Articles

Kicking off another year of advocacy for the insights industry, the Insights Association focused in January on proposed children’s privacy rules, a new tax bill in Nebraska, turning 529 accounts into career savings plans, a proposed tax on displacing employees with any kind of technology, and the Biden Administration’s extensive new artificial intelligence policies… and lots more!

As the insights industry closes out 2023 on the calendar, the Insights Association looked back at our advocacy wins and losses on various consumer data privacy issues, and taxes, while checking in on legislation, regulation, and laws at the state and federal level on privacy, taxes, the independent contractor status of research subjects, and artificial intelligence.

While temperatures are starting to dip, concerns still simmered in September for the insights industry as we dealt with more new state privacy laws, burgeoning regulation of AI, and other pressing advocacy issues.

As temperatures rose, so did the threats and opportunities for the insights industry in advocacy during May, ranging from three new comprehensive state privacy laws, advancing regulation of artificial intelligence, compliance concerns with state sales taxes, jousting over the Census Household Panel, restrictions on high-end incentives for research subjects, state legislation to ban non-competes, and a new Maryland law restricting most telephone calls for research purposes.

The insights industry faced challenges on multiple advocacy fronts in April, such as: growing risks from the boom in generative AI; new privacy laws and regulations; an FTC proposal to eliminate noncompete agreements; a new attempt at insourcing insights work by the Census Bureau; and a proposed new tax on data in Nevada.

Privacy legislation and regulation kicked into gear during February at the state and federal level. The feds are proposing to prohibit all non-compete agreements, and changes are on the table for Kentucky’s new tax on insights services. That is just a taste of what’s been happening this past month in advocacy impacting the insights industry.

As America readies for the grand finale of another football season, we are just beginning our year-long campaign of advocacy across the country, focused so far on privacy legislation at the state and federal level, proposed taxes on insights companies, new HR laws, and potential restrictions on exit polling. Let's dive in...

Four Democrats in the U.S. House and Senate urged the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to step up “efforts to implement strong privacy safeguards that effectivity protect children and teens online, including fulfilling your obligation to update regulations under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).”

To our pleasant surprise, Congress has actually been cutting compromises on federal privacy legislation, as the Insights Association has been seeking, so that has been a big focus this month, along with other privacy and data security concerns. Also on this month’s docket have been rules to treat a research subject as an independent contractor, the use of employee non-compete agreements, funding for the U.S. Census, and the regulation of alcohol market research.

As summer approaches, the Insights Association continues to engage on state privacy legislation, new prohibitions on selling insights services to Russia, the Census Bureau’s Ask U.S. Panel, possible taxes aimed at online insights companies, and other pressing policy issues.