Lexology In-Depth: Privacy, Data Protection and Cybersecurity (formerly The Privacy, Data Protection and Cybersecurity Law Review) provides a global overview of the evolving legal and regulatory regimes governing data privacy and security, at a time when both privacy and security are increasingly challenged by the fast-paced development of technologies such as large language models, generative AI, and self-teaching/self-replicating applications. A number of lawyers from Sidley’s global Privacy and Cybersecurity practice have contributed to this publication. See the chapters below for a closer look at this developing area of law.

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EU Moving Closer to an AI Act?

On 24 October 2023, the European Parliament and Member States concluded a fourth round of trilogue discussions on the draft Artificial Intelligence Regulation (AI Act). Policymakers agreed on provisions to classify high-risk AI systems and also developed general guidance for the use of “enhanced” foundation models. However, the negotiations did not lead to substantial progress on provisions for prohibitions in relation to the use of AI by law enforcement. The next round of trilogue discussions will take place on 6 December 2023.

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President Biden Signs Sweeping Artificial Intelligence Executive Order

On October 30, 2023, President Joe Biden issued an executive order (EO or the Order) on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence (AI) to advance a coordinated, federal governmentwide approach toward the safe and responsible development of AI. It sets forth a wide range of federal regulatory principles and priorities, directs myriad federal agencies to promulgate standards and technical guidelines, and invokes statutory authority — the Defense Production Act — that has historically been the primary source of presidential authorities to commandeer or regulate private industry to support the national defense. The Order reflects the Biden administration’s desire to make AI more secure and to cement U.S. leadership in global AI policy ahead of other attempts to regulate AI — most notably in the European Union and United Kingdom and to respond to growing competition in AI development from China.

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New Export Controls on Advanced Computing and Semiconductor Manufacturing: Five Key Takeaways

On October 25, 2023, the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published updated export controls on advanced computing items and semiconductor manufacturing equipment under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). Specifically, BIS published two interim final rules that revise and expand on the restrictions implemented in the initial interim final rule issued on October 7, 2022 (October 7, 2022 rule).1

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ICO Publishes Guidance on Handling Worker Health Data

On 31 August 2023, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) published guidance on the handling of worker health data for employers (ICO Guidance). The ICO Guidance aims to provide tips and good practice advice about how to comply with applicable data protection legislation such as the UK GDPR when collecting and processing worker health data. Helpfully, the ICO Guidance also contains various checklists to help employers assess data protection considerations when processing worker health data.

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The Finalization of the UK-U.S. Data Bridge

On September 21, 2023, the UK and the U.S. announced the UK extension to the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (DPF), which will come into effect on October 12. A new UK adequacy regulation provides that the UK Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology has determined that the U.S. provides adequate levels of protection for personal data in certain transfers and brings the UK within the DPF announced in July 2023. The U.S. Attorney General also designated the UK as a “qualifying state” under an Executive Order on September 18 for the purposes of the DPF. This means that on October 12, UK businesses will be able to transfer personal data to U.S. organizations self-certified under the DPF.

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New EU FIDA Proposal: How Does This Affect GDPR?

The European Commission issued the Financial Data Access Act (FIDA) proposal in June this year. FIDA will create a legislative framework that aims to “bring payments and the wider financial sector into the digital age” by facilitating the sharing of and access to customer financial data (whether of businesses or consumers).

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AI Foundation Models: UK CMA’s Initial Report

The CMA has set out its emerging thinking on the functioning of competition and consumer protection in the market for foundation models.

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