A new month means new privacy news. This month is full of headlines including privacy-law changes, sketchy tech, and smart glasses.
This month, we interviewed Tom Kemp (Executive Director of CalPrivacy) on Privacy Lawls where we discussed California privacy rights, the new DROP platform, and enforcement. You can listen to the episode here.
Table of Contents
What’s new in privacy?
Below are some of the most notable news in privacy from this month:
- Changes to Connecticut’s privacy law go into effect. On July 1, the changes (SB1295) to Connecticut’s privacy law went into effect. Key changes include: adding additional types of data to the definition of “sensitive data”, adding neural data to protections, changing the definition of “significant decisions”, change to applicability thresholds, stronger protections around profiling and more. Learn more here.
- Smart glasses show a gap in Canadian privacy laws. A recent interview stated that while Canada has privacy laws that regulate businesses, there is a gap for covering an individual wearing smart glasses walking in a public area. Read more here.
- Utah joins federal lawsuit against Hims & Hers over data privacy concerns. The lawsuit alleges that the company charged consumers for subscriptions they never agreed to and shared their private health data with third party advertisers without consent. Read more here.
- EU Commission finds that TikTok failed to protect minors’ privacy under Digital Services Act. The preliminary findings of the European Commission allege that TikTok failed to meet child-safety requirements under the DSA by allowing minors’ accounts and content to remain too widely visible, which could expose children to unwanted contact, cyberbullying, and predatory behavior, as well as privacy risks. Learn more here.
- Dutch DPA issues a self-assessment tool on generative AI systems. The tool walks businesses through having appropriate governance measures in place, how to choose a GDPR-compliant generative AI system, deploying and governing a system, and other key action items. Read more here.
- EBay, former executives to pay $56 million settlement in a couple’s harassment case. This truly bizarre case was filed due to EBay executives harassing and even cyber stalking a couple who posted critical feedback of the platform on their blog. Harassment included sending a book on how to deal with the death of a spouse, live cockroaches, attempting to place tracking devices on vehicles, and stalking via social media. Read more here.
- LAPD allows the contract with Flock to expire, citing serious concerns over civil liberties and privacy. The LAPD stated that the three-year contract with Flock will be allowed to expire due to serious concerns around privacy and the data that is being collected by the cameras. There are also concerns that federal immigration officials used the cameras to track people in violation of local laws. Flock has been frequently present in the news due to a rising concern over the use of these cameras in cities. Learn more here.
- France approves children’s social media ban. The French Parliament approved legislation on July 21 that blocks minors under the age of 15 from accessing social media platforms. This is the first such ban to be approved in the European Union, with other EU countries working through proposals for similar bans. Read more here.
- Individual facing federal charges for wiping a phone at the airport. Samuel Tunick, an activist from Atlanta, was at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport when Customs and Border Protection agents demanded his cellphone and the code to unlock it. Tunick used a duress code that wipes the phone’s digital content and restores the phone to factory settings and is now facing federal charges for doing so. Learn more here.
- Meta reins in AI tool that automatically accessed public Instagram images. Muse Image created images based on users’ suggestions but also automatically made photos posted on all public Instagram accounts usable by the AI tool as a reference. Meta has pulled this feature after backlash from individuals and actors stating that the tool creates major privacy risks and the risk of nonconsensual digital replicas. Learn more here.
What privacy bills are we tracking?
As part of our service, we keep track of privacy bills that would affect the way Privacy Policies are written. Below is our most recent list of privacy bill proposals in the United States. You can access the privacy bill tracker any time on our blog.
- Alaska – AK HB367;
- Arizona – AZ SB1815;
- Illinois – IL SB52;
- Illinois – IL HB3041;
- Illinois – IL SB2875;
- Illinois – IL SB3220;
- Illinois – IL HB5221;
- Illinois – IL SB3548;
- Illinois – IL SB3890;
- Massachusetts – MA SB33;
- Massachusetts – MA SB301;
- Massachusetts – MA SB2619;
- Massachusetts – MA HB4746;
- Massachusetts – MA HB5479;
- Michigan – MI SB359;
- Minnesota – MN SB4666;
- New York – NY S4276;
- New York – NY AB5827;
- New York – NY AB974;
- New York – NY AB4947;
- New York – NY SB8524;
- North Carolina – NC – HB462;
- North Carolina – NC – SB757;
- North Carolina – NC – SB1022;
- Pennsylvania – PA HB78;
- Pennsylvania – PA SB112;
- Vermont – VT H812;
- Washington – WA HB1671;
- West Virginia – WV HB5123.
Events
Here are some great virtual events that you can attend to learn more about the hottest issues in privacy and meet other privacy professionals:
- Privacy-proofing AI usage in organizations – August 13, 2026;
- Regulatory round-up: what’s new in enforcement, AI and abroad – August 20, 2026;
- 2026 Artificial Intelligence and Robotics National Institute – October 12, 2026.
Conclusion
Privacy never stands still, and this month was another reminder that the landscape continues to evolve at a rapid pace. From new state privacy law requirements and AI governance guidance to enforcement actions and emerging technologies, organizations need to stay proactive to avoid falling behind. We’ll continue tracking the latest developments, proposed legislation, and enforcement trends so you don’t have to.
Be sure to check back next month for another roundup of the biggest privacy news, and if you’re looking for automatically updated Privacy Policies that keep pace with changing laws, Termageddon is here to help.
