The use of endorsements and reviews in advertising continues to be an area of active Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforcement. On 29 June 2023, The FTC issued updates to its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising and updated its practical business guidance “FTC’s Endorsement Guides: What People are Asking.”
Bill C-47 is the Federal Budget Implementation Act – Part 1, an omnibus bill which amends existing legislation to meet the Government’s 2023 Budget objectives. Division 10 of the bill implements significant amendments to Canada’s unilateral sanctions legislation.
Canada recently committed to heightened enforcement of its export controls legislation on the heels of announcing amendments to A Guide to Canada’s Export Control List and the Export Permits Regulations.
On 27 June 2023, the Federal Trade Commission, with the concurrence of the Assistant Attorney General for the US Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, announced proposed changes to the premerger notification form and associated instructions and rules that implement the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act. The proposed changes represent an expansion and reorganization of the information collected on the HSR form.
On Friday 16 June 2023, the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition issued a strong warning to companies regarding the inclusion of certain types of contract terms that can “impede investigations” and “are contrary to public policy and unenforceable.” Specifically, the announcement warned against confidentiality clauses, nondisclosure agreements, and “notice of agency contact” provisions, commonly used in business-to-business and employment contracts.
On 1 June 2023, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control added four entities to the Specialty Designated Nationals List under Executive Order 14098 and issued four general licenses authorizing certain transactions involving Sudan.
On 16 June 2023, the US Commerce Department published a final rule implementing President Biden’s 2021 Executive Order 14034 on “Protecting Americans’ Sensitive Data from Foreign Adversaries,” to amend the Commerce Department’s “Securing the Information and Communications Technology Supply Chain” regulations, 15 C.F.R. Part 7. The amendments mainly relate to connected software applications.
The Colorado Privacy Act (CPA) comes into effect on 1 July 2023. Earlier this year, the Colorado Attorney General promulgated final rules for implementing the CPA. The rules provide insight as to how the Attorney General may interpret and enforce the CPA.
On 21 June 2023, Canada announced amendments to the Special Economic Measures (Haiti) Regulations in response to “gross and systematic human rights violations.” These amendments list an additional four individuals and took effect on 21 June 2023.
On 14 June 2023, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control published a Fact Sheet providing a helpful consolidated summary of the various existing exemptions, exceptions, and authorizations relating to the provision of humanitarian assistance that are available under certain US sanctions programs to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Fact Sheet is informational only and does not supersede any legal obligations or create new, or modify existing, exemptions, exceptions, or authorizations.