ADCG’s Privacy Predictions for 2023 Continued with a Series of Legislative Analyses

Blockchain Rules Will Emerge

On January 9, a group of 28 Blockchain technology companies released an open letter to U.S. legislators requesting they protect citizens’ safety, right to self-determination, freedom of press, and “other rights that compose the core of democracy.”

The letter asserts that “U.S. software developers [are] being chilled by clumsy, misguided legislative and regulatory actions[,]” and that a failure to adequately protect the privacy of American citizens would be a win for cybercriminals and an abandonment of “the human right to privacy and the US constitution.”

The letter specifically requested legislators protect builders of privacy protection software, champion privacy protections like end-to-end encryption, crack down on government surveillance, and pass federal privacy legislation.

More International Legislation

There are several legislative efforts being proposed internationally. According to JD Supra, the Amendment No. 14 to the Israeli Privacy Protection Law was proposed in January 2022 to bring the country’s privacy efforts in line with the European legislative framework and other legislative efforts being advanced in the western world. Likewise, the Israeli Ministry of Justice published a Draft Protection of Privacy Regulations that “prescribe specific obligations imposed on organizations that transfer personal information from the European Economic Area, in addition to the obligations prescribed under the Privacy Protection Law in Israel.” According to this article from Forbes, India is also planning to discuss passing privacy legislation in early 2023 at a federal level.

However, authoritarian countries reportedly “have quite the opposite stance regarding their citizens’ data.” According to Forbes, it is expected that “government-sponsored surveillance will continue to increase,” because the Global Democracy Index is at an all-time low.

The Metaverse Will be Regulated

As the virtual reality industry continues to receive interest and investment, we expect that the metaverse may become a topic of interest for federal legislators. Of primary concern is the privacy of children, which has already been a topic of concern in the U.S. in 2022.

This article by Broad and Breakfast addresses many of the topics of concern for industry participants surrounding child privacy with the use of virtual reality. According to a statement by Leeza Garber, a cybersecurity and privacy attorney, there is a “staggering” amount of data that is collected through the metaverse technology.

Additionally, Garber highlighted the concerns of cyberbullying, harassment, and assault that may result from the technological advancements that are coupled with virtual reality where legislative efforts have been less proactive.

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To read our news alerts discussing: the cybersecurity market value, NIST’s new AI framework, the FCC’s new VoIP rules, and Google’s legal gray area click here.

This week’s breach report covers breaches of the following companies: JD Sports, Google Gi, and Zendesk. Click here to read the reports.

Our Podcasts will pick up next week as we have some of the industry’s best set to join. Jody Westby hosts our podcast, ADCG on Privacy & Cybersecurity, bringing together leaders in the privacy and cybersecurity arenas to discuss a wide range of issues ranging from the proposed federal and state regulations to best practices and standards for compliance. Episodes can be enjoyed on many platforms including Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Don’t forget to subscribe!

Our most recently released episodes:

84 | Internet Archive Project Related to Russia’s War with Ukraine (With guest Mark Graham)

83 | Geofence Warrants and January 6: Constitutional and Privacy Issues (with guest Matthew Esworthy)

82 | A Look at the Consequences of the Uber and Twitter CISO Cases (with guest Ron Raether)

To browse our previously published articles and news alerts, please visit our website, and don’t forget to subscribe to receive free weekly Data and Cyber Governance news and Breach Reports directly to your email.