State AGs continue to have a strong interest in privacy, and despite efforts on Capitol Hill to pass national legislation that would, in many instances, preempt state privacy laws (particularly data breach notice laws), there is no indication this interest will let up any time soon.
AGs, privacy, and digital protection was the topic of a multi-day conference of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) this past week in Biloxi, Mississippi. The conference, titled “Protecting our Digital Lives: New Challenges for Attorneys General,” was presided over by Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood, this year’s NAAG President.
The sessions included a robust discussion of how AGs can and should be involved in areas such as data hackings, data mining, and IP theft. Counterfeiting and piracy were also key areas in which AGs were urged to flex their muscles. The AGs of Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, and Vermont all were participants in the sessions, as were senior staff from these and other states.
NAAG conferences often are fertile grounds for policy and legal initiatives by AGs, so no one should be surprised to see future activities in any of these areas.