medium match confidence
Sentence-level differences:
- Reworded sentence: "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."
- Added sentence: "Our business also increasingly relies on artificial intelligence to improve our services and tailor our interactions with our customers."
- Added sentence: "However, in recent years use of these methods has come under increased regulatory scrutiny."
- Added sentence: "New laws, guidance and/or decisions in this area may limit our ability to use our artificial intelligence models, or require us to make changes to our operations that may decrease our operational efficiency, result in an increase to operating costs and/or hinder our ability to improve our services."
- Added sentence: "For example, there are specific rules on the use of automated decision making under the GDPR that require the existence of automated decision making to be disclosed to the data subject with a meaningful explanation of the logic used in such decision making in certain circumstances, and safeguards must be implemented to safeguard individual rights, including the right to obtain human intervention and to contest any decision."
Current (2024):
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,…
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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 the United States, the Federal Trade Commission and state regulators enforce a variety of data privacy issues, such as promises made in privacy policies or failures to appropriately protect information about individuals, as unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce in violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act or similar state laws. In addition, new U.S. state data privacy laws, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”), 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 businesses and service providers. These laws continue to evolve, and as various states introduce similar proposals, we and our customers could be exposed to additional regulatory burdens. In the European Economic Area (“EEA”) and the U.K., data privacy laws and regulations, such as the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (“EU GDPR”) and United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018 (collectively, the “UK GDPR,” and, together with the EU GDPR, the “GDPR”), impose comprehensive obligations directly on Atlassian as both a data controller and a data processor, as well as on many of our customers, in relation to our collection, processing, sharing, disclosure and other use of personal data. 27 27 27 We are also subject to evolving privacy laws on cookies, tracking technologies and e-marketing. For example, the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003 establishes certain requirements for commercial email messages and specifies penalties for the transmission of commercial email messages that are intended to deceive the recipient as to source or content. In addition, certain states and foreign jurisdictions, such as Australia, Canada and the EU, have enacted laws that regulate sending email, and some of these laws are more restrictive than U.S. laws. In the EU and U.K., informed consent is required for the placement of certain cookies or similar tracking technologies on an individual’s device and for direct electronic marketing. Consent is tightly defined and includes a prohibition on pre-checked consents and a requirement to obtain separate consents for each type of cookie or similar technology. Recent European court and regulator decisions are driving increased attention to cookies and similar tracking technologies. 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. 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 new 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. For instance, the Digital Services Act (“DSA”) in the EU, which came into force on November 16, 2022 and the majority of substantive provisions of which took effect on February 17, 2024, imposes new obligations around illegal services or content on our platform, traceability of business users, and enhanced transparency measures, and failure to comply can result in fines of up to 6% of total annual worldwide turnover. Record-breaking enforcement actions globally have shown that regulators wield their right to impose substantial fines for violations of privacy regulations, and these enforcement actions could result in guidance from regulators that would require changes to our current compliance strategy. 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, require us to fundamentally change our business activities and practices or modify our products, 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 Atlassian, to transfer personal data from the European Economic Area (“EEA”) to the United States. Even though the CJEU decision upheld the Standard Contractual Clauses 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 recently 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 eventually be overturned in court like the previous two EU-U.S. bilateral cross-border transfer frameworks. 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 CPRA and potentially other U.S. states’ laws, may increase our and our customers’ potential liability and the demands our customers place on us. As another example, jurisdictions are considering legal frameworks on AI, which is a trend that may increase now that the EC has agreed the first such framework. 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’ users, 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. We have adopted and continue to adopt data residency in certain territories. These services may enhance our ability to attract and retain customers operating in the relevant jurisdictions, but may also increase the cost and complexity of supporting those customers, the scope of our residency offering may not align with customer needs, and our customers may request similar offerings in other territories. 28 28 28 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. 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. Further, any failure or perceived failure by us to comply with our posted privacy policies, our privacy-related obligations to users or other third parties, or any other legal obligations or regulatory requirements relating to privacy, data protection or information security may result in governmental investigations or enforcement actions, litigation, claims or public statements against us by consumer advocacy groups or others and could result in significant liability, cause our users to lose trust in us, and otherwise materially and adversely affect our reputation and business. Furthermore, the costs of compliance with, and other burdens imposed by, the laws, regulations and policies that are applicable to the businesses of our users may limit the adoption and use of, and reduce the overall demand for, our platform. Additionally, if third parties we work with violate applicable laws, regulations or agreements, such violations may put our users’ data at risk, could result in governmental investigations or enforcement actions, fines, litigation, claims, or public statements against us by consumer advocacy groups or others and could result in significant liability, cause our users to lose trust in us and otherwise materially and adversely affect our reputation and business. Further, public scrutiny of, or complaints about, technology companies or their data handling or data protection practices, even if unrelated to our business, industry or operations, may lead to increased scrutiny of technology companies, including us, and may cause government agencies to enact additional regulatory requirements, or to modify their enforcement or investigation activities, which may increase our costs and risks. Our business also increasingly relies on artificial intelligence to improve our services and tailor our interactions with our customers. However, in recent years use of these methods has come under increased regulatory scrutiny. New laws, guidance and/or decisions in this area may limit our ability to use our artificial intelligence models, or require us to make changes to our operations that may decrease our operational efficiency, result in an increase to operating costs and/or hinder our ability to improve our services. For example, there are specific rules on the use of automated decision making under the GDPR that require the existence of automated decision making to be disclosed to the data subject with a meaningful explanation of the logic used in such decision making in certain circumstances, and safeguards must be implemented to safeguard individual rights, including the right to obtain human intervention and to contest any decision. Further, California recently introduced a law requiring disclosure of chatbot functionality. Finally, 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’ users to resist providing the data necessary to allow our customers to use our services effectively. In addition, new products we develop or acquire 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 offerings.
View prior text (2023)
Privacy and data security have become significant issues in the U.S., Europe and in many other jurisdictions where we offer our products. The regulatory framework for the collection, use, retention, safeguarding, sharing, disclosure, and transfer of data worldwide is rapidly evolving and is likely to remain uncertain for the foreseeable future. Globally, virtually every jurisdiction in which we operate has established its own data security and privacy frameworks with which we, and/or our customers, must comply. These laws and regulations often are more restricted than those in the United States. The European General Data Protection regulation (“GDPR”), which is supplemented by national laws in individual member states and the guidance of national supervisory authorities and the European Data Protection Board, applies to any company established in the European Economic Area (“EEA”) as well as to those outside the EEA if they collect and use personal data in connection with the offering of goods or services to individuals in the EEA or the monitoring of their behavior. GDPR enhances data protection obligations for processors and controllers of personal data, including, for example, expanded disclosures about how personal information is collected and used, limitations on retention of information, mandatory data breach notification requirements, and extensive obligations on services providers. Non-compliance can trigger steep fines. In addition, the UK has established its own domestic regime with the UK GDPR and amendments to the Data Protection Act, which so far mirrors the obligations in the GDPR, poses similar challenges and imposes substantially similar penalties. Additionally, in the U.S., various laws and regulations apply to the collection, processing, disclosure and security of certain types of data, including the Federal Trade Commission Act, and state equivalents, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. There are also various state laws relating to privacy and data security. The California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) as modified by California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”), broadly defines personal information and gives California residents expanded privacy rights and protections and provides for civil penalties for violations and a private right of action for data breaches. Since the CPRA passed, various other states have passed their own comprehensive privacy statutes that share similarities with CCPA and CPRA. Some observers see this influx of state privacy regimes as a trend towards 29 29 29 more stringent privacy legislation in the United States, including a potential federal privacy law, all of which could increase our potential liability and adversely affect our business. We expect that there will continue to be new proposed laws and regulations around the globe and we cannot yet determine the full impact these developments may have on our business, nor assure ongoing compliance with all such laws or regulations. For example, the EEA is in the process of finalizing the e-Privacy Regulation to replace the European e-Privacy Directive (Directive 2002/58/EC as amended by Directive 2009/136/EC). We may face difficulties in marketing to current and potential customers under applicable laws, which impacts our ability to spread awareness of our products and services and, in turn, grow a customer base. As rules evolve, we also expect to incur additional costs to comply with new requirements. As another example, countries are considering legal frameworks on AI, which is a trend that may increase now that the EC has proposed the first such framework. The interpretation and application of these laws are, and will likely remain, uncertain, and it is possible that these laws may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent with our existing data management practices or product features. If so, in addition to the possibility of fines, lawsuits and other claims and penalties, we could be required to fundamentally change our business activities and practices or modify our products, which could harm our business. Any inability to adequately address privacy and data security concerns or comply with applicable privacy or data security laws, regulations and policies could result in additional cost and liability to us, damage our reputation, inhibit sales, and harm our business. Moreover, record-breaking enforcement actions globally have shown that regulators wield their right to impose substantial fines for violations of privacy regulations, and these enforcement actions could result in guidance from regulators that would require changes to our current compliance strategy. Given the breadth and depth of changes in data protection obligations, complying with global data protection requirements requires time, resources, and a review of our technology and systems currently in use against regulatory requirements. In addition, privacy advocates and industry groups may propose new and different self-regulatory standards that either legally or contractually apply to us. Further, our customers may require us to comply with more stringent privacy and data security contractual requirements or obtain certifications that we do not currently have, and any failure to obtain these certifications could reduce the demand for our products and our business could be harmed. If we were required to obtain additional industry certifications, we may incur significant additional expenses and have to divert resources, which could slow the release of new products, all of which could harm our ability to effectively compete. Further, any failure or perceived failure by us to comply with our posted privacy policies, our privacy-related obligations to users or other third parties, or any other legal obligations or regulatory requirements relating to privacy, data protection or information security may result in governmental investigations or enforcement actions, litigation, claims or public statements against us by consumer advocacy groups or others and could result in significant liability, cause our users to lose trust in us, and otherwise materially and adversely affect our reputation and business. Furthermore, the costs of compliance with, and other burdens imposed by, the laws, regulations and policies that are applicable to the businesses of our users may limit the adoption and use of, and reduce the overall demand for, our platform. Additionally, if third parties we work with violate applicable laws, regulations or agreements, such violations may put our users’ data at risk, could result in governmental investigations or enforcement actions, fines, litigation, claims, or public statements against us by consumer advocacy groups or others and could result in significant liability, cause our users to lose trust in us and otherwise materially and adversely affect our reputation and business. Further, public scrutiny of, or complaints about, technology companies or their data handling or data protection practices, even if unrelated to our business, industry or operations, may lead to increased scrutiny of technology companies, including us, and may cause government agencies to enact additional regulatory requirements, or to modify their enforcement or investigation activities, which may increase our costs and risks.