Navigating the Evolving Legal Landscape of Data Privacy, Cybersecurity, and AI
By Scott Hall, Phillip Wiese, Meaghan Henderson, Katie Berens, Kat Gianelli, and Dillon Ostlund
Download a PDF version of this report here.
For businesses, the rules governing AI and personal information are being rewritten in real time, and the cost of falling behind has never been higher. AI touches nearly every aspect of daily life and has become near ubiquitous in businesses across the country. At the same time, consumers are becoming increasingly savvy about their individual privacy rights, demanding more information and stronger protections from the businesses to which they provide personal information. Reflecting the importance of these two issues, states are rapidly enacting, updating, and amending their privacy and AI laws. There are now 24 states with comprehensive consumer privacy laws, with piecemeal, topic- or industry-specific privacy and AI laws popping up across the country as well.
Children’s data and other sensitive data collection and use are particular areas of concern and focus. The federal government continues to weigh federal legislation, but has not, to date, passed any federal laws on either AI or privacy, leaving enforcement largely to the states and their patchwork of requirements.
Adding to the complexity, courts and regulators are applying decades-old statutes to new technologies, and regulators and private plaintiffs are more active than ever in examining and testing the bounds of privacy laws and consumer privacy rights. The result is a legal landscape more complex than ever before. What are businesses to do? How do businesses keep up with the ever-changing legal landscape?
Our 2026 Fall Privacy Report untangles the web of recent AI and privacy laws and provides concrete takeaways to help businesses navigate this landscape. View the full report here.