On Tuesday, the FTC announced the agenda for PrivacyCon, which is being billed as a “first-of-its-kind event” that will facilitate discussions between researchers and academics about privacy and security. The FTC also released abstracts for the research that will be presented at the conference, scheduled for January 14. PrivacyCon follows a call from the
December 2015
Time Is On My Side: DoD Hears Industry Concerns – Additional Time Provided to Implement Security Controls Under New Cyber Rule
On December 30th, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued a Second Interim Rule amending its “Network Penetration Reporting and Contracting for Cloud Services” Interim Rule and giving contractors until December 31, 2017 to implement the NIST SP 800-171 security controls required by DFARS 252.204-7012. As noted in a previous post, DoD has already issued…
FTC Issues Policy Statement on Native Advertising
By Megan Rodgers
The Federal Trade Commission today issued an Enforcement Policy Statement on Deceptively Formatted Advertisements. The Policy Statement addresses occasions in which certain media outlets blur the traditional line between advertisements and editorial content, and seeks to clarify advertisers’ and publishers’ obligations regarding native advertising and social media.
Native advertisements can take…
PATH Act Requires 501(c)(4) Organizations To Provide Notice To IRS After Formation
Under recent legislation, newly-created and certain existing 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations must file a notice with the IRS. In the past, social welfare organizations were not required to submit an application (Form 1024) to the IRS to be recognized as a tax-exempt organization but could “self-declare” exempt status, as long as the organization operated pursuant…
This Week in Congress – A Year-End Review
Congress adjourned its first session of the 114th Congress at the end of last week upon passage of an omnibus appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2016 and a bill that made permanent or renewed a number of expiring tax breaks. The year-end sprint to keep the government running capped off a tumultuous year on Capitol…
Comprehensive Amendments of German Drug Laws upcoming
Recently, the German Federal Ministry of Health published a new draft law (“Viertes AMG-Änderungsgesetz”) which aims to amend several provisions of the German Drug Act (Arzneimittelgesetz) and other drug-related laws.
Most of the intended amendments result from an adjustment of German laws to the new European Clinical Trials Regulation (Regulation (EU) No. 536/2014).…
Climate Negotiation Scorecard: How did Africa Fare at the COP 21?
The outcome of the 21st Conference of Parties (COP) of the UNFCCC, which came to a close just over a week ago in Paris, was generally a positive one for Africa. While, of course, the continent represents a wide range of interests when it comes to climate change, African countries have developed an increasingly unified…
The New EU Data Protection Law: Key Elements for Business
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (see the latest text here), which was approved at the political level last week, heralds a new era of data protection in the EU and beyond. The GDPR imposes numerous new obligations on companies both within and outside the EU, strengthens the rights of individuals and foresees stiff…
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Releases Draft Report Calling for Further Research into Telehealth
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has released a draft report conducting a literature review of studies researching the effectiveness of the current telehealth system. The report was initially requested by Senators Bill Nelson (D-FL) and John Thune (R-SD) to examine the value of telehealth and remote patient monitoring, with a focus on expanding…
DoD Retreats on Evaluation of Price Reasonableness
Last week, the Department of Defense (“DoD”) quietly withdrew its ill-received proposed rule on the evaluation of price reasonableness in commercial items acquisitions. Issued on August 3, 2015, the Proposed Rule purported to provide guidance for evaluating the reasonableness of prices using data other than certified cost or pricing data. As we previously reported,…