Data Dive

On January 16, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a Final Rule updating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection (COPPA) Rule, significantly expanding compliance obligations for online services that collect, use, or disclose personal information from children under 13.¹ The amendments impose new restrictions on targeted advertising, add data security requirements, refine parental consent mechanisms, and introduce additional compliance measures.

On January 8, 2025, the DOJ published a final rule prohibiting and restricting certain transactions that could allow persons from countries of concern, such as China, access to bulk sensitive personal data of U.S. citizens or to U.S. government-related data (regardless of volume).

On January 17, 2025, days before the inauguration, former President Joe Biden issued an executive order titled Strengthening and Promoting Innovation in the Nation's Cybersecurity (EO 14144). Building on previous efforts, including Executive Order 14028, this directive seeks to bolster cybersecurity across federal systems, supply chains and critical infrastructure from adversarial nations, particularly from the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

UPDATE: The California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) has extended the deadline for submitting public comments from January 14 to February 19, 2025, in response to the recent California wildfires. This extension aims to afford stakeholders additional time to provide comprehensive and detailed feedback, considering the significant challenges posed by the wildfires.

The European Union’s AI Office published the inaugural General-Purpose AI Code of Practice on November 14, 2024. The Code is intended to assist providers of AI models in their preparations for compliance with the forthcoming EU AI Act, to be enforced from August 2, 2025. The Code is designed to be both forward-thinking and globally applicable, addressing the areas of transparency, risk evaluation, technical safeguards and governance. While adherence to the Code is not mandatory, it is anticipated to serve as a means of demonstrating compliance with the obligations under the EU AI Act. Following a consultation period that garnered approximately 430 responses, the AI Office will be empowered to apply these rules, with penalties for nonconformity potentially reaching 3% of worldwide turnover or €15 million. Three additional iterations of the Code are anticipated to be produced within the coming five months.

On October 29, 2024, the DOJ issued a proposed rule prohibiting and restricting certain transactions that could allow persons from countries of concern, such as China, access to bulk sensitive personal data of U.S. citizens or to U.S. government-related data (regardless of volume).

During the course of any lending transaction, lenders will conduct a due diligence review of the borrower, including reviewing any relevant “know-your-customer” information.

On June 18, 2024, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a settlement with R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company (RRD) for alleged internal control and disclosure failures following a ransomware attack in 2021. Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, the business communications and marketing services provider agreed to pay a civil penalty of over $2.1 million to settle charges alleging violations of Section 13(b)(2)(B) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) and Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(a).¹

In May, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) issued updated recommendations for security controls for controlled unclassified information (CUI) that is processed, stored or transmitted by nonfederal organizations using nonfederal systems, (NIST Special Publication 800-171 (SP 800-171), Revision 3). These security requirements are “intended for use by federal agencies in contractual vehicles or other agreements that are established between those agencies and nonfederal organizations.”¹ While these new controls are only applicable to nonfederal entities that agree to comply with the new issuance, Revision 3 signals the next phase of expected security for government contractors.