After two years of pandemic-driven setbacks, the Consumer Electronics Show is aiming for a comeback, Axios' Sara Fischer and I report.

Driving the news: CES hopes to draw at least 100,000 in-person attendees to its annual trade show in Las Vegas this week — but it's unclear when, if ever, the mega-conference will return to its pre-pandemic peak of over 180,000 attendees.

Catch up quick: CES went online-only in January 2021, just as vaccines were first being rolled out in the U.S. It returned in person in 2022, but saw only a quarter of the number of pre-pandemic attendees as the Omicron variant spread last winter.

• This year, "the numbers look very strong," said Michael Kassan, CEO of MediaLink, a media advisory firm that hosts an array of programming at the event. "[W]e're seeing a strong response all the way around."

Yes, but: The vast majority of attendees typically come from the U.S., followed by China, which has recently faced a new COVID-19 spike after lifting some lockdown measures.

• The Consumer Technology Association, the trade group responsible for the event, said it expects roughly one-third of attendees this year to travel internationally to attend.

Zoom out: As one of the largest trade shows in the world, CES sets the scene for dealmaking across tech, media, manufacturing and gaming industries each January.

• More than 2,500 exhibitors from 166 countries are expected to debut new gadgets and products at the Las Vegas Convention Center this year.
• Executives across various industries will meet at smaller conference events throughout the city. Executives have 29 meetings on average while at CES, per CTA.

The big picture: In recent years, CES has broadened to include more industries that leverage technology but aren't traditionally categorized as tech.

• This year, for example, keynote speakers include the CEOs of companies like John Deere, Delta Airlines and Stellantis, as well as top executives from companies like Netflix, Riot Games and UnitedHealthcare.

Be smart: There will be lots of new laptops, desktops, Chromebooks and smartphones announced this week. But most improvements in chips and software look likely to be incremental, meaning the landscape probably won't shift much.

One thing to watch is how new devices reflect a world in which more work is being done remotely. Better webcams, for example, have become a priority for some device makers as Zoom has joined Office and the browser as a staple of employee productivity.

The intrigue: The largest tech companies generally launch their biggest products at their own events where they can have the stage to themselves.

• Apple, for example, rarely takes part in CES beyond sending a few employees.

What to watch: This year, the event will center around five key themes, per CTA: transportation and mobility; digital health; the metaverse and web3; sustainability; and "human security," or how tech addresses global problems.

Editor's note: As in past years, Axios will provide a running post highlighting the biggest CES news all in one place.

Source: Giphy

Login may not have been in your inbox, but the tech news didn't stop while we (and hopefully you) got a break.

Tim Wu is leaving the White House. Biden's top antitrust official will return to teaching at Columbia University.

• Our thought bubble: The Biden administration has shown a willingness to try to block big deals, like Microsoft's purchase of Activision (and even some small ones, such as Meta's planned purchase of VR fitness firm Within). But without antitrust law updates from Congress, these cases can be tough to win.

Password management service LastPass had some bad breach news. The company notified customers three days before Christmas that an August security incident had exposed its users' encrypted password vaults, as well as other user data.

• Between the lines: Security experts have ripped the company for both its security practices as well as its disclosures around the breach, which some say downplay the severity of what happened and the impact to customers.

Verizon shut down its 3G network. It became the last of the three major U.S. carriers to do so when it pulled the plug on Dec. 31.

• Why it matters: It's not a huge deal for phone owners, many of whom are already using 5G, but some cars and embedded devices will no longer be able to connect to the internet.

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is back in the U.S. and free on $250 million bond.

• Yes, but: Two of his former associates have pleaded guilty to federal charges and are cooperating with prosecutors.

Starting this week, companies operating in Virginia and California are subject to a new set of data protection laws, Axios' Sam Sabin reports.

The big picture: After federal lawmakers failed (again) to pass a privacy law last year, companies are now facing what they've always feared and lobbied against: a patchwork of state-level laws that dictate how they collect, store and share consumer data.

• Virginia's industry-backed privacy law went into effect on Jan. 1.
• This week, the California Privacy Rights Act also went into effect, introducing changes to 2018's California Consumer Privacy Act after a 2020 ballot initiative.

Why it matters: Virginia is now the second state, following California, to implement a state-level privacy law.

• Colorado and Connecticut will follow close behind this year with their own rules going into effect in July.
• Meanwhile, Utah's privacy law goes into effect on Dec. 31 this year.

Yes, but: Most industries, including the tech sector, have long argued that inconsistent state privacy laws place an undue burden on businesses, requiring them to establish different protocols for users in various states.

• Privacy advocates have supported strong national legislation but warned against nationwide standards that could undercut stronger state rules.

How it works: Each state has slightly different rules in their privacy laws.

• Only California allows residents to sue companies for data collection violations. Other states allow their attorney general's offices to impose maximum fines between $5,000 and $20,000 per violation.
• Utah's standards will apply to fewer businesses compared to those in California, Virginia and Colorado.
• In California, the amended privacy law established a new state-level agency to implement and enforce the law — differing from other states that leave regulatory responsibilities to the attorney general.

What's next: Expect state lawmakers to introduce a slew of privacy bills this month as their statehouses' 2023 sessions get started.

• The new Congress could also still pass a federal privacy law — but it's unclear how Republicans' new-won control of the House might change bipartisan negotiations.

On Tap

• CES doesn't officially kick off until Thursday, but the show-related announcements have already started and kick into high gear today, starting with an Nvidia event at 8am PT.

Trading Places

• Gunjan Patidar, co-founder and chief technology officer of Zomato, has become the latest executive to leave the Indian food delivery company, as TechCrunch reported.

ICYMI

• Twitter is being sued for allegedly not paying rent at its San Francisco headquarters. (Bloomberg)

This is usually the kind of thing you see at CES, but a startup has created a keyboard that has a screen underneath its transparent keys.