Rocco Panetta, Country Leader for Italy of the IAPP (International Association of Privacy Professionals), is one of the authors of the report “2024 Global Legislative Predictions”, in which our Managing Partner has outlined some predictions for the world of personal data protection for 2024.
Among the authors were also the partners of Strand Advisory, of which PANETTA is a partner, Dan Or Hof, for the section on Israel, and Kate Colleary for that on Ireland.
The report provides a global overview of what to expect from national legislators in terms of privacy laws and regulation of new technologies such as artificial intelligence.
The IAPP report is available at the following link.
All information on the IAPP and its activities is available here.
Italy
Contributors: Rocco Panetta, CIPP/E
As expected, 2023 proved to be a busy year for Italy’s data protection authority, the Garante, a year that heralds an equally exciting 2024.
It is undeniable 2023 was a year in which the Garante made itself known far beyond national borders. The open proceedings against two global AI players Replika and OpenAI (which I had the pleasure of assisting) were enlightening to remind everyone — companies, data protection officers and regulators, alike — that data protection rules have not been retired and, on the contrary, are a fundamental guide for those who want to develop AI systems.
Since then, other authorities, European and otherwise, have also started their own investigations, including the U.S.’s Biden administration, which convened an urgent meeting on generative AI in the spring. It seems the role of data protection officers and data protection authorities, whatever form the EU AI Act will take, will not be sidelined — far from it. On the other hand, the way in which proceedings against the two companies were closed showed how dialogue and confrontation between companies and authorities, especially in such uncertain terrain as AI, can only be fruitful for both sides.
For 2024, I therefore foresee more activity by the Garante on AI-related issues, but also the analysis of an old but still topical issue, that of data valorization and monetization. The recent choice of several social media platforms to switch to an (optional) business model based on paid subscriptions so as not to see advertising, could reopen a chapter that seemed to have been closed with the latest court rulings. It remains certain that, with the new European regulations in force — the DSA, DMA and DGA — as well as those on the way — the AI Act — there will be no lack of opportunities for confrontation.
