Inside the IAPP Global Privacy Summit 2025:
What You Need to Know
The pace of change in privacy law is accelerating — and attorneys are expected to stay a step ahead. That’s why MLex attended the IAPP Global Privacy Summit 2025 in Washington, DC — to bring you the most critical legal insights across privacy, AI and tech, straight from the world’s top policymakers, regulators and technologists.
Read on for highlights from our unrivalled coverage, including sideline interviews with Canada's Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne, Irish Data Protection Commission Chairperson Des Hogan, and South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission Chair Ko Hak-soo.
US Republicans aim to deliver long-awaited federal privacy law this session
Mike Swift
24 April 2025
The US is inching toward pushing a federal comprehensive data protection and privacy rights law over the finish line. "We are committed to moving it this Congress," a congressional staffer said today. Read more
US states moving to regulate child social media influencers
Mike Swift
24 April 2025
State lawmakers from California to Maryland are passing laws that address privacy and safety issues around a new kind of entertainment “stage” — parents who turn their kids into social media influencers such as “Ryan’s World,” a YouTube channel with 39 million subscribers. Read more
OpenAI's Altman pitches own product as privacy solution for new AI tools
Amy Miller and Emma Whitford
24 April 2025
The world needs a new approach to privacy and safety for the latest wave of artificial intelligence technology, AI agents, OpenAI’s Sam Altman told the world’s largest gathering of privacy professionals in the US. One solution, he said, is his own new product for online verification — World. “We've all seen the problem on social networks, where they're overrun by bots,” Altman said. “It'd be really nice to know when a post is really from a real person, for example.” Read more
Age verification tools shouldn't collect 'vast amounts' of minors' data, watchdog says
Matthew Newman
24 April 2025
Age verification technologies can help companies ensure that minors stay off their platforms, but these tools shouldn’t collect vast amounts of children’s data to verify their ages, a commissioner at Ireland’s privacy watchdog said today. Age assurance methods — which include age verification, age estimation or a combination of both — are currently under scrutiny by regulators in the EU, UK and US. Read more
Irish probe into TikTok’s data transfers to China expected in 'coming weeks'
Matthew Newman
24 April 2025
TikTok owner ByteDance will face a potential fine as soon as next week from Ireland’s Data Protection Commission following an investigation into possible transfers of users’ data to China, a commissioner at the authority told MLex. A decision would come after increased scrutiny of TikTok. In January, advocacy group NOYB filed complaints against TikTok, AliExpress, Shein, Temu, WeChat and Xiaomi for alleged unlawful data transfers to China. Read more
US FTC privacy regime to focus on tech competition, protecting children, Holyoak says
Mike Swift and Madeline Hughes
23 April 2025
In a policy speech that signaled the US Federal Trade Commission’s return to “not stretching our legal authorities,” Commissioner Melissa Holyoak unveiled the Republican majority’s data privacy vision to bolster technology innovation while protecting the online safety of minors. Read more
US FTC probes data brokers' international commerce with new data law in effect
Mike Swift
23 April 2025
The new Protecting Americans’ Data from Foreign Adversaries Act could emerge as a new area for data protection enforcement by the US Federal Trade Commission, with the regulator now investigating multiple data brokers for possible violations and a member of the commission calling out PADFA as a potential new area of enforcement. Read more
US data governance approach shows Chinese influence, lawyer says
Xu Yuan
23 April 2025
The US has started adopting certain elements in data and digital governance that have been pioneered by China, in contrast to a previous reluctance to do so, a privacy lawyer with experience in both countries said. Read more
Canadian privacy commissioner sees progress in probes of TikTok, OpenAI
Mike Swift
23 April 2025
Philippe Dufresne, the privacy commissioner of Canada, sat down with MLex to discuss the progress of the investigations of OpenAI and TikTok, his plans for hosting the G7 meeting of privacy regulators in Ottawa in June, and the path forward for privacy regulation in Canada following the Federal Election coming next week. Read more
EU AI Act hasn’t had a ‘Brussels effect,’ eBay privacy chief says
Emma Whitford
23 April 2025
The European Union’s AI Act has not proven to be another example of the “Brussels effect,” in which an EU regulation becomes the global standard, so global tech companies must tailor their artificial intelligence compliance plans by country and region, eBay’s chief privacy officer said today. Read more
South Korea privacy chief looks forward to rollout of pioneering MyData initiative
Jenny Lee and Mike Swift
24 April 2025
South Korea’s privacy commissioner, Ko Hak-soo, sat down with MLex on the sidelines of the IAPPs Global Privacy Summit to discuss next steps in the country’s trailblazing “MyData” initiative, a sweeping effort intended to give users the legal power to retrieve and repurpose their personal data across sectors — putting control back in the hands of users. MyData is an example of an effort that some Internet thinkers say is greatly needed to radically rework the current Internet economy based on commercial exploitation of users' personal data. Read more
Regulation-averse ‘vibe’ could lead to ‘bad things,’ ZoomInfo AI head says
Emma Whitford
23 April 2025
The current “vibe” in the United States, United Kingdom and even the European Union appears to be one of relative hesitancy toward new regulation and this may leave governments on the backfoot as agentic artificial intelligence advances, ZoomInfo’s chief strategist for privacy and artificial intelligence told MLex. Read more
Why MLex?
Master the detail
Our specialist journalists delve into the minutiae of the most significant changes to policy, laws, regulation and litigation as they happen, providing the incisive analysis you need to do your best work across Data Privacy & Security, AI, Technology, Antitrust, M & A, Trade, Intellectual Property and more.
Learn more about MLex
Capitalize on what's next
Our forward-looking analysis on the developments most likely to shift the legal and regulatory landscape empowers you to navigate risk and opportunity with ease, confidently steering your business and clients with insights you can't get elsewhere.
Get the complete view
With 15 bureaus and reporters across the Americas, EU, UK and Asia, our newsroom offers the local and global perspective on critical developments. MLex joins the dots to present the bigger picture, spanning jurisdictions with differing laws and levels of enforcement.
Built with Shorthand