EU Formally Adopts Cyber Law for Connected Products
On 12 March 2024, the European Parliament approved the EU Cyber Resilience Act (“CRA”) with a large majority of 517-12 votes in favor of the legislation (with 78 abstentions). The CRA aims to ensure that “products with digital elements” (“PDE”) i.e., connected products such as smart devices, and remote data processing solutions, are resilient against cyber threats and provide key information in relation to their security properties.
EU Formally Adopts World’s First AI Law
On March 13, 2024, the European Parliament formally adopted the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (“AI Act”) with a large majority of 523-46 votes in favor of the legislation. The AI Act is the world’s first horizontal and standalone law governing AI, and a landmark piece of legislation for the EU.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
Trend Watch 2024: Hot Topics in California Regulation and Litigation
Join our 7th annual Trend Watch webinar to learn how tactical decision-making can help you conquer California’s challenging legal environment. Our focus areas will include:
- New developments in California privacy law
- Prop. 65 by the numbers
- Need-to-know environmental law changes
USA: An Overview of State Data Privacy Laws Part Four – Data Subject Rights and Privacy Policy Requirements
In Part Four of the OneTrust DataGuidance Insight articles on state data privacy laws, Sidley Austin lawyers Sheri Porath Rockwell and Ernesto Claeyssen discuss data subject rights and privacy policy requirements under the patchwork of 13 US states’ comprehensive data privacy laws that have been passed.
EU Reaches Historical Agreement on AI Act
On 8 December 2023 — following three days of lengthy and intensive negotiations — EU legislators reached political agreement on the world’s first stand-alone law regulating AI: the EU’s AI Act. The EU considers the AI Act as one of its key pieces of legislation and fundamental to ensuring the EU becomes the world’s leading digital economy.
‘World-First’ Agreement on AI Reached
Over one hundred representatives from across the globe convened in the UK on 1-2 November 2023 at the Global AI Safety Summit. The focus of the Summit was to discuss how best to manage the risks posed by the most recent advances in AI. However, it was the “Bletchley Declaration” –announced at the start of the Summit—which truly emphasized the significance governments are attributing to these issues. (more…)