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Partner Jessica Lee Examines Privacy Compliance in 2023 at IAB Tech Lab’s REARC: Build For Privacy Series

Jessica Lee, chair of the firm’s Privacy, Security & Data Innovations practice, took the stage at IAB Tech Lab’s REARC: Build For Privacy Series on Feb. 16 to present the panel “Navigating the Privacy, Legal, and Compliance World in 2023.” Jessica’s discussion covered the 2023 privacy roadmap for advertising technology. Jessica Lee’s participation at the privacy event was highlighted in an article by AdExchanger.

During the panel, Jessica noted that the privacy roadmap can be broken down into two parts: knowns and unknowns. Under the knowns, she confirmed that adtech will remain under a spotlight, and that the five new state privacy laws that go into effect in 2023 will have a significant impact on adtech operations. From California’s detailed requirements for responding to opt-out preference signals, to Colorado’s restrictions on sensitive inferences, Jessica said that the obligations on companies that handle data will continue to increase. At the state and federal levels, enforcement is expected to continue to increase, with audits, investigations and fines all on the table for 2023, along with the prospect of liability for individual executives.

Jessica highlighted that what remains unknown is how many additional states will pass laws and whether the states proposing opt-in requirements for targeted advertising or personalization, or additional restrictions on location and children’s data, will pass. Beyond regulations, there has been a wave of lawsuits attacking the use of cookies and pixels, including claims that session replay cookies violate state and federal wiretapping laws and claims that pixels in advertising videos violate the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA). While there are a number of holes that can be poked in these claims, Jessica cautioned that we cannot predict whether any of these actions will succeed this year. Companies that are looking to data governance tools as well as technology will be in the best position to face these changes. Jessica closed by sharing some ideas on how to leverage the tools that IAB Tech Lab is creating to help ride the current privacy wave.

IAB Tech Lab’s event series brought together privacy technology and policy experts from publishers, advertising technology providers and government regulators to discuss the development and application of new privacy-enhancing technologies, addressability solutions and how to achieve compliance with government regulations based on IAB Tech Lab’s compliance and audit frameworks.

Jessica Lee helps companies in the U.S. and around the world launch, market and monetize their digital products and content. She advises on everything from interest-based and addressable advertising, data analytics, location-based tracking, smart devices and wearables, to the use of emerging technologies, such as AI, VR and facial recognition. Jessica has extensive experience assisting organizations with the design of their privacy programs and the operationalizing of U.S. and international privacy and data security requirements.