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March blew in like a lion for the insights industry, but it shows no signs of leaving like a lamb, as the Insights Association grappled with lots of advocacy issues, including: complicated new prohibitions on data sharing with certain foreign countries (and companies controlled by them); a new FTC nominee; worrisome tax bills in Maryland; a California bill to restrict artificial intelligence in interactions with research subjects; a new U.S. Labor Secretary potentially hostile to treating resear...

Summer may be winding down, but public policy disputes impacting the insights industry continued apace in August, including: new state privacy laws; new laws and guidance on artificial intelligence; and a key court decision on non-compete agreements in employment contracts. The Insights Association also managed a win on kids’ privacy legislation in the U.S. Senate and led the charge against a legislative proposal that would ruin the decennial Census and the American Community Survey (ACS).

Despite all the political turmoil in the U.S., the Insights Association remained focused on advocacy on our bread-and-butter policy issues in July, including heated fights over census funding, delays in federal noncompete rules, proposed portable benefits for independent contractors (that could include research subjects), more AI legislation, and a win on some IA-supported legislation in Congress.

With summer almost upon us, the Insights Association focused this month on a new U.S. law prohibiting many data transfers to China and vaguely-Chinese-owned companies, federal minors’ privacy bills, more AI legislation, and how insights employers can comply with the new FTC rule banning non-compete agreements in employment contracts, among other policy issues.

The first full month of spring brought with it a shiny new federal privacy bill, some developments on AI regulation, a tax win in Nebraska, a new federal ban on noncompetes, advances in preventing the government from competing with the insights industry, legislation moving in Minnesota on exit polling and political opinion research, complicated business payment disputes, and some new developments on competitive sourcing of insights services and the Census Household Panel.

A new rule from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) prohibits almost all non-compete agreements in employment contracts.

Kicking off another year of advocacy for the insights industry, the Insights Association focused in January on proposed children’s privacy rules, a new tax bill in Nebraska, turning 529 accounts into career savings plans, a proposed tax on displacing employees with any kind of technology, and the Biden Administration’s extensive new artificial intelligence policies… and lots more!

The Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act (S. 722, H.R. 1477) would permit certain expenses associated with obtaining or maintaining postsecondary credentials (such as licenses, certifications, or certificates) to be treated as qualified higher education expenses for purposes of 529 tax savings accounts. The bills would transform college savings plans into career savings plans.

As Halloween rapidly approaches, the Insights Association is searching for treats in legislation and regulation while trying to defuse the tricks that may pose a threat to the insights industry. In October, we looked at the FTC and some privacy legislation concerns, argued against proposed state data taxes, analyzed AI regulatory proposals, looked at new non-compete restrictions in California, and new federal registration responsibilities for a lot of small insights businesses.

As we close out an intense summer for the insights industry, the Insights Association has been focused on a wide variety of policy issues, including: the launch of a new program for legally transferring European Union personal data to the U.S.; looming worries in complying with state comprehensive consumer data privacy laws that came into effect on July 1, and newly-passed state laws in Florida and Tennessee; the latest developments in compliance concerns and regulation of artificial intelligenc...