Hear from the Head of the Federal Trade Commission.

U.S.-based ad-tech providers have spent recent years getting up to speed on new consumer privacy requirements, including new consumer rights to opt out of “sales,” to request data deletion, and the need for consent before processing “sensitive” personal data. However, unlike their European counterparts, U.S.-based ad-tech companies have not had to contend with compliance requirements for cross-border data flows such as adequacy decisions, standard contractual clauses, or the like.  

However, the passage of the Protect Americans’ Data From Foreign Adversaries Act (PADFAA) and the finalization of the DOJ’s rule banning bulk sales of U.S. sensitive personal data to countries of concern have upended the status quo.  In this session, attendees will learn about:

• The policy considerations motivating new restrictions on cross-border data transfers;

• How PADFAA and the DOJ rule are expected to apply to common ad-tech data flows;

• Compliance considerations for preventing transfers of U.S. personal data to entities controlled by "countries of concern”and for managing other regulated data flows; and

• Outlook for enforcement and further guidance from DOJ and FTC.

Aggressive privacy enforcement in the U.S. has continued apace through 2024 and into 2025.  This has included new activity from now-mainstay regulators like the California Privacy Protection Agency and the Federal Trade Commission; but now also includes new states whose privacy laws have come online for the first time. But across jurisdictions, privacy enforcement has continued to focus on ad-tech and associated data flows. This session will feature expert privacy attorneys who represent ad-tech companies across the table from regulators, and provide an on-the-ground perspective on the most important regulatory trends impacting digital advertising companies at the state and federal level. Attendees will learn:

• Updates on activity from different regulators, including FTC, CPPA, and state AGs; as well as 

• Specific areas of focus across jurisdictions, including enforcement activity related to:

  • Data brokers

  • The use of sensitive data (including health and location-related data) for audience segmentation, and regulator reception of methods to decrease risk like de-identification and rendering data non-sensitive

  • Consumer choice mechanisms, including how companies are obtaining (or failing to obtain) consent.

• What to expect for the remainder of 2025, both from new states beginning to enforce their privacy laws as well as an FTC under new leadership.

There have been ongoing efforts for years to standardize and drive adoption of more private advertising standards by leveraging technologies and standards including clean rooms, TEEs (Trusted Execution Environments), Privacy Sandbox standards, etc.  But where are the fruits of those labors? On this panel, we’ll hear from companies that are actively implementing these methods to get a snapshot into what problems, how widely they’re being adopted, and whether they are driving business results. Attendees will learn:

• What privacy-enhancing methods and standards are gaining traction?

• What privacy benefits are being realized today?

• How effective are these methods compared to status quo?

• Hopes and plans for the future of these methods

Hear from Michael Macko, Deputy Director for Enforcement, CPPA

Stay tuned!