As we ring in the new year, we want to make you aware of key issues that we expect lawmakers and regulators to focus on in the months ahead.
Below are the top European digital regulatory issues to watch out for in 2026:
Primer on 2026 Consumer Privacy, AI, and Cybersecurity Laws
PrivacyWorld’s Alan Friel and Kyle Fath broke down what companies need to consider in 2026 to meet new and ongoing data laws and regulations in a Stafford / Barbri presentation on January 7, 2026. The PowerPoint is available here and includes appendices that break down details of, and compare and contrast, consumer privacy laws. Coverage
2026 Year in Preview: U.S. Data, Privacy, and Cybersecurity Prediction
As we ring in the new year, we want to make you aware of key issues that we expect lawmakers and regulators to focus on this year. Below are the top U.S. data, privacy, and cybersecurity issues to watch out for in 2026:
FTC Dismissal of Settlement with AI Company Signals Shift in Enforcement Focus
The Federal Trade Commission issued an order to reopen and set aside a 2024 final consent order involving Rytr LLC, citing a failure to satisfy the legal requirements of the FTC Act and an undue burden on artificial intelligence (AI) innovation in violation of the Trump Administration’s Artificial Intelligence Executive Order and America’s AI Action
FTC Sets Aside Rytr Final Order Pursuant to White House AI Action Plan
On December 22, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued an order setting aside its 2024 final consent order against Rytr, LLC (“Rytr”) on the grounds that the facts alleged in the Rytr complaint did not violate Section 5. The Commission further found that the Rytr order did not provide any benefit to consumers and thus unduly
2026 Year in Preview: Global Minors’ Privacy and Online Safety Predictions
In 2025, lawmakers and enforcement agencies around the globe have kept one issue firmly in the spotlight: the privacy and safety of minors online. This heightened focus shows no sign of abating, with early indications that companies should expect to see more legislative and regulatory initiatives in the year ahead.
In this post, we identify
Welcome to Privacy Perspectives
As someone who’s been in the privacy world for the better part of the last decade, I think 2026 is going to be a pivotal year. In fact, I think that there are some big things coming that could completely shake everything up.
I’m always asked what am I seeing in the privacy space? What
HTI-5 and Information Blocking: Your Bots Are Covered, and Your Excuses Are Getting Smaller
If you have been telling yourself, “Information blocking only happens when a person says ‘no’,” HTI-5 has some news for you. The proposed rule makes a pointed set of changes to the information blocking framework that, taken together, do two things at once. First, they modernize the rules for how EHI moves in 2026 (hello,
German Government Proposes GDPR Reform to Shift Responsibility to Manufacturers
On December 4, 2025, the German Federal Government published its Federal Modernization Agenda, setting out a series of suggested amendments to the GDPR and the Federal Data Protection Act (Bundesdatenschutzgesetz). Among the key measures, Germany seeks to shift certain responsibilities from users to manufacturers and providers of standard IT products—following the model of the