IAPP Global Privacy Summit 2026: State AI Trends, FTC Signals, California’s DROP Build-Out, and the Hard Work of Cookie Compliance | Kelley Drye & Warren LLP
https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/iapp-global-privacy-summit-2026-state-5247293/
Publish Date: 2026-04-03 13:52:00
Source Domain: www.jdsupra.com
Conference season is upon us, and with the cherry blossoms at peak bloom, the IAPP held its annual Global Privacy Summit here in Washington. The Summit featured keynotes from Prince Harry and Salman Rushdie, both of whom discussed their challenging experiences with personal privacy. For privacy professionals, the Summit underscored that 2026 is shaping up to be a year of proving that compliance programs work in practice, not just on paper. Here are a few takeaways.
FTC Commissioner Meador’s Fireside Chat
Commissioner Mark Meador’s fireside chat with IAPP Vice President Caitlin Fennessy suggested a pragmatic enforcement posture. When asked whether the FTC may move beyond its usual set of consent order remedies, Meador said his primary question when evaluating potential remedies is “Does this [remedy] adequately solve the harm that was alleged in the complaint?” That perspective and focus on fit and effectiveness may shape what the FTC expects to see from companies demonstrating compliance. Commissioner Meador also noted that building out mechanisms to enforce the Take It Down Act is a top Agency priority.
Navigating the State AI Landscape
The state AI conversation is moving away from sweeping, definition-heavy proposals and toward narrower obligations tied to risk, youth harms, and specific deployment contexts. Travis Hall of the Center for Democracy & Technology and Connecticut State Senator James Maroney both offered perspective on the legislative landscape. Although over 1,000 AI-related bills have been introduced in state legislatures so far this year, Maroney noted that only about 200 of those bills directly impact private businesses. The trend, he said, is toward more targeted approaches focused on frontier models and high-risk use cases.
Transparency and human oversight remain central themes. Hall emphasized that both automated decision-making systems and the people accountable for them can easily become “black boxes,” and that…
