Insights

Crowell attorneys prepared Lexology’s Advertising and Marketing USA reference guide enabling side-by-side comparison of a variety of countries’ advertising and marketing standards, including the legal and regulatory framework; private enforcement (litigation and administrative procedures); misleading advertising; prohibited and controlled advertising; social media advertising; and recent trends.

On Dec. 8, 2023, after lengthy and intense negotiations, European legislators reached a political agreement on the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act). The EU Parliament formally adopted its position during its plenary session of March 13, 2024, and after legal-linguistic finalization and formal adoption by the EU Council, the AI Act is expected to be published in the Official Journal of the EU before the end of Q2, 2024.

It’s fair to call 2023 the year of artificial intelligence. The 2023 AI boom was largely driven by the widespread adoption of new technologies like ChatGPT, Google Bard, and Microsoft Copilot. Alongside the excitement surrounding these new technologies, alarm over the possible consequences of increased AI use without appropriate guardrails caused both government and private entities to act. 

In 1967, California passed the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) to protect its citizens from attempted eavesdropping on their private conversations. Now, California plaintiffs are wielding CIPA to challenge whether websites may use marketing technology that tracks website usage absent prior explicit consent. Dozens of class action cases based on this theory of liability have been filed in federal and state courts in California. Hundreds of demand letters based on this same theory have been sent to companies. Crowell has been closely monitoring the wave of website-based wiretap class actions cropping up.

In 2023, data moved beyond serving as just an “important currency” in the marketplace and evolved into a truly transformative asset class. With this transformation, data requires increased attention and concern by its owners and controllers. Companies are increasingly building, creating derivative works, collecting data, and even focusing on acquiring data through accretive transactions. As a result, stakeholders must understand and address the nuanced legal matters associated with developed or acquired data, which run the gamut from how to actually acquire particular data rights under applicable laws to managing restrictions related to use of tools, such as data analytics and artificial intelligence.

Protecting critical infrastructure is paramount to today’s digital age. Critical infrastructure includes physical and virtual systems essential for the functioning of our society, economy, and national security. Such a definition may include power grids, communication networks, and financial institutions, among other networks that heavily rely on interconnected computer systems. These systems are also considered critical infrastructure, as they are used to protect critical cybersecurity infrastructure. 

Cybersecurity plays a key role in various legal instruments of the European Union. It frequently appears as a specific duty or as a necessary element for establishing trust with the public.