Sidley Data Privacy

A federal law known as Section 230 has provided a powerful legal shield for internet companies for nearly three decades. Designed to “promote the internet,” it protects platforms from civil liability for content posted to their sites by third parties. But the measure is inspiring lawsuits from plaintiffs who say it allows internet companies to escape accountability for harmful content. Read more on "The Legal Battles Taking Shape in the Clash Over Internet Content" on  Samir A. Gandhi, Randi Singer, and Michael Borden's blog post. 

Read more on "Asia-Pacific Regulations Keep Pace With Rapid Evolution of Artificial Intelligence Technology" on Shu Min Ho, David Ryan, Margaret Huang, and Lucy Harris' blog post.

On 26 July 2024, the European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA, collectively, the “ESAs”) published their joint final report on the draft Regulatory Technical Standards (“RTS”) specifying the elements that a financial entity should determine and assess when subcontracting ICT services supporting critical or important functions under Article 30(5) of the Digital Operational Resilience Act (“DORA”). Read more on "DORA – ESAs Publish Draft Technical Standards on ICT Subcontracting" on William Long, Francesca Blythe, and Arthur Clover's blog post.

Read more on "New York Attorney General Publishes Guide to Avoid “Key Mistakes” Regarding Online Tracking Technologies" on Colleen Theresa Brown, Mitchell Noordyke, and Sasha Hondagneu-Messner's blog post.

On 24 May 2024, the Council of the European Union (the “Council”) released new details of a proposed reform of the General Data Protection Regulation’s (“GDPR”) procedural rules, which representatives of EU national governments approved on 29 May 2024. Read more on "EU Governments Sign-off Proposed Reforms to GDPR Procedural Rules and Council Reaches Common Member States’ Position" on William Long, Francesca Blythe, and Arthur Clover's blog post.

During the King’s Speech on 17 July 2024, the newly appointed UK Prime Minister announced the UK Government’s intention to introduce a new Cyber Security and Resilience Bill to strengthen the UK’s defences against the global rise in cyberattacks and to protect the UK’s critical infrastructure. Read more on "UK proposes New Cyber Security and Resilience Bill to Boost the UK’s Cyber Defences" on William Long, Francesca Blythe, and Denise Kara's blog post.

In July 2024, Malaysia’s legislative body approved significant changes to the country’s Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA)—which aim to align the country’s personal data protection laws more closely with international data protection laws. With the effective date and other implementation guidelines expected to follow closely, read here for our insights on the key changes to Malaysia’s PDPA: https://bit.ly/3WV0viw.

On July 23, 2024, the competition authorities of the EU, the UK, and the U.S. issued a joint statement on competition in generative artificial intelligence (AI) foundation models and AI products (Joint Statement). Read more on "Artificial Intelligence Tops Agenda for Global Competition Authorities: EU, UK, and U.S. Issue Joint Statement" on Ken Daly, Patrick Harrison, Monika Zdzieborska, and Fiona Shajko's blog post.

As Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act nears its 30th year since enactment, debate rages on in Congress and in the public as to whether and how it should be changed or perhaps scrapped altogether. Read more on "Section 230’s Original Intent Offers Touchstone for Online Safety" on Randi Singer and Elizabeth McLean's blog post.

Sidley Austin LLP and OneTrust DataGuidance recently hosted a webinar on the new EU Cyber Laws, including: NISD2, Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), Critical Entities Resilience Act (CER), and the Cybersecurity Directive. Watch here as Sidley partners Francesca Blythe, William Long, and Max Savoie share their insights on key information needed to determine which of these new EU Cyber Laws may apply to your business, what your business is required to do, and by when.