Features

State Report: NY Creates Nation's First Regulatory Cybersecurity Division
New York's financial regulatory agency has created a first-in-the-nation cybersecurity division to place special focus on protecting the state's consumers and industries from digital threats.
Features

Getting Ready for Wide-Ranging Reach of California's Data Privacy Law
The CCPA is the first of its kind, generally applicable data protection law in the United States. What makes the CCPA unique is not only its applicability to companies like those in the entertainment and media industries, but also the rights it provides to consumers regarding their personal information (PI).
Features

Carrot Replaces Stick: Corporate Crime Enforcement In the Trump Administration
Elections have consequences, and the election of President Trump has resulted in a significant shift in law enforcement priorities. Corporate enforcement activity is at lows not seen in decades, despite an overall increase in federal criminal cases. This is a product of a change in priorities, both in terms of types of offenses and types of offender. So, for the time being, there will be almost unprecedented opportunity to achieve favorable resolutions for corporate clients.
Features

Privacy Notices, Opt-In Clauses Debated as U.S. Regulators Shape Federal Privacy Law
Tech giants' privacy counsel and U.S. senators discussed opt-in policies, lengthy, legalese-filled privacy notices and location tracking. The discussion aimed to further shape a potential U.S. federal data privacy law.
Features

High Court's View of 'Full Costs' in Copyright Litigation
A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court, led by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, held that the phrase “full costs” in §505 of the Copyright Act means all of the costs specifically enumerated in the general cost-shifting statutes, such as transcripts and fees for court-appointed experts and interpreters.
Features

"Spoofing" as Fraud: A Novel and Untested Theory of Prosecution
The DOJ has signaled its intent to pursue prosecutions for spoofing — which the law defines as "bidding or offering with the intent to cancel the bid or offer before execution" — aggressively. This article begins with a brief discussion of the elements that the government must prove to establish commodities fraud and wire fraud. It then examines recent spoofing prosecutions that raise important questions about the applicability of the traditional fraud statutes to spoofing-related activity. How the federal courts answer these open questions will have significant implications for participants in the commodities markets.
Features

IRS Issues New Plan 457(f) Non-Profit Exam Guidelines
Planning for executive benefits for top hat employees at non-profit organizations has undergone a frenzy of regulatory roadmap changes. Nonprofit NonQualified Benefits are largely directed and controlled by IRC §457.
Features

FCA Cases: Convincing DOJ to Move to Dismiss
Recent actions by the DOJ suggest that although the DOJ may continue to prosecute certain relators' FCA cases, other relators may find themselves on the other side of a government motion to dismiss.
Columns & Departments
In the Courts
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the majority of an $11 million jury verdict brought by a whistleblower who claimed that his company fired him for raising concerns about possible FCPA violations.
Features

Online Extra: Europe Passes Controversial New Copyright Law
<b><i>Technology Platforms Such As Google, YouTube and Facebook Had Opposed the Changes, Which Will Require Them to Compensate Publishers, Artists and Musicians</b></i><p>EU lawmakers have approved controversial new copyright rules that aim to make it easier for content rights-holders to make money when their content is used on digital platforms but could force large platforms such as Google, Facebook and YouTube to make changes to their operations.
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