Sometimes being #1 isn’t a good thing, as is the case in Aleo Network Foundation’s 2024 Data privacy report. In this case, 77% of more than 2,200 consumers surveyed said they were “very or somewhat concerned about privacy, and 48% said data privacy and security is “the most concerning issue” currently affecting the tech industry.
The EU Parliament passed The Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), which is intended to codify cybersecurity law for products with digital elements (PDEs), including smart home devices, connected toys, wearables and software products such as antivirus applications. Expected to be approved by the EU Council in April, it will then move to being adopted as a law. The EU views this as protecting against an important area of vulnerability and will require manufacturers to ensure products have protections for privacy built in.
Maryland’s legislature unanimously endorsed a children’s privacy bill, which has been called the Maryland Kids Code, which if passed into law would make it the second US state after California to have specific children’s privacy protection. Key tenets are that companies would not be allowed to profile children for ads, not be allowed to track their location in real time, and they would be required to turn on the highest privacy settings by default for young users. However, opponents led by NetChoice are already gearing up to oppose the bill.
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.