Insights

Washington – Feb. 11, 2025: Crowell & Moring’s Privacy & Cybersecurity Group has added two seasoned in-house counsel to their leading privacy team. Rita Heimes, former general counsel for the International Association of Privacy Professionals, and Justin B. Weiss, former associate general counsel for global technology investor Naspers, join the firm as senior counsel in Washington, D.C. Weiss will also serve as senior director at Crowell Global Advisors.

On September 29, 2025, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 53, the Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act (TFAIA). This landmark legislation represents California’s most significant regulation to date of AI developers.

On September 26, the White House invited the public to submit comments on Federal laws, rules, and policies that “unnecessarily hinder” the development or deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in the United States. This request marks one of the Trump Administration’s most substantial moves yet to reduce the regulatory burden on AI. Respondents may submit comments through a government website until October 27, 2025.

The states of the Persian Gulf are moving rapidly to establish themselves as global centers of investment and innovation in artificial intelligence (AI). The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the State of Qatar are making substantial outlays in technology and infrastructure as they seek to diversify their economies away from oil. As important, their governments are implementing digital regulations and AI strategies in a bid to attract foreign investment and develop technology companies that can go toe-to-toe with American and European competitors.