1. Tech Will Become More Regulated.     CHIPS, a TCN Chamber Member, shares IT insights for our businesses,

Technology has been advancing at a fast pace, with little legislation overseeing its use. But that’s about to change. The undesirable effects from some technological advancements are prompting an increasing number of governments to pass legislation governing their use. “In 2022, expect an avalanche of new laws and regulations attempting to govern and impose order on a dizzying array of tech developments,” said Omer Tene, a partner at Goodwin and senior fellow at the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).

In the United States, many of the new laws and regulations will deal with protecting consumers’ privacy and their personal data. Three states — California, Colorado, and Virginia — have already passed laws, laying the groundwork for others to follow. Stacey Gray, a privacy-law expert who recently testified in a US Senate hearing on privacy protection, expects that Alaska, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Ohio will follow suit.

The European Union is leading the way for drafting and passing many other types of tech legislation. It has several legislative proposals in the works, including the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), Digital Services Act (DSA), and Digital Markets Act (DMA). “A veritable alphabet soup of tech regulation affecting digital platforms, digital services, online marketing, data intermediaries and more, is materializing and set to become law on the books,” said Tene.

The EU’s AI Act would especially have far-reaching consequences. For instance, it would prohibit using facial recognition tools in public places and using AI to create social scoring systems. In comparison, the US National AI Initiative Act, which went into effect January 1, 2021, is designed to provide “a coordinated program across the entire Federal government to accelerate AI research and application for the nation’s economic prosperity and national security.”