Two of the world’s fastest-growing economies — Cote d’Ivoire and Tanzania — held presidential elections this week. Both countries have re-elected the governing party but the difference between their two experiences was as far apart as the countries themselves.
In Cote d’Ivoire, incumbent president Alassane Ouattara has won a second five-year term by a landslide. …
On October 22, 2015, President Obama vetoed the National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) for Fiscal Year 2016. In so doing, the President cited concerns over provisions keeping in place the sequester, preventing reforms to modernize the military, and making it more difficult to close Guantanamo Bay. As a result, the acquisition provisions of the…
Today, the German supervisory authorities (“German DPAs”) responsible for data protection at federal and state (Länder) level published a position paper on the EU-U.S. Safe Harbor (available in German – see here). This 14-point position paper follows a meeting that these authorities held last week. Key points include:
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The week ahead will be a critical week for Congress, as the House of Representatives is scheduled to elect its new Speaker, and both chambers will be working to pass an extension of the nation’s debt limit and current highway funding authorization.
Wisconsin Representative and former vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan formally announced his candidacy…
Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) finalized new rules for the Electronic Health Records (EHR) meaningful use program. In response to significant public criticism of the program, the final rulemaking offers some additional flexibility for complying with the program’s requirements.…
In another ruling that adopts a narrow reading of the term “personally identifiable information” (“PII”) in the Video Privacy Protection Act (“VPPA), a New York district court held in Robinson v. Disney Online that a plaintiff failed to plead a VPPA claim against Disney based on Disney’s sharing a device ID and viewing information with…
During the recent meeting of the President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa (PAC-DBIA), Commerce Secretary Pritzker candidly admitted that the Obama Administration has been “grappling” with how to move forward on the proposed U.S.-Africa Infrastructure Center because the U.S. Commercial Service does not have the necessary resources and training to effect a…
A man who alleges he received an unauthorized prerecorded call on the landline he shared with his roommate has standing to proceed with his lawsuit under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled.
Mark Leyse’s lawsuit against Bank of America alleges that a telemarketer advertising…
By Hannah Lepow
On October 20, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would expand the privacy rights of citizens of the European Union in the United States. The bill, known as the Judicial Redress Act of 2015, would allow EU citizens and citizens of other allied nations limited rights to file…
Following an 8-2 en banc decision issued by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit earlier this month, potential relators may think twice before bringing their False Claims Act (“FCA”) qui tam suits in the Eighth Circuit. In Rille v. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, No. 11-3514 (8th Cir. Oct. 5, 2015), the Court vacated…
