Earlier today, a three-judge panel in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia rejected a constitutional challenge to the Federal Election Campaign Act’s (“FECA”) biennial aggregate contribution limits in McCutcheon v. FEC, No. 12-cv-1034 (D.D.C. Sept. 28, 2012). Under FECA, an individual may contribute no more than $117,000 in the aggregate on federal
September 2012
European Cloud Computing Strategy Raises Questions Over Future of Private Copy Levies
On September 27, 2012, the European Commission released its Communication strategy paper on cloud computing. The strategy, in development for over a year, advocates a range of new measures to help Europe capitalise on the growth of cloud computing and increase Europe’s rate of cloud adoption. See further below for some of the major…
Court Upholds Ban on Lobbyists Serving on Advisory Committees
Immediately after being sworn into office in 2009, President Obama issued Executive Order 13490, which barred federal lobbyists from service in his administration (on issues or in agencies they had formerly lobbied). Then, in September 2009, the White House announced that it was encouraging federal agencies to follow this practice for appointments the agencies…
Surveys Reveal Surprisingly Common Data Security Shortcomings
Despite studies indicating that data security is a top concern for executives and corporate boards — a development we previously blogged about here — barely half of employees are familiar with their company’s information security policies, according to a survey by Forrester Research. The report explains, “only 56 percent of information workers in North America…
mHealth Moving Forward
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski announced this week that he expects the FCC to release two orders on mobile healthcare technologies (mHealth) by the end of the year. This announcement relates to the release this week of a report by the mHealth Task Force that made a number of recommendations with respect to…
Rep. Lofgren Introduces Legislation to Update ECPA
Last Friday, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) introduced the ECPA 2.0 Act, H.R. 6529, which would strengthen the legal standards for law enforcement to gain access to electronic communications and location information. The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) is more than 25 years old and is widely seen as needing modernization to address changes in…
New Medical Devices Regulations in the EU – Significant Changes But No Big Bang
Originally published as Covington E-Alert on September 26, 2012
Today the European Commission published its long awaited proposals for the revision of the EU regulatory framework for medical devices. Three Directives, i.e., Directive 90/385/EEC on active implantable medical devices, Directive 93/42/EEC on medical devices and Directive 98/79/EC on in vitro diagnostic medical devices (IVD) will…
FTC’s Role in “Do Not Track” Discussions Under Debate
Updated on October 1, 2012 to add information about Chairman Leibowitz’s response to the nine Representatives’ letter. As we previously noted, in March of this year the Federal Trade Commission called for the implementation of a Do Not Track (DNT) system that allows consumers to opt out of the collection of all online behavioral…
DOJ Drops Lawsuit to Collect on “Married by America” Indecency Fine
The Department of Justice has told a court that it will not be continuing its suit against Fox over Fox’s decision not to pay indecency fines relating to a 2003 episode of the reality show “Married by America.” The episode in question showed pixelated nudity.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) originally had proposed a fine…
HHS Announces $1.5 Million HIPAA Settlement with Massachusetts Provider
On September 17, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a settlement with Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Associates, Inc. (collectively, MEEI) for alleged violations of the HIPAA Security Rule. Under the Resolution Agreement, MEEI agreed to pay $1.5 million to HHS and take corrective action to…