The Privacy Advisor Podcast

We often focus on consumer policy when discussing privacy laws and obligations, but companies must protect their employee data, as well. Navigating complex employee privacy and labor laws in the U.S., for example, can be challenging, and new state laws, like the California Privacy Rights Act, apply more pressure on privacy pros charged with ensuring employee data is protected and handled appropriately. Littler Mendelson Privacy and Data Security Practice Group Co-Chair Zoe Argento knows the workplace privacy field well and advises clients on a wide range of issues. IAPP Editorial Director Jedidiah Bracy recently caught up with Argento to discuss some of the pressing trends in the workplace privacy space, including CPRA obligations, workplace surveillance and artificial intelligence issues, international data transfers and data security best practices.  

The prospect of day-to-day life with artificial intelligence is no longer a future endeavor. AI systems comprise countless applications across public and private organizations, and through open-sourced systems, such as ChatGPT, AI is now consumer-facing and usable. The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology was directed by the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 to create a voluntary resource for organizations designing, developing, deploying or using AI systems to help manage risk and to promote trustworthy and responsible development of AI systems. As a result, NIST released the AI Risk Management Framework 1.0 along with supplementary documents to help organizations. To learn more about the newly released framework and how organizations should approach it, IAPP Editorial Director Jedidiah Bracy caught up with NIST Research Scientist and Principle Investigator for AI Bias Reva Schwartz.

In early February, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission published a proposed order that fines telehealth and discount prescription provider GoodRX $1.5 milllion. Though part of the case involves deception – one of two prongs under the FTC Act – the case also raises the first-of-its-kind use of the Health Breach Notification Rule. To help better understand the novel and complex issues that are embedded in the case, IAPP Editorial Director Jedidiah Bracy caught up with Wilmer Hale Partner Kirk Nahra to discuss some of the takeaways privacy pros in any industry vertical should consider. 

Without a doubt, 2022 was a packed year for privacy-related news and developments. But according to Goodwin Partner and IAPP Westin Emeritus Senior Fellow Omer Tene, 2023 is set to call and raise the stakes. To be sure, 2023 didn’t hesitate. On Jan. 4, just a few days before we sat down for our interview, the Irish Data Protection Commission levied a massive 390 million euro fine on Meta social networks Facebook and Instagram. Yet, that’s only the tip of the iceberg. In this episode of The Privacy Advisor Podcast, which was recorded January 10, IAPP Editorial Director Jedidiah Bracy sat down with Tene to discuss what he thinks will be some of the biggest developments in privacy in 2023, including why he believes a federal U.S. privacy law still has a chance in the new U.S. Congress. 

California has long led the way on many privacy-related laws, going back to at least 2002 when it passed the first data breach notification law in the U.S. More recently, passage of the California Consumer Privacy Act and the California Privacy Rights Act has prompted other states to follow suit. Baker McKenzie Partner Lothar Determann has long practiced and taught international data privacy law, and beginning in 2013, published the book, “California Privacy Law.” Now in its fifth edition and published by the IAPP for the last three editions, the new edition comes as the CPRA goes into effect, with implementing regulations on the way. IAPP Editorial Director Jedidiah Bracy caught up with Determann to talk about the California’s privacy regime, what companies should be doing to comply, what’s new in the updated book, and what’s on the horizon for federal and state privacy law in the U.S. and beyond.

With the rise of data subject rights in privacy law, privacy practitioners are often challenged with operationalizing what can be a complex and risky endeavor. California, through the CCPA and CPRA, has emerged as a leader on this in the United States. Advocacy organization Consumer Reports has not only been working on policy with states like California on data subject rights but also with industry on standardizing consumer data rights. With a number of companies in the privacy tech vendor space, CR is announcing the open standard called the Data Rights Protocol. It’s also in the early stages of acting as an authorized agent on behalf of consumers, with a service its calling Permission Slip. IAPP Editorial Director Jedidiah Bracy talks with Ginny Fahs, associate director of product R&D for Consumer Reports Digital Lab, and Technology Policy Director Justin Brookman, to learn about their open-sourced protocol and what they’re doing to help both consumers and organizations operationalize data subject rights.

Nearly five years after the implementation of the EU General Data Protection Regulation, Europe is immersed in a digital market strategy that is giving rise to a host of new, interconnected regulation. Among this complexity resides the proposed Artificial Intelligence Act. Originally presented by the European Commission April 2021, the AI Act is now in the hands of the Council of the European Union and European Parliament. If passed, this would be the world’s first comprehensive, horizontal regulation of AI. On my visit to Brussels for the IAPP Data Protection Congress, I had the opportunity to meet with AI Act Co-rapportuer and Romanian Member of Parliament Dragoș Tudorache in his office. During our extended conversation, we discussed the risk-framework for the proposal, how the legislation will intersect with existing regulations, like the GDPR, current sticking points with stakeholders and what this means for privacy and data protection professionals.

The highly anticipated mid-term elections in the U.S. so far have provided surprising results. Many political pundits expected a “red wave” of Republican candidates to take over both chambers of U.S. Congress. Though control of Congress is still up in the air, Democrats fared better than most expected. With some of the dust now settled, what do the 2022 midterm results mean for potential passage of the American Data Privacy and Protection Act, both in the lame duck session and the 118th Congress? Will House and Senate committee assignments change? What do the mid-term results mean for enforcement by federal agencies, like the Federal Trade Commission? And how will the results affect state privacy legislation in 2023 and beyond? To help shed light on these issues, I caught up with R Street Resident Senior Fellow for Cybersecurity and Emerging Threats Brandon Pugh and Public Knowledge Senior Policy Counsel Sara Collins.

As we round out 2022, digital technology is further embedding itself into our daily lives. Beyond the smartphone’s ubiquity, wearable sensors proliferate and are found everywhere from the gym to the bedroom. Intimate relationships are formed through dating apps more than ever before. We’re tracked in our cars, in retail establishments and online. At no time in history has data collection been as prevalent as it is now, and it’s only increasing. But what does that mean for the development of our identities and relationships, particularly for those who are most vulnerable? University of Virginia School of Law Prof. Danielle Citron has long explored these issues, which she’s presented in her new book, “The Fight for Privacy: Protecting Dignity, Identity and Love in the Digital Age.” I recently caught up with Prof. Citron to discuss her work, and how law – particularly civil rights law – society and privacy pros can all play a role in protecting what makes us human.

Since becoming U.K. Information Commissioner, John Edwards has been busy. Officially taking the reigns January 4, Edwards embarked on a listening tour to learn the ins and outs of the U.K. The former New Zealand Privacy Commissioner gave his first major public speech since heading up the ICO at the IAPP Data Protection Intensive in London last month and joined German Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information Ulrich Kelber for a “commissioner’s chat” at the IAPP Global Privacy Summit in Washington, DC. While there, The Privacy Advisor Podcast host Jedidiah Bracy caught up with Edwards in person to discuss his priorities, how he foresees working with other data protection authorities, his thoughts on transborder data flows and the U.K.’s potential changes to it data protection law, and, most importantly, what he’s currently listening to for music.