Goodwin Partner Omer Tene has long had his finger on the pulse of privacy and AI governance developments and trends. He advises clients on a wide range of issues, from data protection, artificial intelligence, technology, cybersecurity and beyond.

As we head into a brave new 2026, IAPP Editorial Director Jedidiah Bracy caught up with Tene to discuss the big issues he sees playing out this year, from a changing geopolitical environment to US state privacy and AI legislative activity, from kids privacy and safety issues to digital reform in the EU.

On November 19, the European Commission unveiled two major omnibus packages as part of its European Data Union Strategy. One package proposes several changes to the EU General Data Protection Regulation, while the other proposes significant changes to the recently minted EU AI Act, including a proposed delay to the regulation of so-called high-risk AI systems. Laura Caroli was a lead negotiator and policy advisor to AI Act co-rapporteur Brando Benifei and was immersed in the high-stakes negotiations leading to the AI regulation. She is also a former senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, but recently moved back to Brussels during a time of major complexity in the EU. IAPP Editorial Director Jedidiah Bracy caught up with Caroli to discuss her views on the proposed changes to the AI Act in the omnibus package and how she thinks the negotiations will play out. Here's what she had to say.

Lorrie Cranor has long been a leader in the privacy space. As Director and Bosch Distinguished Prof. in Security and Privacy Technologies at Carnegie Mellon's CyLab Security and Privacy Institute, Prof. Cranor is on the cutting edge of usable privacy and security. Her work has influenced researchers to view privacy as a fundamental design standard rather than an abstract ideal and has helped reshape the technology field with more than 200 co-authored research papers on online privacy and security. She has also served as chief technologist at the US Federal Trade Commission and co-founded Wombat Security Technologies, among many other initiatives. Much of her work has focused on understanding how people interact with digital systems and where those systems failed. But, Prof. Cranor is also a mom and has raised three children. She has published new, illustrated book, called Privacy Please!, which Is geared for children aged 4-6, to help them and their parents understand what privacy means and why it matters. IAPP Editorial Director Jedidiah Bracy caught up with Prof. Cranor to discuss her new book, what inspired it, and how this book can help children develop a sense of privacy, autonomy and expression. We also discuss some of the broader children's privacy issues that are emerging in jurisdictions around the world, including through social media bans and age verification laws. Here's what she had to say.

Anu Talus was elected Chair of the European Data Protection Board in May of 2023. The EDPB, which was established in 2018, ensures that the EU General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Law Enforcement Directive are consistently applied in the EU. It also provides general GDPR guidance, adopts findings to ensure the GDPR is implemented consistently across member nations, advises the European Commission on data protection matters, and encourages DPAs to work together. In other words, leading the EDPB is no small task, especially in an increasingly complex digital marketplace during the dawn of the AI Era. While here in Brussels, IAPP Editorial Director Jedidiah Bracy sat down with Chair Talus during an especially significant week in EU data protection on the eve of the release of the EU's Digital Omnibus package, which proposes to amend parts of the GDPR and other EU digital regulations. In this wide-ranging conversation, Bracy and Talus discuss the EDPB's priorities and work in these transformative times.

As artificial intelligence continues to coalesce in the modern economy, AI governance only grows in significance. Brenda Leong, director of ZwillGen's AI division, and Andrew Burt, CEO of Luminos, have long been on the front lines of AI's emergence and busy helping organizations navigate this space. In a first for The Privacy Advisor Podcast, we're featuring a guest host, my colleague Alex LaCasse, a staff writer here for the IAPP. LaCasse has been covering compliance technology for the IAPP in recent years and recently caught up with Leong and Burt to learn more about their work in AI governance and the strategies and tools they leverage to help companies maintain customer trust.

On 4 Sept., the Court of Justice of the European Union gave its highly anticipated decision in the EDPS v. SRB case. In its landmark ruling, the CJEU clarified the definition of personal data under the EU General Data Protection Regulation, and, in essence, the scope of EU data protection law.

For Ulrich Baumgartner, a partner at Baumgartner Baumann and IAPP Country Leader for the DACH region, the ruling demonstrates a continued "relative approach" by the court, but it also provides a significant clarification against what he believes has been an "absolutist" approach by the European Data Protection Supervisor and other EU data protection authorities.

Though the ruling provides important clarity for personal data, pseudonymity and anonymity, it also raises other questions. Either way, there are concrete takeaways for data protection professionals. IAPP Editorial Director Jedidiah Bracy recently caught up with Baumgartner to discuss the implications of the ruling, including what it can mean for the Data Act, data processing agreements and more.

Ruby Zefo has long been a leader in the fields of privacy, data protection and cybersecurity. She was the first chief privacy officer at Uber, where she served from 2018, helping lead the company's efforts to protect and enable user data. She has done so while Uber continues to innovate its technology amid a dramatic increase in digital laws around the world.

Earlier this year, Zefo announced her retirement from Uber and her next move as a fellow at Stanford University's Distinguished Careers Institute. IAPP Editorial Director Jedidiah Bracy caught up with Zefo to discuss her work building a privacy team at Uber and how she has navigated—and led—in an increasingly complex and challenging world.

Nearly a year ago, the IAPP expanded its mission in response to a rapidly changing digital environment to include AI governance, digital responsibility and cybersecurity law. The mission expansion took place a year after the IAPP hired Ashley Casovan to lead its first-ever AI Governance Center. Since then, Casovan has led the development of the center, which includes work helping to inform AI governance training and certification, a forthcoming AI governance textbook, and the AI Governance Global conferences. Casovan came to the IAPP after leading the Responsible AI Institute as its executive director and previously worked for the Canadian government as director of data architecture and innovation. She's currently drafting a skills competency framework for AI governance. Situated in Montreal, Casovan trekked south to spend time at IAPP headquarters in Portsmouth, NH. While here, she and IAPP Editorial Director Jedidiah Bracy discussed the makings of an AI governance professional. What skills are required and what is she seeing in this evolving profession? Here's what she had to say.

As the privacy profession surpasses the quarter-century mark and enters into a brave new world of artificial intelligence and digital entropy, it's worth taking a look back to assess how far the profession has come. That's exactly what long-time privacy pro Stephen Bolinger embarked upon when he decided to film a documentary on the rise of the privacy profession. "Privacy People" explores the veritable plethora of interpretations of the privacy concept through the voices of some of the profession's most seasoned and respected privacy leaders.

Bolinger said he felt there was a really compelling story to tell. By juxtaposing on-the-street interviews with individuals to sit down discussions with some of privacy's luminaries in government, industry, civil society and academia, "Privacy People" looks at how this dynamic profession has grown and changed over the years, as well as recognizing the prominent role women have played throughout its evolution.

Earlier this year, IAPP Editorial Director Jedidiah Bracy sat down with Bolinger to discuss the impetus for his documentary and how he went about filming "Privacy People."

As chief privacy officer of the biggest city in the United States, it's safe to say that Michael Fitzpatrick doesn't have your normal, run-of-the-mill job. As part of New York's Office of Technology and Innovation, the Office of Information Privacy provides guidance to more than 175 agency privacy officers across the city. It also works closely with the city's Cyber Command and has partnered with the Cities Coalition for Digital Rights and the Biometrics Institute.

IAPP Editorial Director Jedidiah Bracy caught up with Fitzpatrick to learn more about his work as CPO of New York City, how his office works across government and what he sees as some of the biggest challenges in privacy and cybersecurity.