Key changes:
- Updated: "Regulation related to the provision of services over the Internet continues to evolve, as federal, state and foreign governments adopt new, or modify existing, laws and regulations addressing data privacy, cybersecurity, data protection, data sovereignty and the collection, storage, hosting, transfer, use and other processing of data."
- Updated: "In addition, domestic data privacy laws, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (“CCPA”), and similar laws that have passed, gone into effect or are being considered in numerous other U.S."
- Updated: "Data Privacy Framework to facilitate such transfers and address the concerns raised by the CJEU, it remains uncertain whether this framework will withstand future legal challenges."
Current (2026):
Regulation related to the provision of services over the Internet continues to evolve, as federal, state and foreign governments adopt new, or modify existing, laws and regulations addressing data privacy, cybersecurity, data protection, data sovereignty and the collection,…
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Regulation related to the provision of services over the Internet continues to evolve, as federal, state and foreign governments adopt new, or modify existing, laws and regulations addressing data privacy, cybersecurity, data protection, data sovereignty and the collection, storage, hosting, transfer, use and other processing of data. The volume, complexity and scope of these regulatory requirements may continue to increase, including in response to heightened geopolitical tensions. In some cases, data privacy laws and regulations, such as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), impose obligations directly on us as both a data controller and a data processor, as well as on many of our customers. In addition, domestic data privacy laws, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (“CCPA”), and similar laws that have passed, gone into effect or are being considered in numerous other U.S. states, impose obligations on us and many of our customers, potentially as both a covered business and service provider. These laws continue to evolve and expand, including through the adoption of new comprehensive data protection regimes such as India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023, and through the introduction of additional implementing rules and regulations in various jurisdictions. As a result, we and our customers may become subject to additional regulatory burdens. New EU laws, including the DSA, the Data Act and the AI Act, have also been adopted and, depending on how they are implemented, interpreted and enforced, may impose additional rules, restrictions or compliance requirements on the development, deployment or use of our products and services, including AI-enabled features. Historically, certain legal frameworks have provided safe harbors to companies that host or transmit content provided by others, including limitations on liability for monetary damages arising from copyright infringement or defamation based on customer-provided content. There is increasing legislative, regulatory and judicial scrutiny of these safe harbors, and ongoing legal efforts to repeal, narrow or limit these protections that were previously available to us. The loss or further erosion of these protections may require us to alter, limit or discontinue certain of our services, or may impose additional contractual terms on customers to mitigate potential liability for customer misconduct. 22 22 22 22 22 22 Table of Contents Table of Contents Table of Contents Compliance with these laws and regulations may require us to make changes to our practices, products or services to enable us or our customers to meet applicable legal requirements, and may increase our potential liability exposure through new or higher potential penalties, fines, investigations or litigation, including in connection with data breaches. Privacy and data protection laws and regulations are also subject to differing interpretations and may be inconsistent or conflicting across jurisdictions. These factors have increased scrutiny from customers, particularly those in the public sector and highly regulated industries and may be perceived differently from customer to customer. In addition, we may be subject to increased liability exposure or regulatory scrutiny related to the use of certain technologies associated with the collection, management or processing of data, including the use of cookies and similar technologies. These developments could reduce demand for our services, require us to take on more onerous contractual obligations, restrict our ability to store, transfer and otherwise process data or, in some cases, limit our or our customers’ ability to offer our services in certain locations, deploy our solutions, reach current or prospective customers, or derive insights from customer data on a global basis. For example, statutory damages available through a private right of action for certain data breaches under the CCPA may increase our and our customers’ potential liability exposure and the demands customers place on us. In July 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) invalidated the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework, one of the mechanisms that previously permitted transfers of personal data from the European Economic Area (“EEA”) to the United States. Even though the CJEU decision upheld the use of Standard Contractual Clauses (“SCCs”) as a lawful transfer mechanism, the decision created ongoing uncertainty regarding EU-to-U.S. data transfers. While the EU and U.S. governments have since adopted the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework to facilitate such transfers and address the concerns raised by the CJEU, it remains uncertain whether this framework will withstand future legal challenges. As a result, regulators may continue to interpret the CJEU’s decision and the reasoning underlying it as significantly restricting certain cross-border data transfers increasing the cost and complexity of providing our services in certain markets. Certain countries outside of the EEA have enacted or are considering enacting laws that require varying degrees of local data residency or localization. Additionally, recent governmental actions and geopolitical developments have increased the perceived risk that our services, particularly in the EU, could be disrupted, suspended or terminated. The costs of compliance with, and other burdens imposed by, privacy laws, regulations and standards may limit the use and adoption of our services, reduce overall demand for our services, make it more difficult to meet expectations from our commitments to customers and our customers’ customers, lead to significant fines, penalties or liabilities for noncompliance, impact our reputation or slow the pace at which we close sales transactions particularly where customers request specific warranties or broad indemnities for noncompliance with privacy laws, any of which could harm our business. In addition to government activity, privacy advocates and industry groups have established or may establish new self-regulatory standards or voluntary certification requirements that customers may expect us to meet. If we are unable to maintain required certifications or comply with such standards, our ability to provide our services to certain customers could be adversely affected. We have also observed increased private enforcement of data protection obligations, including through private actions for alleged noncompliance, which could result in litigation, harm to our business, reputational harm or liability. For example, in 2020 we were named as a defendant in a legal proceeding brought by a Dutch privacy advocacy group (the Privacy Collective) on behalf of certain Dutch citizens alleging violations of the GDPR and Dutch Telecommunications Act. Although the claims were initially dismissed, that decision was later reversed on appeal, and that matter remains pending before the Dutch Supreme Court. Although we believe we have strong defenses in these or similar matters, current or future claims of this nature could cause reputational harm or liability. In addition, a shift in consumers’ data privacy expectations or other social, economic or political developments could impact regulatory enforcement priorities, require our cooperation with regulators and increase the cost of compliance with applicable privacy regulations. Furthermore, the uncertain and evolving regulatory environment and broader trust climate may heighten concerns regarding data privacy, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence, particularly where advanced analytics or automated functionality is involved, which could cause our customers or their end users to limit the data they provide or their use of our products and services. Even the perception that personal data is not adequately protected or that our products or services do not comply with applicable regulatory requirements could inhibit sales, reduce adoption of our offerings or otherwise adversely affect our business.
View prior text (2025)
Regulation related to the provision of services over the Internet is evolving, as federal, state and foreign governments continue to adopt new, or modify existing, laws and regulations addressing data privacy, cybersecurity, data protection, data sovereignty and the collection, processing, storage, hosting, transfer and use of data, generally. In some cases, data privacy laws and regulations, such as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), impose obligations directly on us as both a data controller and a data processor, as well as on many of our customers. In addition, domestic data privacy laws, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (“CCPA”), and laws that have recently passed and/or gone into effect in many other states similarly impose new obligations on us and many of our customers, potentially as both a covered business and service provider. These laws continue to evolve, including, for example, India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023, and as various jurisdictions introduce similar proposals, which often include subsequent rules and regulation, we and our customers become subject to additional regulatory burdens. New EU laws, including the DSA, the Data Act and the AI Act, may impose additional rules and restrictions on the use of our products and services. In addition, various safe harbors have historically been provided to those who hosted content provided by others, such as safe harbors from monetary damages for copyright infringement arising from copyrighted content provided by customers and others and for defamation and other torts arising from information provided by customers and others. There is an increasing demand for repealing or limiting these safe harbors by either judicial decision or legislation, and we have active legal proceedings that have been impacted by the repeal or limiting of safe harbors that were previously available to us. Loss of these safe harbors may require altering or limiting some of our services or may require additional contractual terms to avoid liabilities for our customers’ misconduct. Although we monitor the regulatory, judicial and legislative environment and have invested in addressing these developments, these laws may require us to make additional changes to our practices and services to enable us or our customers to meet the new legal requirements, and may also increase our potential liability exposure through new or higher potential penalties for noncompliance, including as a result of penalties, fines and lawsuits related to data breaches. Furthermore, privacy laws and regulations are subject to differing interpretations and may be inconsistent among jurisdictions. These and other requirements are causing increased scrutiny among customers, particularly in the public sector and highly regulated industries, and may be perceived differently from customer to customer. These developments could reduce demand for our services, require us to take on more onerous obligations in our contracts, restrict our ability to store, transfer and process data or, in some cases, impact our ability or our customers’ ability to offer our services in certain locations, to deploy our solutions, to reach current and prospective customers, or to derive insights from customer data globally. For example, in July 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) invalidated the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework, one of the mechanisms that allowed companies, including us, to transfer personal data from the European Economic Area (“EEA”) to the United States. Even though the CJEU decision upheld the Standard Contractual Clauses (“SCCs”) as an adequate transfer mechanism, the decision created uncertainty around the validity of all EU-to-U.S. data transfers. While the EU and U.S. governments have since adopted the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework to foster EU-to-U.S. data transfers and address the concerns raised in the aforementioned CJEU decision, it is uncertain whether this framework will be overturned in court like the previous two EU-U.S. bilateral cross-border transfer frameworks. As a result, regulators may continue to be inclined to interpret the CJEU’s decision, and the logic behind it, as significantly restricting certain cross-border transfers and the cost and complexity of providing our services in certain markets may increase. Certain countries outside of the EEA have also passed or are considering passing laws requiring varying degrees of local data residency. By way of further example, statutory damages available through a private right of action for certain data breaches under the CCPA, may increase our and our customers’ potential liability and the demands our customers place on us. The costs of compliance with, and other burdens imposed by, privacy laws, regulations and standards may limit the use and adoption of our services, reduce overall demand for our services, make it more difficult to meet expectations from our commitments to customers and our customers’ customers, lead to significant fines, penalties or liabilities for noncompliance, impact our reputation, or slow the pace at which we close sales transactions, in particular where customers request specific warranties and unlimited indemnity for noncompliance with privacy laws, any of which could harm our business. 22 22 22 22 22 22 Table of Contents Table of Contents Table of Contents In addition to government activity, privacy advocates and other industry groups have established or may establish new self-regulatory standards that may place additional burdens on our ability to provide our services globally. Our customers expect us to meet voluntary certification and other standards established by third parties. If we are unable to maintain these certifications or meet these standards, it could adversely affect our ability to provide our solutions to certain customers and could harm our business. In addition, we have seen a trend toward the private enforcement of data protection obligations, including through private actions for alleged noncompliance, which could harm our business and negatively impact our reputation. For example, in 2020 we were made a party to a legal proceeding brought by a Dutch privacy advocacy group (the Privacy Collective) on behalf of certain Dutch citizens that claims we violated the GDPR and Dutch Telecommunications Act through the processing and sharing of data in connection with our Audience Studio and Data Studio products. In December 2021, the Amsterdam District Court declared the Privacy Collective’s claims against us inadmissible and dismissed the case, however, this ruling was appealed by the Privacy Collective. The appeal hearing took place in the Amsterdam Court of Appeal in February 2024 and the appellate court reversed the district court’s judgment. We have appealed that appellate decision to the Dutch Supreme Court. We were also named as a defendant in a similar lawsuit brought in the UK, which has subsequently been dismissed. Although we believe we have a strong defense for these claims, these or similar future claims could cause reputational harm to our brand or result in liability. In addition, a shift in consumers’ data privacy expectations or other social, economic or political developments could impact the regulatory enforcement of privacy regulations, which could require our cooperation and increase the cost of compliance with the imposed regulations. Furthermore, the uncertain and shifting regulatory environment and trust climate may raise concerns regarding data privacy and cybersecurity, which may cause our customers or our customers’ customers to resist providing the data necessary to allow our customers to use our services effectively. In addition, new products we develop or acquire in connection with changing events may expose us to liability or regulatory risk. Even the perception that the privacy and security of personal information are not satisfactorily protected or do not meet regulatory requirements could inhibit sales of our products or services and could limit adoption of our cloud-based solutions.