ZZS and LIABs gain more power thanks to several rulings by the European Court of Justice. In Singapore, AIs gain legal personhood. A new leader grabs power at SpaceX.

The Ahold case has reached the highest European court. The European Court of Justice confirms that a consumer interest representative organization with sufficient representation from the population needs to be heard before personal data from the population can be used, even with a legitimate interest ground for processing. This created an EU-wide power increase for the consumer organizations, several moving to combine the permission consent structure with the legitimate interest ‘advice’.

Singapore adopts a set of laws to recognize legal personhood for AIs, including the right to apply for citizenship by any AI in any country.

A new European law requires all new cars to be connected to a sensor network at all times. The sensor network helps drivers avoid incidents and adapt their driving style. The connected cars however are also easier for police to track. To the surprise of many, the German ZZS grants approval for a consortium of car insurance companies to access the data in case of accident.

In a freak accident, SpaceX founder Elon Musk dies in a routine flight of his Starship rocket. He is replaced by notoriously secretive Russian-American billionaire Alister Zamyatin.

The Swedish PII Bay user liability claims go to the ECJ, which confirms an award of 5 million Euros as being within the GDPR. Over two million people receive settlements of 5 Euros each, which most pay without a fight.