Baker McKenzie’s Sanctions Blog published the alert titled US Government Publishes Compliance Note on Voluntary Self-Disclosures of Sanctions and Export Control Violations on 11 August 2023. Read the article via the link here. Please also visit our Sanctions Blog for the most recent updates.
On 8 August 2023, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued the OFAC Compliance Communique: Guidance for the Provision of Humanitarian Assistance to Syria. The guidance responds to specific questions that OFAC received from the non-governmental organization (NGO) community and the general public related to the provision of humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people. In addition, OFAC amended Frequently Asked Question 937 related to the Syria NGO general license.
On 9 August 2023, President Biden issued Executive Order 14105, targeting certain US investments into Chinese companies or Chinese-owned companies engaged in three advanced technology areas. The Executive Order directs the US Department of the Treasury to issue regulations that will (1) prohibit certain categories of US outbound investments and (2) require notification of other investments involving the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, and Macau
Last week the SEC published new proposed rules and amendments to address certain conflicts of interest associated with the use of Predictive Data Analytics by broker-dealers and investment advisers in interactions with investors. The wide-ranging proposal would require firms to implement detailed policies and procedures to identify and “eliminate or neutralize” the effects of such conflicts of interest.
If your company uses social media influencers in its advertising, you will want to consider whether your company is adequately monitoring what the social media influencers are saying about your product or service and how they are disclosing their relationship to your company in light of the updated guides and resources that the Federal Trade Commission issued very recently.
The general considerations have not changed, namely, that companies are “subject to liability for misleading or unsubstantiated statements made through endorsements or for failing to disclose unexpected material connections between themselves and their endorsers,” 16 CFR Part 255.1(d), but the requirement that companies have a reasonable program in place for monitoring their social media influencers’ compliance and what such a program should include is an important addition to the guidance.
Just a few weeks after California Attorney General Bonta announced an investigative sweep through inquiry letters sent to California employers, the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) announced a California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) review of data privacy practices by connected vehicle manufacturers and related technologies, focusing on embedded features including “location sharing, web-based entertainment, smartphone integration, and cameras,” because “vehicles often automatically gather consumers’ locations, personal preferences, and details about their daily lives.”
Just a few weeks after California Attorney General Bonta announced an investigative sweep through inquiry letters sent to California employers, the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) announced a California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) review of data privacy practices by connected vehicle manufacturers and related technologies, focusing on embedded features including “location sharing, web-based entertainment, smartphone integration, and cameras,” because “vehicles often automatically gather consumers’ locations, personal preferences, and details about their daily lives.”
Baker McKenzie’s recent victory in the United States Supreme Court in Yegiazarian v. Smagin, 143 S. Ct., 1900 (22 June 2023), opens the door for non-US plaintiffs to pursue RICO claims when seeking to enforce a judgment or assert claims against U.S . parties or assets. Although the plaintiff in this case was the holder of a foreign arbitration award, the Court’s holding suggests that any foreign plaintiff asserting a claim against or seeking to recover U.S. property will have legal standing to pursue civil claims under federal RICO statutes, and potentially recover treble damages and attorneys’ fees.
So far this year, three US states have passed laws with specific obligations related to consumer health privacy law: Washington, Connecticut, and Nevada. When it comes to California, the omnibus California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) applies also to the processing of health information. But, if the sectoral Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA) applies and is complied with, CMIA, and not the CCPA, applies.
On 26 July 2023, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the final rules for Cybersecurity Risk Management, Strategy, Governance, and Incident Disclosure. The SEC first proposed amendments to its rules on disclosures regarding cybersecurity risk management, strategy, governance, and incident reporting by public companies on 9 March 2022.