A recent Financial Times newspaper article raises the question whether the mandate underlying the UK's competition authority (the CMA) should be reviewed. The argument is based on the CMA's blocking of the Microsoft/Activision merger, compared to the EU's conditional consent decision. The CMA's decision is being appealed by the merger parties ...
As global regulators continue to grapple with the challenges of developing and implementing effective Artificial Intelligence (AI) regulation, and with AI sitting high on the agenda for Rishi Sunak’s meeting this week with President Biden, the UK Government has announced that it will be hosting a global AI Summit later this year ...
The British Standards Institution (BSI) has released a new workplace standard relating to menstruation and menopause. The BSI standard (BS 30416) aims to support the health and well-being of all employees who menstruate or experience peri/menopause. The standard suggests that there are many actions that employers can take to improve the accommodation of all its employees ...
What is changing with how prudential regulators view fintech partnerships? How is this affecting financial institutions TPRM programs? Prudential regulators appear to be acknowledging the role that fintech partnerships have in the marketplace, both to expand banking services to previous unbanked/underbanked populations, and to allow smaller, regional banks to develop new markets for their services ...
On May 31, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released a Final Rule (the “Final Rule”) that withdraws the mandatory vaccination requirement for employees of CMS-certified healthcare facilities, which includes hospitals, critical access hospitals, long term care facilities, home health agencies, hospices, and ambulatory surgical centers ...
Most commentary around AI looks at the big picture or the future of work, but in this article we look at some practical data protection implications for businesses that are considering implementing AI systems. 1. Automated Decision-Making There are specific rules in both the EU and UK GDPR (in this article we will refer to both together) covering individuals’ rights when processing involves solely automated decision-making, including profiling ...
Cybersecurity is a looming threat for most businesses. The impact of a major cyber event can resonate for weeks, months, and even years after the initial attack. To mitigate the risks to consumers, there have been several legislative updates to address these evolving threats, including a significant change for entities in, and adjacent to, the financial services space ...
On June 1, 2023, China's Ministry of Science and Technology ("MOST") officially released the Implementation Rules for the Regulation of Human Genetic Resources Administration ("Implementation Rules"), which will come into effect on July 1, 2023 ...
I. INTRODUCTION The post-Soviet states, including the Russian Federation, are mired in corruption across all levels of government-the judiciary, parliament, executive and executive agencies.' Naturally, a "culture of corruption" within government distorts several necessary components that make up the rule of law. Corrupt parliament members will not be responsive to the citizenry ...
May 31, 2023 By: Marissa Alkhazov Governor Jay Inslee signed HB 1047, Washington State’s Toxic-Free Cosmetic Act (the Act) into law on May 15, 2023. The Act bans some of the most concerning chemicals added into cosmetic and personal care products, including PFAS, phthalates, formaldehyde and formaldehyde releasing agents ...
In November 2021, the New York City Council passed a bill requiring that artificial intelligence (“AI”) tools used by employers to make or assist in hiring decisions or internal promotions undergo bias audits to screen for discriminatory effects. Under the City Charter, the bill became law a month later after it was returned unsigned to the Council by then-mayor Bill DeBlasio ...
On May 16, 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced a $350,000 settlement with MedEvolve, Inc., a practice and revenue cycle management and practice analytics software services company, to resolve alleged violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) regulations ...
For a decade or more, Meta has been sending Facebook data from European users – in the form of photos, chat, posts, and more – over to its parent company in the US for storage. Since the Snowden revelations, Europe has been aware that this data has been open to US intelligence services on a large scale, without – it says – the protections and accountability afforded to people in Europe ...
BT announced earlier this week that it plans to cut between 40,000 and 55,000 jobs by 2030. It expects around 10,000 of these roles to be replaced by AI, particularly in customer services. BT’s recent announcement is a reminder that increased use of AI is now a key board agenda item, with businesses exploring whether they can increase efficiency and improve operations by investing in generative AI ...
As we gear up for the UK Covid-19 Inquiry’s first full public hearing on 13 June, here is a reminder of what has been covered to date, followed by a list of issues to be covered within the scope of the first (Module 1) investigation. Inquiry to date the Inquiry was formally established by the Chair (Baroness Heather Hallett) on 28 June 2022, at which time the final Terms of Reference were published by the Government (UK COVID-19 Inquiry: terms of reference - GOV.UK (www.gov ...
The latest reforms to Law No. 19,496 Consumer Protection Act, introduced mainly by the "Pro-Consumer" Law and the E-Commerce Regulation, will force companies to be more vigilant in the 2023 version of CyberDay. During the event, which will be held from May 29th to 31st, the National Consumer Service ("SERNAC") will be supervising that companies comply with their e-commerce obligations ...
Open Finance is becoming a pivotal element in the evolution of the European Union’s regulatory framework for payment services, most notably embodied in the anticipated Third Payment Services Directive (“PSD3”) ...
The hemp industry's explosive growth following the 2018 Farm Bill has produced a number of consequences, some intended and many more almost certainly never considered by lawmakers. The development of THC acetate ester (THCO), a synthetic substance created from hemp, almost certainly falls within the latter category. Recently, THCO has gained substantial popularity. In a Feb ...
Two months ago, we published an article speculating how the UK government may look to regulate generative AI such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard, as part of its broader approach to AI regulation in the UK. On 29 March 2023, the government unveiled its White Paper entitled ‘A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation’ ...
Progression of developments in technology have always led to impacts on the general workforce. With increased international focus on the speed of AI development and use, what could the impacts be of AI be on today’s workforce? The BBC have recently covered that “a March 2023 report from Goldman Sachs estimated that AI capable of content generation could do a quarter of all the work currently done by humans ...
The wait is finally over as the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill (Bill) passes through Parliament with aims of introducing numerous protections for consumers, including powers to clamp down on fake reviews. The pandemic was the catalyst in the rise of online shopping meaning that consumers rely heavily on online reviews, more so now than they used to ...
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has issued a report which provides guidance on supporting employees who are experiencing fertility issues. The report surveyed 300 workers who experienced difficulties with fertility while in employment within the last five years, as well as over 2,000 senior HR professionals and decision makers ...
SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan (SyCipLaw) has just published the SyCipLaw TMT and Data Bulletin covering significant Philippine legal and regulatory developments in the technology, media, telecommunications and data space, from late 2022 to the first quarter of 2023. It also notes links to podcasts and materials relating to TMT and dataPLUSa commentary on whether AI can replace a local counsel ...
In recent years, China is continuously exploring the regulations of LDT (Laboratory Developed Tests, as defined below). With the introduction of a series of new regulations, many outstanding multinational and local companies have participated in the research of LDT. At this stage, general provisions can no longer meet the demand of the practice of LDT industry ...
