Greetings from sunny San Diego!

We’ve heard your feedback: We have weekly digest roundups for the EU, Asia-Pacific, and Canada, as well as a monthly roundup of privacy news for Latin America. So where’s the weekly roundup for the U.S.? Well, here it is. 

Starting today, all IAPP members who have not globally opted out, and have identified themselves as based in the United States, will start getting our brand new, weekly U.S. Privacy Digest every Friday. Too much email in your inbox? No problem. You can unsubscribe in our subscription center right here. 

It’s been quite a whirlwind these last few days here at the Privacy. Security. Risk. conference. First off, it’s been great reconnecting with long-time members and meeting new privacy pros. It’s always interesting hearing about the new projects and challenges you’re working on and overcoming. It’s also fun seeing how so many of you are progressing in your careers. What a time to be a privacy pro! 

Of course, to no one’s surprise, the EU GDPR is THE front-and-center issue for just about everyone. And though achieving compliance is the tallest of tasks right now, it is also noteworthy to see all of the technological solutions that are making their way into the market, aimed at helping privacy pros scale, automate, and bolster their compliance initiatives. Things are just beginning here, but we’ll continue to do our best to bring you guidance on how tech can help your projects. 

Perhaps the biggest story to emerge this week in the U.S. is the European Commission’s decision to approve the Privacy Shield agreement for at least one more year. I’m sure that’s a sigh of relief for many of you. If you have not yet caught up on what the Commission said in its first annual review, we’ve got you covered: IAPP Westin Fellow Muge Fazlioglu, CIPP/US, has the big takeaways and main findings. 

The Supreme Court also agreed to hear the long-running Microsoft v U.S. case, which involves whether Microsoft is legally required to hand over documents to U.S. law enforcement that are contained on servers stored in Ireland. The case will have big implications, not only for U.S.-based companies, but it also could affect data transfer agreements such as the Privacy Shield. 

Finally, the fallout from the Equifax data breach continues. Perhaps most active this week was the financial sector as they make efforts to protect against identity fraud and abuse. Citigroup and Wells Fargo both said customers should expect new identity checks and security protections as a result of the increased risk posed by the breach. And there may well be hints of bipartisan support of regulations of the credit monitoring industry. GOP lawmakers have introduced a bill that would require the “big three” credit firms to undergo regular cybersecurity reviews. It would also require those firms to cease using Social Security numbers as a verification method. 

Well, the weekend’s almost here, but, in the meantime, enjoy catching up on this week’s U.S. privacy news.