TL;DR: The world's largest privacy conference runs March 30-April 2 in Washington DC. Prince Harry keynotes on digital society. FTC Commissioner Mark Meador previews 2026 enforcement priorities. Sixty-plus sessions cover AI governance, the US state privacy patchwork, and what's coming next.
What to Expect
The IAPP Global Privacy Summit 2026 draws over 5,000 privacy professionals to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center next week. The agenda spans four days with 70+ breakout sessions, 300+ speakers, and enough networking events to drain your business card supply.
Three themes dominate this year: AI governance, the growing patchwork of US state privacy laws, and enforcement actions. With Section 702 FISA set to expire April 20 and California's automated decision-making rules now in effect, timing couldn't be more pointed.
The Keynotes
Prince Harry headlines the main stage. The Duke of Sussex will explore whether digital technology is "breaking or bridging" society, a topic he's approached through his own high-profile clashes with tabloid surveillance and phone hacking. Expect pointed commentary on media accountability and personal data exploitation.
Salman Rushdie, the novelist who spent years under a fatwa and was stabbed on stage in 2022, brings a lifetime of experience with the intersection of freedom and security. His perspective: the degree of freedom to tell stories about our world determines how free a society actually is.
Maya Shankar, cognitive scientist and host of the "A Slight Change of Plans" podcast, rounds out the keynote lineup. Her research on how humans adapt to change has implications for privacy professionals wrestling with constantly shifting regulations.
FTC Priorities for 2026
Monday's fireside chat with FTC Commissioner Mark Meador may be the most practically useful session. Meador, who started at the FTC in April 2025, has already flagged several priorities:
- The attention economy: how companies design products to maximize engagement at users' expense
- Children's privacy and safety: expect COPPA enforcement to stay aggressive
- Deepfakes and trust erosion: synthetic media as a consumer protection issue
- Psychological attachment to AI: the risks when chatbots feel too human
The session runs 3:30-4:30 PM on March 30. IAPP VP Caitlin Fennessy will push Meador on where enforcement is heading and how organizations should adjust.
The State Privacy Mess
Twenty-one US states now have comprehensive privacy laws on the books. "U.S. State Privacy Crash Course: What is New and What is Next?" tackles the compliance nightmare directly.
January 2026 alone brought new requirements in California (automated decision-making, risk assessments, cybersecurity audits), plus comprehensive laws taking effect in Indiana, Kentucky, and Rhode Island. The session focuses on finding common threads so organizations can build a single framework that actually works.
No federal privacy law appears imminent, despite growing calls for one. The patchwork expands.
AI Governance Sessions
AI dominates the breakout schedule. Key sessions include:
- "Agentic AI and Automation Governance": practical controls for AI agents that act autonomously
- Sessions on the EU AI Act implementation and what it means for US companies
- Risk frameworks for large language models in enterprise environments
The timing matters. While Europe's AI Act rolls out, the US still lacks federal AI regulation. Companies are building governance frameworks largely on their own.
Why This Year Matters
The summit lands at a pivotal moment:
- Section 702 FISA expires April 20: Congress hasn't resolved whether to reform warrantless surveillance or extend it unchanged
- Anthropic vs. Pentagon: litigation over AI ethics guardrails tests whether companies can refuse government demands for unrestricted access
- ShinyHunters breach wave: over 100 companies compromised through SSO vulnerabilities, with more disclosures expected
- DOGE data access scandal: whistleblowers allege federal contractors copied 500+ million Social Security records
Privacy professionals aren't gathering to pat themselves on the back. They're regrouping for a fight on multiple fronts.