On August 25, 2022, President Biden announced a new Executive Order (“EO”) addressing the Implementation of the CHIPS Act of 2022 (“CHIPS Act”). The CHIPS Act was signed by President Biden on August 9, 2022, and, among other things, authorizes $39 billion in funding for new projects to establish semiconductor production facilities within the United States. The new EO identifies the Administration’s implementation priorities for this CHIPS Act funding and creates the CHIPS Implementation Steering Council to aid with the rollout of administrative guidance. In connection with the EO, the Department of Commerce launched CHIPS.gov, which is intended to be a centralized resource for potential applicants of CHIPS funding. The EO and new website reflect the Administration’s intent to swiftly implement the CHIPS Act and increase the domestic production of semiconductors.
Artificial Intelligence and Algorithms in the Next Congress
Policymakers and candidates of both parties have increased their focus on how technology is changing society, including by blaming platforms and other participants in the tech ecosystem for a range of social ills even while recognizing them as significant contributors to U.S. economic success globally. Republicans and Democrats have significant interparty—and intraparty—differences in the form of their grievances and on many of the remedial measures to combat the purported harms. Nonetheless, the growing inclination to do more on tech has apparently driven one key congressional committee to have compromised on previously intractable issues involving data privacy. Rules around the use of algorithms and artificial intelligence, which have attracted numerous legislative proposals in recent years, may be the next area of convergence.
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FTC Proposes Motor Vehicle Dealers Trade Regulation Rule
On July 13, the Federal Trade Commission published a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the Motor Vehicle Dealers Trade Regulation Rule. The Motor Vehicle Dealers Trade Regulation Rule is aimed at combating certain unfair and deceptive trade practices by dealers and promoting pricing transparency. Comments to the proposed rule are due on or before September
CISA and NIST Urge Companies to Prepare to Transition to a Post-Quantum Cryptographic Standard
On July 5, 2022, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (“CISA”) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”) strongly recommended that organizations begin preparing to transition to a post-quantum cryptographic standard. “The term ‘post-quantum cryptography’ is often referred to as ‘quantum-resistant cryptography’ and includes, ‘cryptographic algorithms or methods that are assessed not to be specifically vulnerable to attack by” a CRQC (cryptanalytically relevant quantum computer) or a classical computer. NIST “has announced that a new post-quantum cryptographic standard will replace current public-key cryptography, which is vulnerable to quantum-based attacks.” NIST does not intend to publish the new post-quantum cryptographic standard for commercial products until 2024 but urges companies to begin preparing now by following the Post-Quantum Cryptography Roadmap.
U.S. AI, IoT, CAV, and Data Privacy Legislative and Regulatory Update – Second Quarter 2022
This quarterly update summarizes key federal legislative and regulatory developments in the second quarter of 2022 related to artificial intelligence (“AI”), the Internet of Things, connected and automated vehicles (“CAVs”), and data privacy, and highlights a few particularly notable developments in U.S. state legislatures. To summarize, in the second quarter of 2022, Congress and the Administration focused on addressing algorithmic bias and other AI-related risks and introduced a bipartisan federal privacy bill.
Emerging Trends: Renewed Wave of Video Privacy Class Actions
Recent months have seen a growing trend of data privacy class actions asserting claims for alleged violations of federal and state video privacy laws. In this year alone, plaintiffs have filed dozens of new class actions in courts across the country asserting claims under the federal Video Privacy Protection Act (“VPPA”), Michigan’s Preservation of Personal Privacy Act (“MPPPA”), and New York’s Video Consumer Privacy Act (“NYVCPA”).
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Right to Repair: New York State Passes Right to Repair Law
On June 3, the New York State legislature passed their version of a right to repair bill—titled the “Digital Fair Repair Act”—that would allow consumers to repair their digital electronic equipment without involving the manufacturer.
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Facial Recognition Update: UK ICO Fines Clearview AI £7.5m & EDPB Adopts Draft Guidelines on Use of FRT by Law Enforcement
Facial recognition technology (“FRT”) has attracted a fair amount of attention over the years, including in the EU (e.g., see our posts on the European Parliament vote and CNIL guidance), the UK (e.g., ICO opinion and High Court decision) and the U.S. (e.g., Washington state and NTIA guidelines). This post summarizes two recent developments in this space: (i) the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”)’s announcement of a £7.5-million fine and enforcement notice against Clearview AI (“Clearview”), and (ii) the EDPB’s release of draft guidelines on the use of FRT in law enforcement.
Robotics Spotlight: Global Regulatory Trends Affecting Robotics
On April 28, 2022, Covington convened experts across our practice groups for the Covington Robotics Forum, which explored recent developments and forecasts relevant to industries affected by robotics. Sam Jungyun Choi, Associate in Covington’s Technology Regulatory Group, and Anna Oberschelp, Associate in Covington’s Data Privacy & Cybersecurity Practice Group, discussed global regulatory trends that
Robotics Spotlight: Risks of Automation and AI
On April 28, 2022, Covington convened experts across our practice groups for the Covington Robotics Forum, which explored recent developments and forecasts relevant to industries affected by robotics. One segment of the Robotics Forum covered risks of automation and AI, highlights of which are captured here. A full recording of the Robotics Forum is available