2026 Legal Priorities in Privacy, Advertising, and AI (PART 1)

In this episode, Heather Nolan and the ILG privacy law team break down the top privacy, AI, and consumer protection priorities organizations should focus on in 2026.As regulatory scrutiny intensifies, companies are no longer being judged solely on their written policies, but on how their systems operate in practice. From children’s data protection and evolving AI governance requirements to comprehensive state privacy law amendments and increased auditing expectations, regulators are signaling clear expectations: rigor, documentation, and accountability are non-negotiable.The team offers practical guidance on where legal departments should invest time and budget now to avoid costly enforcement actions later, emphasizing cross-functional coordination across HR, marketing, product, and IT. In this episode, Heather and the ILG team (Tatyana, Joyce, Mark, Rosie) discuss:The surge in children’s privacy enforcement, including COPPA amendments taking effect in April 2026Age verification and age assurance challenges, including biometric and digital ID considerationsThe intersection of AI regulation and HR practices, particularly automated decision-making in hiringNew and amended comprehensive state privacy laws in Indiana, Kentucky, Rhode Island, California, Connecticut, and OregonThe growing emphasis on auditing, opt-out mechanisms, cybersecurity, and regulatory reportingConsumer protection risks tied to AI-generated outputs and interactive systems"We can no longer turn a blind eye and just say we're a general audience service, and we really don't intend to have anyone younger than 18, if that's not really the actuality.” - Tatyana Ruderman"2026 businesses should be keeping an eye out for the new and amended comprehensive privacy laws taking effect this year.” - Joyce Kim"The regulators have largely reached the conclusion that they don't trust businesses to just write policies and actually follow them.” - Mark Paulding"Internal AI governance will be very key to mitigating businesses' risks of liability for inaccurate output.” - Rosanne YangConnect with InfoLaw Group:Tatyana Ruderman - https://www.infolawgroup.com/tatyana-ruderman Joyce Kim - https://www.infolawgroup.com/joyce-kim Mark Paulding - https://www.infolawgroup.com/mark-paulding Rosanne Yang - https://www.infolawgroup.com/rosanne-yang  Connect with Heather, Brian, and ILG:Heather Nolan - https://www.infolawgroup.com/heather-nolanBrian Schaller - https://www.infolawgroup.com/brian-schaller   Website - https://www.infolawgroup.com/LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/infolawgroup-llp/Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/infolawgroup.bsky.socialEmail - [email protected]