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District Court Finds Communications Decency Act Provides Automotive Device Manufacturer Immunity for Clean Air Act Violations

On March 28, 2024, in US v. EZ Lynk, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) claim that an automotive device manufacturer violated Section 203 of the Clean Air Act (CAA), holding that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) provided complete immunity from CAA liability for the sale of certain aftermarket automotive devices. This decision of first impression offers an important precedent in the automotive industry and beyond. The decision gives effect to the CDA as drafted and will make it significantly harder for the government to hold manufacturers and online retailers liable for content, including software, created and sold by third parties.

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Cybersecurity Takeaways From White House Tech Report

On Feb. 26, the White House’s Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD), released a report on how technology manufacturers and software developers can improve the cybersecurity posture of the U.S. This report, “Back to the Building Blocks: A Path Toward Secure and Measurable Software,” aligns with the Biden administration’s current, intense focus on combatting ever-increasing cyberthreats through software development and software manufacturer accountability. In this article, published by Law360 on March 26, Sidley lawyers Alan Charles Raul, Stephen McInerney and Vishnu Tirumala discuss the ONCD report and provide key take-aways for software developers and manufacturers, their senior management, and boards.

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New Hampshire’s Comprehensive Data Privacy Legislation

As the state boasting the headquarters of the International Association of Privacy Professionals, many have been watching the development of the New Hampshire comprehensive consumer data privacy law with great interest, wondering if it may be a practical model for the nation. On March 6, 2024, Governor Chris Sununu signed SB 255-FN (“the Act”) into law. In some respects, New Hampshire’s privacy law is comparatively more moderate than some other state laws. For instance, the New Hampshire Secretary of State’s rulemaking authority under the Act is currently limited to establishing requirements for privacy notices. This narrow extension of rulemaking authority is a divergence from the broad rulemaking authority granted by California, Colorado, and other states. The New Hampshire law does not allow for a private right of action. There is a right to cure alleged violations through the first year the law is in force; afterwards, the opportunity to cure is left to the Attorney General’s discretion. The legislation will take effect on January 1, 2025.

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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.

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FTC Proposes Significant and Sweeping Changes to COPPA and Requests Public Comment

On January 11, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) published its Notice of Proposed Rule Making (“NPRM”) seeking to update the FTC’s Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) Rule in the Federal Register.  Among other things, the proposed changes would require more granular privacy notices, require fairly detailed identification of, and parental consent to, third-party data sharing (including targeted advertising), expand the scope of personal information subject to COPPA, make it easier for parents to provide consent via text message, clarify various requirements around EdTech, including school authorization for parental consent, and impose significant new programmatic information security and data retention requirements.

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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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Effective Dates and Links to Recent Privacy, Cybersecurity, and Digital Laws in the U.S. and EU

U.S. State Comprehensive
Consumer Privacy Statutes
EFFECTIVE DATES:
U.S. State Comprehensive Consumer Privacy Laws
EFFECTIVE DATES:
U.S. State Comprehensive Consumer Privacy Laws
and EU Digital, Cybersecurity Acts

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Meet the Team

<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/a/akowuah-kwaku-a">Kwaku A. Akowuah</a>

Kwaku A. Akowuah

Washington, D.C.
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/a/armbrust-sheila-a-g">Sheila A.G. Armbrust</a>

Sheila A.G. Armbrust

San Francisco
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/b/blythe-francesca">Francesca Blythe</a>

Francesca Blythe

London
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/b/brown-colleen-theresa">Colleen Theresa Brown</a>

Colleen Theresa Brown

Washington, D.C.
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/c/casanova-john-m">John M. Casanova</a>

John M. Casanova

London
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/c/cunningham-thomas-d">Thomas D. Cunningham</a>

Thomas D. Cunningham

Chicago
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/f/flanagan-sharon-r">Sharon R. Flanagan</a>

Sharon R. Flanagan

San Francisco, Palo Alto
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/g/gordon-david-a">David A. Gordon</a>

David A. Gordon

Chicago
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/i/ishiara-tomoki">Tomoki Ishiara</a>

Tomoki Ishiara

Tokyo
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/k/keeling-robert-d">Robert D. Keeling</a>

Robert D. Keeling

Washington, D.C.
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/l/lally-amy-p">Amy P. Lally</a>

Amy P. Lally

Century City
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/l/lashway-david-c">David C. Lashway</a>

David C. Lashway

Washington, D.C.
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/l/long-william-rm">William RM Long</a>

William RM Long

London
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/l/loughnane-joan-m">Joan M. Loughnane</a>

Joan M. Loughnane

New York
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/m/malhotra-geeta">Geeta Malhotra</a>

Geeta Malhotra

Chicago
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/n/nash-glenn-g">Glenn G. Nash</a>

Glenn G. Nash

Palo Alto
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/r/ransom-rollin-a">Rollin A. Ransom</a>

Rollin A. Ransom

Los Angeles
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/r/raul-alan-charles">Alan Charles Raul</a>

Alan Charles Raul

Washington, D.C., New York
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/s/seale-jennifer-b">Jennifer B. Seale</a>

Jennifer B. Seale

Washington, D.C.
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/t/tham-yuet-ming">Yuet Ming Tham</a>

Yuet Ming Tham

Singapore, Hong Kong
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/w/wilan-jonathan-m">Jonathan M. Wilan</a>

Jonathan M. Wilan

Washington, D.C.
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/w/woods-jr-john-w">John W. Woods Jr.</a>

John W. Woods Jr.

Washington, D.C.

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