Protecting Consumer Rights in the Age of AI, part 1

With Vermont Attorney General Charity Rae Clark and State Representative Monique Priestley

Sep 11, 2024

Vermont AG Charity Rae Clark and State Rep. Monique Priestley on Vermont’s AI bill
The latest updates on AI legislation
Upcoming AI events and conferences, including FP Tech Forum at UNGA79
Before you go…check out the latest news about AI regulation

“We allow corporations to surveil us in a way that we would never allow a government, but then the government can buy the surveillance data from the corporation. It's chilling.” — Vermont Attorney General Charity Rae Clark

There’s much talk of AI legislation and regulation, but on this episode of the Regulating AI podcast, host Dr. Sanjay Puri speakers with two people who are making it happen. Vermont Attorney General Charity Rae Clark and Vermont State Representative Monique Priestley have been instrumental in creating and pushing the state’s Data Privacy Act.

Read on (or watch the episode below!) to learn more about their strategy and execution, their techniques, and their points of view on AI issues surrounding consumer rights and protections.

Because this episode is so long, and AG Clark and Rep. Priestley covered so much ground, we’re going to cover this in two parts. This week is part one.

In this episode:

AG Clark and Rep. Priestley worked on a comprehensive data privacy bill in Vermont. They looked to other states for ideas, including Connecticut State Senator James Maroney. “And then also he just connected me to his whole network that had been helping advise the bill. And that network just continued to grow,” said Priestley.
How does the Vermont bill create mechanisms for data minimization? AG Clark’s office deals with security and data breaches. Because of data minimization, even when there are these breaches, data doesn’t get compromised if the entity has done data minimization.
What are the protections for children in the Data Privacy Act? The language they used was inspired in part by their experience in their lawsuit against Meta, which involved “…creating a harmful app that's addictive, but also the content that children are exposed to, and unwanted contact from strangers,” said AG Clark.
- There were parts of two bills that were conflicting with one another, as it pertained to children. They solved it by moving the more stringent protections to the comprehensive Data Privacy Act.
“One of the things that I find fascinating is that so few people seem to understand the dynamic that is at play when they access a website for free or download an app for free,” said AG Clark.
- They’re really paying for it with their data.
- “And I truly am concerned that if we don't take seriously the regulation of data, including deepfakes, there is going to be a destabilizing impact on the internet economy because consumers aren't going to trust when they buy something, when they buy a service, that it's real,” she added.
What can states do about deepfakes? It’s very important to make a distinction between a legitimate company doing something wrong (like Meta) versus actual criminals who are scammers. “I would put [deepfakes] in that category where people are trying to trick you in some fashion,” said AG Clark.
- She gave three examples: political (eg, cloning President Biden’s voice), consumer (eg, making it seem like Taylor Swift is selling something), and nonconsensual deepfake pornography.
- “But educating the public, the press, and individuals, including voters—you know, don't be naive. This happens,” she added.
Lessons learned on the influence of Big Tech on their legislative process:

“Typically, some legislators just won't talk to lobbyists, because they don't want to be persuaded and manipulated. In my case, I wanted to hear both sides,” said Rep. Priestley.
She ended up forming a set of questions that she asked all of them before she would sit down with them.
She had numerous people, from diverse backgrounds and perspectives, involved. That let her discover the spectrum of what was realistic. She created small committee groups and would discuss minutiae of the wording with them. That ensured both that everyone’s perspectives were closely included and that everyone was deeply knowledgeable about it all—because lobbyists’ best attack point is people who don’t understand what a bill is doing.
When lobbyists tried to use the Senate to kill the bill, Rep. Priestley would receive forwarded emails from people and would write rebuttal documents about whatever was being said in opposition.
“I would then send it to every single member of the Body. So all the senators, all the house members, all of leadership, and say, ‘Here's the 20 things they claimed, here's the 20 responses to that. It doesn't do anything that they're saying.’ And so that just happened over and over and over again.” she said.
What concerns do you have about AI that need regulation? “Setting the base with privacy and just thinking about the ways that people are collecting and using data in general without our knowledge most of the time. Or just ignorance, basically—like not paying attention or not knowing the ramifications. And even at a base level, fair and deceptive use of data. There's a lot of ground-level stuff,” said Rep. Priestley.
- “The data is most concerning to me, because then when you layer artificial intelligence on top of it, then you are able to automate and exponentially speed up the poor uses and dangerous uses of data,” she said. Those uses include using data to make discriminatory decisions about people (loans, jobs, etc.).
- We need more education, as a society, on things like ethics and philosophy. And develop internalized convictions about what we value as humans.
- “We allow corporations to surveil us in a way that we would never allow a government, but then the government can buy the surveillance data from the corporation. It's chilling,” said AG Clark.

Stay tuned…next week, we’ll get to part two of AG Clark and Rep. Priestley’s conversation with Sanjay Puri above and on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Subscribe to the RegulatingAI podcast to never miss an episode.

The latest AI legislation

H.121, Vermont. Vermont Data Privacy Act. An act relating to enhancing consumer privacy and the age-appropriate design code. Status: Vetoed by the Governor.
H.R.9402, Washington, D.C. NSF AI Education Act. Authorizes the National Science Foundation to disperse scholarships to further AI research; creates NSF programs to fund AI research in education, agriculture, and advanced manufacturing. Status: Introduced.
H.R.9403, Washington, D.C. Expanding AI Voices Act. Codifies the NSF’s ExpandAI program to enhance AI capacity-building projects in populations historically underrepresented in STEM; supports partnerships within a broad interdisciplinary research community to broaden AI research, education, and workforce development. Status: Introduced.

Check out our live AI legislation tracker

Upcoming AI events

FP Tech Forum at UNGA79

New York, New York | Sept 25, 2024 | Online/In-person

Join Foreign Policy for the FP Tech Forum at UNGA79 for conversations on the latest efforts to reduce risks and promote innovation and technology to advance the social good.

This year’s forum will explore how advanced technologies can foster greater connectivity and prosperity, taking a candid look at the complexities of supporting equitable growth and managing evolving threats, as well as AI ethics, digital sovereignty, cybersecurity, pandemic preparedness, and more. Register here.

19th Annual Meeting, Internet IGF Forum

Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia | Dec 15-19, 2024 | Online/In-person

The 19th annual IGF meeting will be hosted in a hybrid format from 15 to 19 December in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. All online and onsite participants must register through the UN Accreditation System. It is required to create an account at this UN Accreditation System beforehand (if not owning one yet) and register electronically prior to the event. Technical support is available in case of issues in this process.

18th ISDSI-G, PIBM International Conference

Pune, India | Dec 26-29, 2024 | Online/In-person

The integration of AI technologies can significantly impact economic growth, environmental sustainability, and societal inclusivity. Striking the right balance is imperative to ensure that AI-driven advancements benefit the economy, mitigate ecological concerns, and promote inclusivity, avoiding unintended consequences.

The conference seeks to explore strategies, policies, and innovations that harmonize the economic, environmental, and societal aspects of AI implementation in business, fostering a comprehensive and sustainable approach to navigating the AI frontier. Scholars and practitioners will engage in a collaborative exchange of ideas to shape the future of AI in business, addressing the challenges and opportunities posed by his transformative technology.

Bookmark this page to keep track of key upcoming AI events

Before you go…

AI employees voice support for California regulation bill | The Hill
The AI industry uses a light lobbying touch to educate Congress from a corporate perspective | AP
FDA commissioner: Health systems have to ‘step up’ on AI regulation or will ‘end up holding the bag’ | StatNews Health Tech
US targets advanced AI and cloud firms with new reporting proposal | CIO
Australia and US propose oversight as industry urges California AI bill signing | PYMNTS
Why global coordination is necessary for regulating AI | Pro Market
AI governance trends: How regulation, collaboration and skills demand are shaping the industry | WEF