The Children’s Advertising Review Board (CARU) released new “guardrails” to help advertisers and agencies that target children make careful choices when using new technologies such as AI chatbots, and as they engage in the metaverse. The intent is to add onto the protections outlined in the dated US federal law, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
Connecticut passed an amendment to its new Connecticut Data Privacy Act (CDPA), to add obligations and restrictions on how health data is shared that go beyond the US federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This includes requiring opt-in consent for many use cases and is similar to new laws enacted in Washington State and Nevada. California's governor has also just signed legislation to protect its citizen reproductive health data.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has warned it may close down Snapchats My AI feature because the tool lets users message a computer which mimics human conversation. This has prompted concern for the 21 million young Snapchat users in the UK.
Google lashed out at the Department of Justice’s threat to break up the company, calling the proposals “radical.” Among other things, Google says the proposals would threaten users’ privacy, stifle innovation and break Android and Chrome. Given the appeals process, it will likely be years before we know whether Google will stay in one piece.