On 14 December 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed four separate rulemakings under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that would create a federally defined best execution standard for broker-dealers and overhaul the US equities market structure. If adopted in their current form, these proposals would meaningfully impact market participants and practices. Given the nearly 1,700 pages of combined rules proposals, firms may need to devote significant resources just to digest their potential impact on particular business models. In a series of Client Alerts, baker McKenzie associates attempt to dissect each of these Market Structure Proposals. This Client Alert provides an overview, insights, and key takeaways for the Order Competition Rule Proposal.
At the 20th working session, which took place from 13 February 2023 – 15 February 2023, the National Assembly Standing Committee of Vietnam considered and decided on a number of important issues, including: the draft Law on Protection of Consumer Rights, the draft Law on Electronic Transactions and the draft Decree on Personal Data Protection.
On 1 February 2023, the Austrian National Council passed the so-called Whistleblower Protection Act (HinweisgeberInnenschutzgesetz). This law regulates a set of obligations for companies in relation to whistleblowing, with the setup of an internal “whistle-blowing system” a priority. This new law will come into force shortly — following a formal confirmation by the Federal Council of Austria, which is still pending. The Austrian legislator is finally implementing the requirements of the EU Whistleblower Directive, although with a delay of more than a year.
The Environmental Public Health Amendment Bill, introduced in Parliament on 9 January 2023, has proposed revisions to the cleaning business license regulatory framework in a bid to drive capabilities and raise public health standards of cleaning businesses. The existing framework, which was introduced in September 2014, only provides for one type of cleaning business license. However, the revised framework, which is intended to come into force from 1 January 2024, will provide for three different classes of cleaning business licenses.
The Electric Vehicles Charging Act 2022 that seeks to regulate the provision of safe and reliable charging of Electric Vehicles and the expansion of the EV charging infrastructure in Singapore was passed by Parliament in January 2023. The Act is expected to take effect in the second half of 2023. Notably, the Act sets out a licensing regime for EV charging operators and also prescribes certification requirements that all EV chargers would have to meet before the chargers can be installed and used in Singapore.
US laws have traditionally given online services significant leeway to moderate user-generated content however they see fit. In particular, there is a long history of US courts relying on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA 230) to reject a wide range of claims seeking to hold online services providers liable for hosting, displaying, removing or blocking third-party content, including under contract, defamation, tort and civil rights laws. CDA 230 does not protect online services providers from all claims related to third-party content. For example, there are statutory exceptions for IP infringements and criminal violations. But many commentators credit CDA 230 as one of the most important laws in the development of the internet by allowing online services providers to focus on growing their user base without having to discharge unduly burdensome duties to continuously review, assess and moderate user-generated content.
Baker McKenzie are pleased to share with you their annual briefing looking at financial services regulation and enforcement in 2023, “What does 2023 hold? Key upcoming developments and enforcement trends”. The London Financial Institutions Regulatory and Enforcement experts explore the key developments and trends expected to dominate the regulatory landscape this year.
HM Treasury has finally published its much anticipated consultation and call for evidence on a future financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets. Building on the forthcoming stablecoin regulatory regime, the Treasury’s consultation sets out proposals to bring a broad set of cryptoassets within the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 regulatory perimeter. This will result in a fundamental change in the way that cryptoasset businesses operate in the UK: the key outcomes of the consultation are that (a) cryptoasset service providers will require full FCA authorization to operate where they do so in the UK (or have customers in the UK), and (b) a new bespoke regime will be brought in governing public offers of cryptoassets and admission to trading of those assets on platforms.
On 1 January 2021, a revised version of the German Batteries Act (Batteriegesetz, “BattG”) entered into force. This change was triggered by the fact that the former German system of battery take-back was no longer sustainable. The former legal structure had imposed an unfair burden upon GRS Batterien, Europe’s largest collection scheme, which had become increasingly financially unattractive and therefore had been abandoned by many battery manufacturers who had set up their own take-back schemes.
The US Food and Drug Administration ensures the quality of drug products by carefully monitoring both domestic and foreign drug manufacturers’ compliance with its Current Good Manufacturing Practice regulations. With over 350 manufacturing establishments supplying the US drug market, China represents one of the two countries with the most foreign drug establishments subject to FDA inspection.