The Securities and Exchange Commission has voted to approve the listing and trading of bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), opening the door to several new publicly traded funds that track various cryptocurrencies. The SEC’s decision will make bitcoin investing more accessible to investors, without requiring them to own the digital asset Read More
A non-profit cancer treatment center based in Tampa, Florida has agreed to a settlement with the Department of Justice to resolve charges of False Claims Act violations. The violations result from improper claims submitted to federal healthcare programs for patient care services that were not eligible for reimbursement. The DoJ Read More
Last month, President Biden signed the annual defense spending bill for 2024, otherwise known as National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), into law. Contained in the NDAA is a provision titled the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA), which for the first time makes it a crime for foreign officials or other Read More
The New York Times Co. filed a lawsuit against two of the largest artificial intelligence companies, Microsoft and OpenAI, for copyright infringement. In its complaint, the Times said that Microsoft and OpenAI illegally copied and used millions of its articles to inform and enhance each company’s AI models including OpenAI’s Read More
The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has issued guidance on managing the financial and operational risks associated with climate change. The guidance applies to New York regulated banks, mortgage bankers, and mortgage servicers, as well as branches and agencies of foreign banks licensed in New York. It Read More
The Federal Trade Commission has proposed changes to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) that would place new restrictions on the use and disclosure of children’s personal information and limit companies from profiting from children’s data. With these proposed changes, the FTC intends for the Act to reflect technological Read More
The Federal Trade Commission has prohibited Rite Aid from using facial recognition technology for surveillance purposes for five years as part of a settlement of charges that the retailer used the technology improperly. The FTC had accused Rite Aid of failing to implement reasonable procedures and prevent harm to consumers Read More
BlackRock, one of world’s largest asset managers, is facing charges of misrepresenting its ESG efforts to customers. This week, the state of Tennessee filed a consumer protection lawsuit accusing the firm of making inconsistent statements in regard to its ESG investment strategy. The state’s complaint seeks to charge the investment Read More
The consequences for a scheduling and operational meltdown by Southwest Airlines during the 2022 holiday travel season, which stranded millions of travelers, continue to mount. In the latest development, The U.S. Transportation Department has ordered Southwest to pay a $140 million civil penalty, part of a broader consent order, after Read More
The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) announced it has reached a $54 million settlement agreement to resolve allegations that gaming company Activision Blizzard discriminated against women at the company. Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Blizzard is known for many popular video game franchises, including “Call of Duty,” “World of Read More
