2019 Year In Review: Technology, Cybersecurity, Privacy, And IP

2019 proved to be another eventful year for technology, privacy, cybersecurity, and intellectual property law. For the first time in several years, significant changes were made to our intellectual property statutes. We also saw an increase in dialogue around artificial intelligence (AI) legal frameworks to govern the ethical and responsible use of AI technologies.

As we look back, the following is summary of some of the key highlights from 2019:

1. GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

• Canadian Government Directive on Automated Decision-Making: On April 1, 2019, the Government of Canada's Directive on Automated Decision-Making (the "ADM Directive") came into effect, which imposes several requirements on the federal government's use of automated decision-making systems ("ADM Systems"). The ADM Directive's goal is to ensure ADM Systems are implemented with the least risk possible, through procedural fairness and due process. Under the ADM Directive,