Sen. McCain Inserts Cybersecurity Amendment into DoD Authorization Act

California's 2026 legislative session concluded with Governor Newsom signing several landmark privacy and AI bills into law, including comprehensive child safety measures, AI auditor oversight frameworks, and expanded data protection requirements. How will these new regulations reshape digital advertising, workplace AI deployment, and online platform obligations for businesses operating in California?

California's Senate Bill 690 eliminates the private right of action for pen register claims under CIPA when violations arise from website or mobile app tracking technologies, leaving enforcement solely to the Attorney General. The bill applies retroactively to claims filed after January 1, 2025, and awaits Governor Newsom's signature with an operative date of January 1, 2027.

California Senate Bill 690 has passed, amending the California Invasion of Privacy Act by eliminating the private right of action for Section 638.51 claims. Kristine Argentine and Paul Yovanic Jr. discuss the implications of this legislative change and what businesses should expect when the amendment takes effect on January 1, 2027.

A recent Seventh Circuit decision is a reminder of BIPA’s financial institution GLBA exceptions. In that case, the court held that a vendor to GLBA-regulated entities was exempt from Illinois’ biometric law.

California's Legislature has unanimously passed SB 690, a landmark reform that could eliminate thousands of pending class action lawsuits based on website tracking technologies under the California Invasion of Privacy Act. The bill removes the private right of action for pen register claims arising from routine web analytics tools, potentially reshaping the data privacy litigation landscape while companion bills simultaneously expand substantive privacy obligations.

Delaware Governor Matt Meyer has signed H.B. 380, dramatically expanding the Delaware Personal Data Privacy Act to include stringent third-party contracting requirements, broader sensitive data protections, and lower jurisdictional thresholds. The amendments introduce California-style due diligence obligations for data disclosures, expand sensitive data categories to include neural data and financial information, and impose new profiling requirements that extend even to employment contexts. These changes po

California's Senate Bill 690 represents a pivotal legislative response to the explosion of website-tracking lawsuits under the California Invasion of Privacy Act, specifically targeting claims brought under the pen-register provision that have generated thousands of cases since 2022. While the bill would eliminate private plaintiffs' ability to pursue these particular claims involving digital tracking technologies, it leaves other CIPA provisions intact and raises questions about how the litigation landscap

New York Attorney General Letitia James has released final rules for the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act. The law was signed in 2024, but the effective date was triggered by the release of these rules.

California's State Legislature has passed five major privacy bills addressing private litigation restrictions, expanded deletion rights, children's online safety, sensitive data protections, and user privacy settings. These measures, now awaiting Governor Newsom's signature, could fundamentally reshape how businesses handle consumer data and face privacy-related lawsuits in the state.

On September 2, 2026, Delaware’s Governor signed House Bill (HB) 380 and HB 381. HB 380 amends the Delaware Personal Data Privacy Act (DPDPA), which was enacted in 2023 and became effective January 1, 2025. HB 381 separately amends Delaware’s computer security breach notification law.

The FDA, in collaboration with federal partners, held a landmark public hearing on September 14, 2026, to gather input on the future therapeutic use of psychedelic drugs, drawing over 18,000 registered attendees. This hearing represents one of the earliest implementations of Executive Order 14401, which directs federal agencies to expedite research, review, and approval of psychedelic drugs for serious mental health conditions.

Federal legislation has pushed back the scheduled ban on hemp-derived THC products from November 12 to December 11, 2026, providing a temporary reprieve for an industry employing 350,000 people nationwide. However, this one-month extension offers no permanent resolution, and stakeholders face mounting pressure as multiple state-level restrictions continue to take effect independently of federal timelines.

A federal judge in New York has struck down the state's climate superfund law, finding it preempted by federal Clean Air Act authority. The ruling raises critical questions about whether states can impose liability on energy companies for climate change impacts, or if such matters fall exclusively within federal jurisdiction. With the Supreme Court set to hear a related case, this decision may signal broader implications for climate litigation nationwide.

The National Labor Relations Board's new General Counsel has announced plans to challenge over a dozen Biden-era decisions that expanded employee protections and union rights. From severance agreements and workplace rules to captive-audience meetings and bargaining requirements, these reversals could fundamentally reshape the employer-employee relationship across American workplaces. Employers should prepare for a dramatically different regulatory environment as these changes take effect.

The U.S. Department of Energy and Small Business Administration have launched a groundbreaking partnership to direct private investment toward small businesses developing energy and critical technologies. This new initiative combines federal expertise with private capital to accelerate commercialization of innovations in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, advanced manufacturing, and energy security. Fund managers and entrepreneurs in these strategic sectors now have access to expanded financing opp

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has proposed new regulations that would impose Bank Secrecy Act and sanctions compliance requirements on permitted payment stablecoin issuers under its jurisdiction. This rulemaking, coordinated with FinCEN and OFAC, establishes anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing, and sanctions program standards for stablecoin issuers as part of the broader implementation of the GENIUS Act framework.

The Treasury Department and IRS have proposed sweeping new regulations that would revoke tax-exempt status from private schools maintaining any race-conscious policies, from admissions to scholarships to athletics. The proposed rule eliminates longstanding safe harbors for minority-preference programs and extends the Supreme Court's recent college admissions decision to K-12 schools and all educational programs.

The CFTC has proposed a new exemption from commodity pool operator registration for SEC-registered investment advisers operating privately offered commodity pools with sophisticated investors...

The SEC under Chairman Paul Atkins is reshaping enforcement priorities, returning to traditional financial fraud and insider trading cases while implementing significant Wells process reforms that enhance transparency and defendant rights. Recent enforcement actions and policy changes reveal a strategic pivot toward materiality-based disclosure requirements and away from expansive regulatory theories, though the agency maintains robust pursuit of accounting fraud, investment schemes, and misappropriation of

A federal appeals court has unanimously upheld EPA's authority to designate PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under CERCLA, reaffirming the agency's power to regulate environmental threats even when scientific certainty is incomplete. The decision, which included one of the most prominent anti-regulatory appellate judges, reinforces a 50-year precedent that allows EPA to act on scientific probabilities rather than absolute proof when protecting public health and the environment.