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With American Thanksgiving now in the rearview mirror, let’s look back at the biggest challenges the insights industry tangled with this month, including new privacy rules in California and at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC); some wins, losses and new laws in California; and new federal labor rules that could treat research subjects receiving incentives as if they are employees of research companies.

The Insights Association (IA) and a dozen other data-driven industry groups called upon Congress to “pass a national privacy law that protects all Americans,” and urged the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to “halt its current rulemaking” on “so-called ‘commercial surveillance’ and ‘lax security practices.’”

Consumer data privacy and security concerns, including progress towards a new trans-Atlantic data deal, a new law in California and proposed rules in California and at the FTC, were top of mind for the insights industry in October. In addition, concerns about draft U.S. Department of Labor regulations impacting research subjects’ status as independent contractors, and miscellaneous other new laws, remain salient.

​​​​​​​The President just signed an executive order on government surveillance that should pave the way to an operable trans-Atlantic data transfer deal with the European Union (EU) by spring 2023.

Four Democrats in the U.S. House and Senate urged the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to step up “efforts to implement strong privacy safeguards that effectivity protect children and teens online, including fulfilling your obligation to update regulations under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).”

The Insights Associations joined nearly 20 business groups asking for two more months to respond to a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) push for extremely broad new privacy rules that could rope in most aspects of the insights industry's work.

Temperatures may be cooling as the calendar turns to autumn, but legislative issues are heating up as lawmakers get back to work following summer breaks. Here are some of the key issues we're engaged with at the national and state level on your behalf...

The Insights Association has worked throughout July and August to improve a comprehensive federal privacy bill that passed out of committee in the U.S. House, counter a harmful bill in Delaware, and urge changes to California’s pending state privacy regulations. Also, IA’s campaign for transparency in the Census Bureau’s Ask U.S. Panel project, which would compete against the insights industry, has spurred Congressional action.

To our pleasant surprise, Congress has actually been cutting compromises on federal privacy legislation, as the Insights Association has been seeking, so that has been a big focus this month, along with other privacy and data security concerns. Also on this month’s docket have been rules to treat a research subject as an independent contractor, the use of employee non-compete agreements, funding for the U.S. Census, and the regulation of alcohol market research.

As summer approaches, the Insights Association continues to engage on state privacy legislation, new prohibitions on selling insights services to Russia, the Census Bureau’s Ask U.S. Panel, possible taxes aimed at online insights companies, and other pressing policy issues.