U.S. House Votes to Pass Bill that Requires TikTok to Divest or Face U.S. Ban |

On March 13, 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted to pass a bill that would give TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance approximately six months to divest its U.S. assets or face a U.S. ban. The 12-page bill ( H.R. 7521), known as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, aims to “protect […]

4A’s Submits Written Comments to FTC Rulemaking to Strengthen COPPA Regulations

On March 11, 2024, the 4A’s submitted written comments to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) proposal to modify the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (“COPPA Rule”), a set of regulations that implement the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) statute. COPPA imposes certain requirements on operators of websites or online services directed to children under […]

California Privacy Agency Advances Draft Privacy Regulations |

On March 8, 2024, the California Privacy Protection Agency’s (CPPA) board advanced new draft regulations that implement the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (“CCPA”) on policy areas including automated technology and privacy risk assessments. The board vote to move forward with the new draft regulations on data risk […]

New Hampshire Governor Enacts New State Privacy Law |

On January 18, 2024, the New Hampshire legislature passed SB 255, a new state omnibus privacy law. The bill, the New Hampshire Privacy Act (NHPA) moved to the state’s Governor Christopher Sununu (R) for consideration and was signed on March 6, 2024. The new privacy law goes into effect on January 1, 2025 and will […]

State Appeals Court Rules California Privacy Regulations Can Take Effect Immediately |

On February 9, 2024, the California 3rd District Court of Appeals reversed a state trial court decision that delayed enforcement of the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) regulations by one year. The appeals court decision means that now all final CPRA regulations are immediately enforceable, as opposed to a March 29, 2024 deadline imposed by […]

New Jersey Enacts First State Comprehensive Data Privacy Law in 2024 |

On January 16, 2024, Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ) signed into law New Jersey’s new comprehensive privacy bill, Senate Bill 332, the New Jersey Data Privacy Act (NJDPA). The law is set to take effect in January 2025.  While the majority of provisions in this bill mirror legal obligations under existing state privacy laws (most closely […]

DOL Issues New Independent Contractor Rule

The Department of Labor (DOL) released its new, much anticipated independent contractor rule (IC rule) on January 9, 2024. The final rule changes DOL’s legal assessment criteria for whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Under the FLSA, employees are entitled to minimum wage, overtime […]

FTC Issues New Proposed Rule to Update COPPA to Bolster Online Protections for Kids

On December 20, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission announced a new Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), which would update the Children’s Online Privacy and Protection Act (COPPA) rules regulating children’s online data privacy at the federal level. COPPA imposes certain requirements on operators of websites or online services directed to children under 13 years of […]

Comment Period Ends for Potential Colorado Privacy Act Universal Opt-Out Mechanisms |

On December 13, 2023, the Colorado Attorney General’s Office closed the comment period for its proposed short-list of potential universal opt-mechanisms (UOOMs) that allegedly meet the technical and legal specifications described in the Colorado Privacy Act (CPA). The CPA prohibits opt-out mechanisms that are a “default setting” and instead requires signals to represent a consumer’s […]

FDA Issues Long Awaited New Rule for DTC Prescription Drug Ads |

On November 21, 2023, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a long-awaited final rule changing how companies must present the “major statement” in direct-to-consumer (DTC) TV and radio advertising. It differs very little from what was included in the 2010 proposed rule. The final rule implements a Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act […]

FTC Sends Warning Letters to Influencers Marketing Food and Beverages with Aspartame or Sugar |

On November 15, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it was issuing formal warnings to two food and beverage industry groups, as well as a dozen dietician and nutritionist influencers, for failing to adequately disclose paid social media posts that promoted artificial sweeteners and sugary products. The warning letters point to Instagram and […]

Government Relations – November 2023 Newsletter |

While politics is undoubtedly getting more and more unusual these days, dysfunction in Washington is not in short supply. Divided government has never really looked, well, more divided. To that end, we saw a multi-ballot marathon to elect Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA.) as Speaker of the House earlier this year only to have him ousted […]