If you thought data privacy was plateauing in 2025, think again. We’re just halfway through the year, and privacy professionals are already navigating a regulatory landscape more twisted than a Christopher Nolan plot. From an explosion in U.S. state laws and global enforcement shifts to sector-specific AI regulations and deepfakes you can’t unsee, the stakes have never been higher or more complex.
Whether you’re leading compliance for a multinational, wrangling privacy ops at a startup, or building AI systems with one eye on innovation and the other on risk, this article breaks down the top 2025 data privacy trends and what to do about them before year’s end.
U.S. state privacy laws surge in 2025: Eight is not enough
Let’s start with the stat that should make every privacy pro sit up straighter: eight new U.S. state privacy laws went into effect in 2025, doubling the number of enforceable state privacy laws compared to the previous five years combined. This is more than growth. It’s a privacy law avalanche.
Highlights include:
- Nonprofit Inclusion: States like Delaware, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Colorado no longer exempt nonprofits, signaling a broader scope of compliance.
- Small Business Carve-Outs: Exemptions now vary widely. Some states use revenue thresholds, others follow SBA definitions.
- Universal Opt-Out Mechanisms (UOOMs): Signals like Global Privacy Control (GPC) are increasingly required, echoing the old “Do Not Track” era, and regulators are taking action.
Align your consent and opt-out mechanisms with UOOM standards. If your “reject all” button is buried in subtext, you’re already on the radar.
Tracking tech under the microscope: From pixels to penalties
The enforcement activity around tracking technologies feels less like regulatory drift and more like a targeted campaign. California’s AG cracked down on companies like Honda, Todd Snyder, and Healthline for broken consent portals and invasive trackers, even when unintentional.
The kicker? Seemingly small tech failures, like a malfunctioning “Do Not Sell” button, triggered broader audits of contracts, employee training, and vendor data-sharing practices.
Lesson learned: Your cookie banner isn’t just UX. It’s a regulatory red carpet.
Case in point: Healthline faced scrutiny for inferring health conditions from article views and sharing that data with third parties, inviting claims of sharing sensitive data without consent.
Conduct regular technical audits of consent flows and tag managers. Don’t just “set and forget.” The banner may be pretty, but does it actually work?
If you’re navigating these risks, now’s the time to level up your knowledge. Download The Ultimate Guide to Online Tracker Technology for a deep dive into how trackers work, where privacy pitfalls occur, and how to confidently manage vendors and technologies. Whether you’re overseeing compliance, building consent strategies, or refining your tech stack, this guide is your roadmap to responsible tracking.
AI regulation in the U.S. (more patchwork, more problems)
AI regulation is the new privacy regulation, and it’s just as fragmented. As of June 2025, over 26 states have enacted AI-specific laws, with 48 states and Puerto Rico introducing bills. These laws range from the narrow—chatbot labeling—to the sweeping—algorithmic fairness, child safety, and transparency.
AI regulation increasingly reflects the kinds of ethical, reputational, and societal risks that once seemed like edge cases or viral stunts. Take the Tennessee ELVIS Act, which protects against AI-generated impersonation of voice and likeness, or legislation triggered by chatbot-fueled fraud, like the now-infamous case where a dealer’s chatbot accidentally sold a car for $1. These aren’t hypotheticals anymore. They’re legislative catalysts.
Key U.S. trends include:
- Sectoral laws: Health care and hiring practices are under a microscope in California and Massachusetts.
- Bias and fairness: New Jersey and Oregon are leading through transparency and fairness requirements.
- AI and privacy intersection: AGs in MA, TX, and CA are issuing joint guidance on privacy and AI.
Treat AI like a new privacy frontier. Start with a data map specific to AI inputs and outputs, and implement layered transparency for AI use cases, especially when decision-making is automated.
Cross-border compliance: New frameworks, old risks
Cross-border data transfer challenges in 2025 are defined by one word: scenario planning.
- DOJ Bulk Sensitive Data Rule: Effective April 8, 2025, U.S. businesses must document “good faith efforts” to avoid sharing sensitive data with countries of concern (e.g., China, Russia, Iran).
- Global CBPR expansion: The Global Cross-Border Privacy Rules (CBPR) system launched in June and now spans six continents. Two more countries are expected to join this year.
- AI data residency: AI workloads are triggering new obligations to track where data is trained and stored, especially when crossing borders.
If you haven’t already, assess whether your AI workloads or vendors are subject to data localization. Then, join the CBPR system to future-proof your international data strategy.
Wiretaps, pixels, and plaintiffs: What’s driving legal risk now?
Litigation is no longer a maybe. It’s a probability.
The plaintiffs’ bar is exploiting everything from wiretap statutes, such as the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), to obscure federal laws like the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA). They’re even using DSARs to gather intelligence for lawsuits.
Emerging litigation threats:
- Wiretap claims: Even minor technical missteps on websites (like using session replay without clear consent) are being challenged under decades-old laws.
- Platform scrutiny: Adtech and Martech platforms, just under the big tech tier, are now squarely in the crosshairs.
- Biometric & genetic data: Illinois’s Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) and Genetic Information Privacy Act (GIPA) continue to drive high-dollar claims.
Assume every pixel could be used against you. Vet all third-party scripts and train marketing and privacy teams to collaborate, preferably before your website appears in a complaint.
The road ahead: Fragmented, converging, and fast
The second half of 2025 presents a paradox for privacy leaders: laws are multiplying at breakneck speed, yet many are beginning to coalesce around shared expectations. Fragmentation and convergence are happening side by side.
While every state and country is creating its own laws, universal mechanisms like GPC, opt-out rights, and consent enforcement are becoming standard.
What was once considered a best practice is now the minimum bar.
Here’s what to watch:
- Spot checks are the new normal: Regulators aren’t just reacting to complaints; they’re actively reviewing banners, privacy policies, and DSAR portals to spot issues before they escalate.
- Privacy’s expanding perimeter: AI, connected vehicles, and smart TVs are pushing privacy professionals into new territory where compliance intersects with engineering, product design, and societal impact.
- Back to basics, or bust: No matter how advanced your AI governance strategy is, it won’t matter if you can’t fulfill a DSAR, manage consent, or track your data flows. Strong foundational practices are still your best defense.
Reassess your privacy program’s maturity. Ensure that the core elements—transparency, accountability, and user rights—are scalable, resilient, and ready for scrutiny.
Privacy is having its “main character moment”
If the first half of 2025 has made one thing clear, it’s this: privacy and AI risk are no longer niche concerns. They are boardroom topics, investor questions, and front-page headlines. The line between privacy program gaps and business exposure has never been thinner.
To lead with confidence in the second half of the year:
- Build for scale across jurisdictions and regulatory frameworks.
- Treat AI as an accelerant of privacy risk, not a workaround.
- Make technical accuracy a nonnegotiable from consent flows to training data.
- Equip every team (marketing, product, legal, engineering) with the knowledge to play their part.
The companies that succeed won’t be the ones with the flashiest privacy slogans. They’ll be the ones with resilient systems, repeatable processes, and cross-functional alignment.
Because in today’s privacy landscape, your ability to execute separates control from chaos.
Compliance, Without the Complexity.
PrivacyCentral makes it easy to meet global privacy obligations without the overhead. Automate assessments, close gaps faster, and reduce repetitive work with a controls-based framework built for scale.
Streamline compliance
Smarter Research. Faster Results.
Cut through the legal noise with Nymity Research. Get expert-curated summaries, daily alerts, and comparative guidance across 1,000+ privacy laws so your team can stay informed and focused.
Power your privacy research
