Top News: Vermont Governor Vetoes Major Data Privacy Bill; Meta Seeks to Use European User Data for AI Training Amid Privacy Concerns

Vermont Governor Vetoes Major Data Privacy Bill

Gov. Phil Scott vetoed Vermont’s data privacy bill, H.121, citing concerns over its impact on businesses. The bill aimed to limit the use and sale of digital data and included a provision for Vermonters to sue for violations. Scott also opposed the bill’s requirement for social media companies to change algorithms for users under 18. House Speaker Jill Krowinski criticized the veto, suggesting industry lobbying influenced Scott’s decision. The Vermont Legislature will reconvene to consider overriding the veto next week. Read more

UnitedHealth to Notify Patients of Data Breach

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has clarified that healthcare providers can ask UnitedHealth Group to notify individuals affected by the February hack on its Change Healthcare unit. This decision relieves U.S. hospitals and healthcare providers, who had requested the responsibility be shifted to UnitedHealth. According to U.S. law, data breaches must be reported to patients within 60 days of discovery. The breach potentially exposed sensitive information of a third of Americans, including names, addresses, medical codes, and insurance numbers, disrupting claims processing nationwide. Read more

Lawmakers Question Funding of Chinese Patents with U.S. Research

Republican lawmakers have queried the U.S. Commerce Department on whether U.S. government-funded research resulted in Chinese patents. This inquiry comes as the U.S.-China Science and Technology Agreement (STA), first signed in 1979, faces renewal challenges. Concerns about China's military growth and alleged intellectual property theft have fueled skepticism among some officials about renewing the agreement. Lawmakers have requested detailed patent data from Under Secretary of Commerce Kathi Vidal to assess potential national security threats posed by the STA. The Commerce Department has yet to respond to the request. Read more

Meta Seeks to Use European User Data for AI Training Amid Privacy Concerns

Meta plans to use data from European users to train its Llama AI model to better reflect local languages and cultural references. This move faces pushback due to stringent EU data privacy laws, with the Vienna-based NOYB group urging national privacy watchdogs to intervene. Meta's AI, integrated into platforms like Facebook and Instagram, currently excludes Europe. Despite offering opt-out options, Meta's privacy policy update on June 26 signals imminent AI training efforts using European public data, excluding private messages and minors' content. Read more

DAA Unveils Web Choices 2.0 for Enhanced Digital Ad Opt-Outs

The Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) has introduced WebChoices 2.0, a significant update to its AdChoices program aimed at modernizing consumer privacy controls. Set to replace cookie-based opt-outs, the new platform supports emerging ad technologies like probabilistic IDs and hashed emails. It integrates category-specific preferences and cross-industry functionality, ensuring users can manage targeted ads across major browsers. Beta testing is underway, with a full rollout expected by Q3 2024 and a mandatory adoption deadline of December 31, 2024, reflecting DAA’s commitment to evolving privacy standards in digital advertising. Read more