Major Boost for SCCs Challenged by the Schrems 2.0 Case but More Uncertainty for the Privacy Shield

On January 16, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a Final Rule updating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection (COPPA) Rule, significantly expanding compliance obligations for online services that collect, use, or disclose personal information from children under 13.¹ The amendments impose new restrictions on targeted advertising, add data security requirements, refine parental consent mechanisms, and introduce additional compliance measures.

On January 8, 2025, the DOJ published a final rule prohibiting and restricting certain transactions that could allow persons from countries of concern, such as China, access to bulk sensitive personal data of U.S. citizens or to U.S. government-related data (regardless of volume).

On January 17, 2025, days before the inauguration, former President Joe Biden issued an executive order titled Strengthening and Promoting Innovation in the Nation's Cybersecurity (EO 14144). Building on previous efforts, including Executive Order 14028, this directive seeks to bolster cybersecurity across federal systems, supply chains and critical infrastructure from adversarial nations, particularly from the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

UPDATE: The California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) has extended the deadline for submitting public comments from January 14 to February 19, 2025, in response to the recent California wildfires. This extension aims to afford stakeholders additional time to provide comprehensive and detailed feedback, considering the significant challenges posed by the wildfires.

Treasury has issued a Final Rule to implement President Biden’s 2023 EO targeting U.S. investments in Chinese companies engaged in certain activities related to semiconductors, quantum computing or AI.

The European Union’s AI Office published the inaugural General-Purpose AI Code of Practice on November 14, 2024. The Code is intended to assist providers of AI models in their preparations for compliance with the forthcoming EU AI Act, to be enforced from August 2, 2025. The Code is designed to be both forward-thinking and globally applicable, addressing the areas of transparency, risk evaluation, technical safeguards and governance. While adherence to the Code is not mandatory, it is anticipated to serve as a means of demonstrating compliance with the obligations under the EU AI Act. Following a consultation period that garnered approximately 430 responses, the AI Office will be empowered to apply these rules, with penalties for nonconformity potentially reaching 3% of worldwide turnover or €15 million. Three additional iterations of the Code are anticipated to be produced within the coming five months.

On October 29, 2024, the DOJ issued a proposed rule prohibiting and restricting certain transactions that could allow persons from countries of concern, such as China, access to bulk sensitive personal data of U.S. citizens or to U.S. government-related data (regardless of volume).

During the course of any lending transaction, lenders will conduct a due diligence review of the borrower, including reviewing any relevant “know-your-customer” information.