As robotics technology rapidly advances in connection with the use of artificial intelligence (AI), the collection, processing, and storage of personal information—including biometric data—will become increasingly common. Many providers of AI-powered robotics will be subject to U.S. state comprehensive privacy laws, U.S. state biometric privacy laws, and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requirements. This article outlines key cybersecurity best practices to help robotics companies navigate the patchwork of privacy, data breach, and consumer protection laws in the U.S.
Understanding the Compliance Landscape
State privacy laws and biometric statutes impose detailed requirements on companies handling personal information and biometric identifiers. For robotics companies, personal information may include video data, audio data, geolocation data, user profiles and countless other categories of information that is identifiable to an individual, household or device. Biometric data may include facial geometry, voiceprints, or gait patterns and other categories of biometric data defined by applicable laws and collected through human-robot interactions. In addition to other obligations (see our previous series on privacy and AI-powered robotics for details), these state laws impose a duty to implement reasonable security measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, and misuse.
Additionally, the FTC has long asserted its authority to enforce reasonable data security standards under Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices. Although the FTC does not prescribe a one-size-fits-all checklist, its enforcement actions and published guidance offer a roadmap for what constitutes reasonable cybersecurity—expectations that apply squarely to robotics companies handling personal information.
State attorneys general are also becoming more aggressive about using all of the tools at their disposal, such as state consumer protection and data breach notification laws, to enforce cybersecurity standards. Typically, these laws require companies to use reasonable cybersecurity measures designed to protect personal information.
Notably, failure to use appropriate safeguards can expose companies to regulatory enforcement, class action litigation, and significant financial penalties.
Cybersecurity Best Practices
To mitigate legal risk and uphold consumer trust, robotics companies should adopt cybersecurity best practices, such as:
1. Data Minimization and Purpose Limitation
- Limit collection: Collect only the personal information and biometric data necessary for specific, disclosed purposes; and
- Minimize retention: Establish clear data retention and destruction policies aligned with regulatory and statutory requirements. Required timelines for deletion vary and can be somewhat subjective. But, typically, if personal information was collected for a specific reason, that personal information should be deleted when the reason no longer exists.
2. Privacy and Security by Design
- Incorporate security controls at the engineering stage of robot design and software development; and
- Conduct Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) and Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) where applicable, particularly before deploying robots in environments involving sensitive personal information, such as biometric data, certain health data, precise geolocation data, and other sensitive data categories defined by law.
3. Robust Access Controls and Authentication
- Implement role-based access controls (RBAC) to restrict access to personal information;
- Enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) for administrative access to systems storing personal and biometric data; and
- Maintain audit logs of access and data processing activities.
4. Encryption and Secure Transmission
- Apply strong encryption standards to personal information and biometric data both in transit and at rest; and
- Utilize secure communication protocols (e.g., such as the current TLS standard) for data transmitted between robots, cloud platforms, and third-party service providers.
5. Vendor and Third-Party Risk Management
- Conduct due diligence on third-party processors and service providers that handle personal information;
- Enter into Data Processing Agreements (DPAs) that require vendors to maintain security practices consistent with applicable privacy laws; and
- Monitor vendors’ compliance through audits and obligations to respond to supplemental information requests about their privacy and security practices.
6. Incident Response Planning
- Develop and regularly test a Cybersecurity Incident Response Plan tailored to the potential risks and operational realities of robotics deployments; and
- Ensure that the plan includes procedures for notifying affected individuals and regulators in compliance with applicable state breach notification laws and biometric statutes.
7. Employee Training and Governance
- Conduct regular cybersecurity and privacy training for employees with access to personal information; and
- Establish an internal data governance process and consider assigning a dedicated Data Privacy Officer to be responsible for overseeing compliance efforts.
8. Biometric Data-Specific Safeguards
- Obtain written, informed consent before collecting biometric identifiers;
- Provide clear, publicly available privacy notices describing the purpose and duration of biometric data collection;
- Prohibit vendors from the sale, lease, or unauthorized disclosure of biometric data; and
- Maintain and adhere to a written data retention and destruction policy specific to biometric information.
Conclusion
For robotics companies with AI-powered products, cybersecurity compliance is not merely a technical challenge—it is a legal obligation and a business differentiator. Implementing these best practices will not only reduce the risk of regulatory action and litigation but also position a company as a responsible innovator in an increasingly privacy-conscious marketplace. In a sector where cutting-edge technology meets real-world human interaction, the protection of personal and biometric information should be engineered into every robotics platform.
[CD1]Link to – https://www.transformativeailegalleaps.com/blog-posts/the-robots-are-coming-navigating-privacy-challenges-in-ai-powered-robotics-in-public-settings-and-homes-part-1/
[CD2]Link to – https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/USCODE-2023-title15/USCODE-2023-title15-chap2-subchapI-sec45/summary
