Consumer Rights

New AI privacy laws in Illinois could change how chatbots handle your data If you use ChatGPT, Google Bard, or any AI chatbot, you might have wondered who sees your conversations and how that data is used. Illinois is now moving to answer that question with a package of AI safety and privacy bills that would require companies to be more transparent and to protect users—especially minors. Even if you don’t live in Illinois, these proposals are worth watching. State-level actions often set the stage for broader regulation, and the Illinois bills are among the most comprehensive yet. ...

Title: How Canada’s Privacy Ruling Could Change What AI Does With Your Data Intro On May 12, 2026, Canada’s federal privacy regulator issued a ruling that may reshape how artificial intelligence companies train their models. The decision, from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC), requires businesses to obtain explicit consent before using personal data to train AI systems. For consumers, this means your social media posts, browsing habits, and even public comments could soon be off-limits for training unless you actively opt in. The move is already drawing both praise from privacy advocates and criticism from innovation-focused groups like the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF). Here’s what happened, why it matters, and how it may affect you. ...

How Canada’s New Privacy Ruling on AI Training Data Could Affect Your Data In May 2026, Canada’s privacy watchdog—the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC)—issued a ruling that has stirred debate on both sides of the border. The OPC concluded that an AI company may have violated Canadian privacy law by scraping public social media data for training purposes without explicit consent. The ruling has been praised by privacy advocates and criticized by innovation-focused groups, including the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), which called it a “bad precedent.” ...

Canada Just Changed the Rules on AI Training Data – Here’s What It Means for Your Privacy Last week, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) issued a new guidance on how companies can use personal data to train artificial intelligence models. The ruling makes clear that organizations covered by Canada’s federal privacy law (PIPEDA) must obtain meaningful consent before they collect or use your information for AI training—even if the data was already collected for another purpose. ...

Canada Just Changed How AI Can Use Your Data – Here’s What to Know If you use ChatGPT, Copilot, or any image generator that trains on user inputs, a recent privacy ruling in Canada could eventually affect how those services handle your personal information. In May 2026, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) issued a decision that restricts companies from using personal data to train AI models without explicit consent. Here’s what happened, why it matters, and what you can do to protect your data right now. ...

Chrome Is Secretly Installing a 4GB AI Model on Your PC – Here’s How to Remove It Recent reports have revealed that Google Chrome has been silently downloading a 4 GB AI model onto users’ computers—and, in some cases, automatically restoring it even after deletion. The move also came with a quiet change to Chrome’s privacy policy, removing earlier language that suggested it would not do this without explicit consent. If you value control over your device’s storage and background behavior, here’s what happened, why it matters, and how to take back control. ...

Privacy Groups Warn: HUD’s AI Tool Could Expose Your Sensitive Data – What to Know If you receive housing assistance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), an experimental AI system could soon analyze your personal information – without clear privacy safeguards. That’s why two leading digital rights organizations, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT), are urging HUD to abandon the tool before it goes live. ...

Why Your Privacy Can’t Keep Up With AI — and What to Do About It A new global survey from TrustArc, published today, has confirmed what many privacy watchers have suspected for a while: the companies rolling out AI tools are not keeping up with the privacy protections consumers expect. The report, covering thousands of organizations worldwide, finds that privacy capabilities are struggling to match the speed of AI adoption. For the average person, that gap means your personal data may be more exposed than you realize. ...

Why Data Privacy Is Shoppers’ #1 AI Fear—And How to Protect Yourself If you’ve used an AI shopping assistant lately—a chatbot that recommends products, a tool that compares prices across stores, or a virtual try-on feature—you’ve likely noticed how convenient it can be. But a new survey from eMarketer shows that convenience comes with a growing worry: data privacy. ...

What Scammers Don’t Want You to Know: Timeless Safety Lessons from Consumer Protection Week Every year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) dedicates a week to arming the public against fraud. National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW) for 2026 is no different, serving as a focused reminder that while technology and tactics change, the principles of self-defense remain constant. It’s a call to action, not for a single week, but for building lasting habits that protect your money and your identity. ...