The FTC and DOJ released new guidelines for evaluating vertical mergers.

The SEC expanded its rules to allow any company—not just emerging growth companies—"to test the waters" before an IPO.

Another Delaware court found that a board of directors might be liable for breaching its duty of oversight.

ICYMI: In July, the SEC and FINRA published a joint statement on broker-dealer custody of digital assets and the applicability of the Customer Protection Rule.

The Business Roundtable (and its membership of top CEOs) revised its stance on the purpose of a corporation.

New York regulators approved a gold-backed digital currency.

The SEC is looking to modernize the Description of Business, Legal Proceedings, and Risk Factor Disclosures sections of S-K filings.

The Third Circuit provided rare guidance on the different roles (and liabilities) of board members vs. board observers.

A new Illinois law requires certain companies to publicly report diversity data of their boards.

A recent Delaware Supreme Court opinion provides guidance on a board of directors’ duty to oversee a company’s operations.

The National Advertising Division will create a fast-track process for challenging ads.

The FTC issued new guidance on disclosures for social media influencers.

Beware of those sketchy trademark letters.

Facebook asked the Supreme Court to opine on the scope and constitutionality of the TCPA.

Amazon launched the Intellectual Property Accelerator to help brands fight fraud.

The Supreme Court declined to hear the Domino’s Pizza’s ADA web accessibility appeal—so don’t expect litigation to slow down any time soon.

The Supreme Court declined to hear the Domino’s Pizza’s ADA web accessibility appeal—so don’t expect litigation to slow down any time soon.

Retailers are facing a new wave of ADA claims about their gift cards.

NY Mag asks whether it’s time to regulate social media influencers.

New Jersey is considering legislation to prohibit cashless brick & mortar businesses.

New York City Council is considering legislation to prohibit cashless brick & mortar businesses.

Oral arguments were held February 1 in the lawsuit challenging the FCC's repeal of the Open Internet Rule. That rule, implemented under the Obama administration in 2015, instituted a system of net neutrality for internet users; this lawsuit alleges that the FCC under the current administration scrapped the rules without the necessary legitimate legal reasons for doing so.

Washington D.C. passed an auto renewal law.

Is Prop 65 coming to New York?

Prop 65 Reprise: California added two chemicals to its list that are commonly found in consumer products.

The FTC (in a 3-1 Commissioner vote) found that 1-800 Contacts violated the FTC Act by forcing competitors to stop bidding on its keyword search terms.

BBB started a service for consumers to lodge false advertising complaints. Wonderful.

CNBC investigated online subscription models (cc: California’s Automatic Renewal Law).

A primer on how misleading advertising practices in the U.S. are regulated and enforced.

When is it OK to claim you’re #1?

Senator Hawley (R-Mo) introduced the Social Media Addiction Reduction Technology (SMART) Act, which would place caps on a social media user’s ability to infinitely scroll content without taking an affirmative step (like refreshing or clicking).

The Senate is working on a bill that would create a small claims court within the Copyright Office to resolve small-scale copyright disputes.

SCOTUS held that App Store consumers are able to bring antitrust claims against Apple.

North Dakota passed auto-renewal legislation that’s gaining popularity across the country.

D.C. passed auto-renewal legislation that’s gaining popularity across the country.

FDA and FTC teamed up to send warning letters to vaping companies.

Kroger successfully dismissed a web accessibility suit in SDNY on mootness (because of remedial steps taken to comply with WCAG 2.0) and personal jurisdiction grounds.

Apple beat an ADA web accessibility suit in SDNY on standing grounds. The plaintiff had filed over 800 federal web accessibility suits since 2017, inspiring this comment from the judge: There is nothing inherently wrong with filing duplicative lawsuits against multiple defendants if the harms to be remedied do exist and are indeed identical. But those who live by the photocopier shall die by the photocopier. By failing specifically to assert any concrete injury, Plaintiff’s claims fail as a matter of law.

Facebook is going after a company that sold fake likes, views, and followers on Instagram.

A TCPA litigation update.

HUD sued Facebook, claiming violations of the Fair Housing Act.

New York’s AG is also cracking down on fake social media likes and endorsements.

FTC sued a company for buying fake Amazon reviews.

A sports drink company learned the perils of comparative advertising.

Check the local regs before advertising outdoors.

GNC incurred over $1M in damages for using a model’s photo longer than the license allowed.

NAD said T-Mobile’s “best unlimited network” claim can’t be substantiated.

Dyson won $16m from a vacuum competitor whose comparative ads were false.

The First Circuit found that Uber’s ToS arbitration clause was unenforceable against its customers in part because the hyperlink was grey, not blue.

The Second, Third, and D.C. Circuits have rejected FCC’s autodialer definition. The Ninth Circuit did not. And now FCC is seeking public comment to clear up the confusion.

The Second, Third, and D.C. Circuits have rejected FCC’s autodialer definition

The Second, Third, and D.C. Circuits have rejected FCC’s autodialer definition.

Jenny Craig TCPA Settlement

Alarm.com TCPA Settlement

Bloomingdale's TCPA Settlement

Thanks to FCC’s expansive definition of autodialer, TCPA litigation continues to accelerate

It’s still risky to send marketing texts to your customers. If you’re not familiar with the TCPA, check out this primer from Twilio.

Courts have been inconsistent on standing, so the Illinois Supreme Court is weighing in.

Class actions under BIPA have surged as facial recognition and fingerprinting become more common.

Class actions under BIPA have surged as facial recognition and fingerprinting become more common.

If you’re collecting identifying biometric data from customers or employees, it’s worth paying attention to BIPA. Here's a good overview.

Settling one accessibility suit doesn’t foreclose another lookalike case. Just ask Hooters.

We’re left with non-binding guidelines like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). WCAG 2.0, which is cited in every complaint, just got an upgrade: WCAG 2.1.

The DOJ considers websites to be “places of public accommodation” but still hasn’t offered any rules or guidance. Because compliance remains a mystery, litigation has exploded—over 1,000 federal cases in the first half of 2018 alone.

The DOJ considers websites to be “places of public accommodation” but still hasn’t offered any rules or guidance.

Beware of lawsuits claiming that you’ve violated the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) because your website isn’t accessible to visually-impaired consumers.

The Oracle-Google copyright dispute is headed to SCOTUS.

The bipartisan Inventors Rights Act was introduced in the House, which would give new rights to inventors who own their patents.

SCOTUS held that the Patent & Trademark Office can’t demand attorneys fees from litigants.

The Patent and Trademark Office issued new guidance to its patent examiners, including guidance on the patentability of abstract ideas.

The Senate Subcommittee on IP held a hearing on the STRONGER Patents Act. Reviews were mixed.

Tesla claims that an employee who stole manufacturing trade secrets caused $167M in damages.

U.S. Patent & Trademark Office wants your thoughts on how AI inventions will impact IP rights.

More patent stuff: An analysis of Section 101 eligibility cases in the five years since Alice.

Ariana Grande sued Forever 21. One of her claims is that, after she rejected an endorsement offer from Forever 21, the company hired a lookalike model that mimicked Grande’s hairstyle, clothing, hair accessories, and poses.

The Eleventh Circuit did its part to curb the flood of TCPA claims when it held that, while “annoying, perhaps,” receiving one unsolicited text does not give you standing to sue.

Target sued its insurer for up to $74 million in coverage related to its 2013 data breach. Merck did the same.

Target sued its insurer for up to $74 million in coverage related to its 2013 data breach.

The Senate continues to talk about a federal privacy bill.

The FTC has been pretty active on the privacy front.

The FTC has beefed up its data security enforcement.

New Hampshire, Illinois, Virginia, and Washington were quick to introduce CCPA-style privacy bills early into the 2020 legislative sessions.

New Hampshire, Illinois, Virginia, and Washington were quick to introduce CCPA-style privacy bills early into the 2020 legislative sessions.

New Hampshire, Illinois, Virginia, and Washington were quick to introduce CCPA-style privacy bills early into the 2020 legislative sessions.

New Hampshire, Illinois, Virginia, and Washington were quick to introduce CCPA-style privacy bills early into the 2020 legislative sessions.

CCPA 2.0” needs 623,212 signatures by June to get on California’s ballot—just in time for CCPA’s regulations to finally get released. Lovely

CEOs from the Business Roundtable called on Congress to pass national privacy legislation.

NIST released its preliminary privacy framework.

The IAB has proposed a CCPA compliance framework for programmatic publishers and ad tech companies.

The folks responsible for the CCPA gifted us with another ballot initiative for a stricter privacy statute called the California Privacy Rights and Enforcement Act. Yikes.

California’s Attorney General released the long-awaited draft CCPA regulations.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that employers have a common law duty to protect their employees’ personal information from unauthorized access.

Notes from the California AG’s CCPA roadshow.

A proposed bill would make San Francisco the first city to ban governmental adoption of facial recognition technology.

Google was hit with $57M GDPR fine by French regulators.

At a recent Senate oversight hearing, the new FTC Commissioners discussed a potential federal privacy bill that could preempt state laws.

FINRA released cyber guidelines for broker-dealers.

The Department of Health and Human Services released cybersecurity guidelines for the health industry.

The House unanimously passed the SMART IoT Act, which directs the Department of Commerce to study the IoT industry and report back to Congress.

California’s AG will hold public forums across the state on the California Consumer Privacy Act, which will surely give us clarity on the law.

Oath (f/k/a AOL) pays record $5M COPPA settlement.

U.S. Senators call for a data security law after the Marriott breach.

The outlook for a 2019 federal privacy bill.

The latest on the CCPA legislative saga.

In other biometric news, Home Depot was sued under BIPA by consumers who say the company collected “faceprints” and followed them around the store.

An update in Facebook’s high-stakes biometric data case.

YouTube will pay a $170M COPPA settlement.

A group of CEOs urged Congress to pass national privacy legislation. Here are their suggestions.

A group of CEOs urged Congress to pass national privacy legislation.

A roundup of recent data breach notification laws around the country.

The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act doesn’t prevent a company from scraping LinkedIn’s site data, according to a recent Ninth Circuit decision.

The U.K.s Information Commissioner’s Office will impose a $123M GDPR fine on Marriott as a result of newly-acquired Starwood’s data breach. For potential M&A implications, see here.

The U.K.s Information Commissioner’s Office will impose a $123M GDPR fine on Marriott as a result of newly-acquired Starwood’s data breach.

The hacker arrested for the Capital One breach may have stolen information from more than 30 other companies.

A CCPA amendment tracker.

FTC is seeking public comment on whether its COPPA rules need updating. The rules were last updated in 2003—but given the speed at which consumer technology has evolved, FTC is asking for comments ahead of the typical ten-year review cycle.

Hawaii’s governor vetoed a bill that would have been the first law to prohibit the sale of a customer’s location data without consent. New York City is considering a similar measure.

Hawaii’s governor vetoed a bill that would have been the first law to prohibit the sale of a customer’s location data without consent.

A federal court in California found that customers have the right to sue Facebook over a 2016 data breach—even though the leaked information was publicly available —potentially signaling an expansion of consumers’ ability to maintain data breach class actions.

New York beefed up their breach notification statutes.

Texas beefed up their breach notification statutes.

Senators Klobuchar and Murkowski introduced the Protecting Personal Health Data Act, which would govern the collection of health information by wearables, social media, DTC genetic testing, and other technologies.

Amazon, like Microsoft and Google, has called for federal regulation of the technology (while others try to ban it).

San Francisco banned the use of facial recognition by the police, and other cities may follow.

Congress re-introduced the Token Taxonomy Act, which would exclude cryptocurrency from being classified as a security.

The First Circuit found that an app user had no expectation of privacy in his IP address.

AGs from 38 states are lobbying Congress to pass the SAFE Banking Act and give cannabis businesses access to the federal banking system.

A bipartisan group in Congress has proposed reforms to Section 101 patent eligibility.

SDNY found that a fashion startup waived attorney-client privilege by including its PR firm in emails about litigation strategy.

HHS lowered the maximum fine for HIPAA violations.

The bipartisan federal Commercial Facial Recognition Privacy Act was introduced in the Senate.

A GDPR-like privacy bill in Washington State failed to pass the House.

A variety of amendments to California’s CCPA—some backed by industry, others backed by consumer groups—advanced out of committee in the Senate and Assembly.

FTC hit TikTok with a record $5.7 million COPPA fine.

Opt-ins, opt-outs, and state privacy law preemption were on the agenda at a recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

Massachusetts is considering a bill that looks like the offspring of BIPA and CCPA.

California’s AG is backing an amendment to CCPA that expands the private right of action and removes the cure period.

‘Brobilize’—the act of a tech company leveraging its customers for public policy purposes. Fascinating topic; horrible name.

Senators ask FTC for tougher “Made in America” enforcement.

FDA will update its medical device approval process.

Anthem agrees to record HIPAA settlement.

PopSugar was sued by Instagram influencers for stealing their content and removing affiliate links. Don’t do this please.

Check your products against the Proposition 65 list.

New Prop 65 warning requirements went into effect on Aug. 30.

Californians are accustomed to seeing a terrifying Prop 65 warning, even at Starbucks.

New cyber regulations from NY State’s Department of Financial Services went into effect 9/1/18.

Apple published new App Store data collection rules.

California passed an Internet of Things cybersecurity law.

The NLRB said that it’s presumptively OK for employers to require confidentiality from employees during workplace investigations.

New York is also working on its own version of a gig economy bill.

In New York, a number of employment laws will soon go (or have already gone) into effect. Here’s a list.

In California employment news, AB5—the state’s new law that codifies the distinction between employees and independent contractors—is being challenged in court by truck drivers, freelance journalists, and companies in the gig economy.

A district court judge temporarily halted AB 51, California’s new anti-arbitration law that was set to take effect on January 1. The California Chamber of Commerce is challenging that the law is preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act.

The EEOC rescinded its policy of disfavoring mandatory employee arbitration agreements.

New York City expanded its Human Rights Law protections to cover freelancers and independent contractors.

California passed several other employment laws during the 2019 legislative session—for a complete list, see here.

A new California law bans mandatory arbitration as a condition of employment.

The Department of Labor issued a final rule that increases the overtime salary threshold from $23,660 to $35,568.

USCIS issued its final H-B1 visa lottery rule.

Two recent cases call into question the validity of non-solicits in California.

NLRB overruled a prior case, making it easier to classify workers as independent contractors.

A helpful chart of harassment training requirement across the country.

Governor Newsom proposed a new paid parental leave policy for California employees.

Mayor de Blasio proposed a paid time off law that would require 10 days of paid personal time per year.

Advice on the top 9 tasks to comply with a list of California employment laws that went into effect on January 1, 2019.

Here’s a list of California employment laws that went into effect on January 1.

Some advice on the employment implications of the e-scooter boom.

Updates to the New York Paid Family Leave Law became effective 1/1/19.

Federal courts enforced Lyft’s arbitration provision in cases filed by gig workers.

Federal courts enforced Postmates’ arbitration provision in cases filed by gig workers.

USCIS proposed changes to the H-1B visa lottery system.

The EEOC will reverse course and no longer require employers with over 100 employees to report compensation and hours worked (broken down by pay band, job category, ethnicity, and gender).

The NLRB held that misclassifying workers does not violate federal labor law.

New York’s Senate and Assembly passed a bill that allows employees to put a lien on their employers’ property when making wage violation claims. It’ll be sent to Governor Cuomo’s desk.

California also extended its harassment training deadline for non-supervisor employees.

California’s Senate passed AB 5, a bill that would treat certain gig economy workers as employees. If the bill passes out of the Assembly, it’s expected to be signed by Governor Newsom.

Chicago passed a “fair workweek” ordinance that requires certain employers to give workers at least two weeks’ advance notice of their schedules. Heads up for other cities and states who might follow suit.

A SDNY judge invalidated New York State’s ban on mandatory arbitration of harassment claims.

New York also made major changes to its harassment laws (including removal of the “severe and pervasive” standard in favor of a new “inferior terms, conditions, or privileges of employment” standard).

The Ninth Circuit asked the California Supreme Court for help in deciding whether the new employee vs. independent contractor test should be applied retroactively.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) came down with a significant ruling that impacts how employers can institute and enforce mandatory arbitration.

California extended paid family leave benefits from 6 to 8 weeks.

Some legal issues to consider when developing a remote working program.

The EEOC posted forms and guidance for the new pay data reporting requirements.

A pay data reporting bill is making its way through the California legislature and, similar to the recent EEOC rule, would require companies with over 100 employees to report certain pay data broken down by race, ethnicity, and gender.

New York’s legislature passed major changes to the state’s harassment and discrimination laws in a bill that’s expected to be signed by Gov. Cuomo.

Washington State passed a bill that severely limits the enforceability of non- competes. It’s waiting on Governor Inslee’s signature.

Another court calls into question the enforceability of non-solitics in California.

A new NYC law prohibits employers from requiring marijuana testing for job applicants.

Employees in New York State are now entitled to up to three hours of paid time to vote.

Next term, SCOTUS will decide whether federal discrimination laws protect LGBTQ workers.

Steak ‘n Shake learned the troubles of not complying with COBRA.

SCOTUS ruled that employees can’t arbitrate claims as a class unless their employment agreements expressly allow it.

Following an order from a federal judge in D.C., EEOC will require employers with 100 or more employees to collect and submit—by September 30, 2019—employee pay data for calendar years 2017 and 2018. Demographic workforce data is due by May 31, 2019.

Following an order from a federal judge in D.C., EEOC will require employers with 100 or more employees to collect and submit—by September 30, 2019—employee pay data for calendar years 2017 and 2018. Demographic workforce data is due by May 31, 2019.

Massachusetts’ AG is enforcing the state’s “ban the box” law by fining two companies and sending warning letters to 17 more.

States aren’t precluded from enacting their own laws that define the employment status of gig workers.

DOL issued an opinion letter concluding that a particular “virtual marketplace company’s” on-demand workers are independent contractors and not employees.

House Democrats approved the Paycheck Fairness Act.

NYC published model lactation room policies.

New Jersey passed legislation that bans waiver of rights and non-disclosure provision in employment agreements.

Congress re-introduced the FAIR Act, which seeks to end mandatory arbitration for employees.

Department of Labor proposed a new overtime threshold—going from $23,660 to $35,308.

Glassdoor survived a suit from an employer with negative reviews.

Viacom sued Netflix for poaching employees.

California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a host of employment laws on his way out.

The NYC Commission on Human Rights proposed rules that protect against discrimination based on gender identity or expression.

New lactation room laws in NYC and NYS.

New sexual harassment laws in NYC and NYS.

Major wage & hour decision against Starbucks by the California Supreme Court.

ICE’s I-9 audits and raids are unfortunately on the rise.

On 12/31/18, minimum wages and the threshold for exempt status will increase in New York State.

HHS increased the penalties for HIPAA violations.

Governor Cuomo is pushing for net neutrality in New York.

NYSE issued an amended proposal for direct listings.

The Supreme Court will hear a challenge to the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The Department of Health & Human Services proposed major changes to federal anti-kickback rules.

The Supreme Court made it easier for companies to protect information they provide to the government from FOIA disclosure.

In-house privilege: a cautionary tale from Marriott.

Practical Law offers some tips on alternative fee arrangements.

From Harvard Business Review: The Era of “Move Fast and Break Things” Is Over

A Massachusetts state senator keeps up the fight against patent trolls with this proposed legislation.

Can you register your brand’s color alone as a trademark?

New York State passed legislation banning discrimination based on gender identity or gender expression.

What does “reasonable efforts” mean in Delaware?

New York State’s first-ever comprehensive lobbying regulations went into effect 1/1/19.

Reaction to the new Farm Bill’s treatment of hemp and CBD from New York.

Reaction to the new Farm Bill’s treatment of hemp and CBD from the FDA.

A thorough explanation of the new Farm Bill’s treatment of hemp and CBD.

Congrats California! You’ve been named the #1 “Judicial Hellhole” by the American Tort Reform Foundation.

Here’s a quick primer on secondaries.

Recommendations on structuring a secondary offering so that it doesn’t count as compensation for tax purposes.

Ohio became the first state that allows companies to pay taxes in Bitcoin.

In 2019, Congress and the USPTO are looking to clarify patent eligibility under Section 101.

The age-old question: Does it make sense for an in-house legal team to have KPIs or OKRs? This author from Corporate Counsel thinks so.

Another circuit court asked a state supreme court for help. Here, the 11th Circuit wants the Florida Supreme Court to decide whether a commercial contract that exculpates one party (in this case, a software provider) from any future liability is enforceable under FL law.

SCOTUS made it easier for businesses to block FOIA disclosures of their confidential information.

The SEC sued Kik for failure to make proper disclosures in connection with its ICO.

Hertz is looking to hold their former CEO, CFO, and GC personally liable for damages suffered as a result of the company’s restated financials in 2015.

Senators Coons and Tillis want to reform the patent system.

A federal court in California found that a consumer agreed to an arbitration provision via text.

Three big pharma companies sued the federal government—and won the first round—to block HHS’ price transparency rule on First Amendment grounds.

Three big pharma companies sued the federal government—and won the first round—to block HHS’ price transparency rule on First Amendment grounds.

The Democrats’ Net Neutrality bill is making its way through the House.

The E.U. approved a new copyright law.

FTC increased the filing thresholds under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act.

FTC launched its Technology Task Force to monitor and investigate anti-competitive practices in the tech industry.