January 2019

On January 23, 2019, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) announced that it had secured undertakings from 16 social media influencers, including well-known names such as Ellie Goulding, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Rita Ora, that commit each influencer to increased transparency when they promote or endorse brands or services on social media on behalf of…

New York, January 29, 2018 — Jay Ireland has joined Covington as a senior advisor in New York.

Mr. Ireland has nearly four decades of senior executive experience across a number of industry sectors, including telecommunications and media, healthcare, energy, financial services, and manufacturing. Most recently, he served as President and CEO of GE Africa,…

Hospitals and other health care organizations are attractive targets for cyber-attacks, in part because their databases contain medical records and other sensitive information. Breaches of this information could have very serious implications for patients.  Moreover, electronics connected to a health care facility’s network keep people alive, distribute medicines, and monitor vital signs. As a result,…

Compliance with the security controls in National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-171 is only the beginning for contractors that receive controlled defense information (CDI) in performance of Department of Defense (DoD) contracts and subcontracts.  Faced with an evolving cyber threat, DoD contractors have experienced an increased emphasis on protecting DoD’s…

Vermont and the District of Columbia recently joined the growing list of states that have enacted automatic renewal statutes.  Automatic renewal clauses (“auto-renewals”) allow providers of goods or services to bill consumers periodically without obtaining express consent before each billing cycle.  These clauses are becoming increasingly common for a variety of goods and services.  Regulators…

[Update to previous post from August 17, 2018]

On January 23, 2019, the European Commission and Japan mutually recognized each other’s data protection laws as providing an adequate level of protection of personal data (see European Commission press release here). As a result, nearly all personal data can now flow freely between the EU…

On January 3, 2019, the National Medical Products Administration (“NMPA”) published a draft standalone software appendix of medical device good manufacturing practice (“Draft Standalone Software GMP” or “Draft Appendix”) for public comment (available here).  Comments are due on January 30, 2019.

China revised its medical device GMP in 2014, which apply to all classes…

The U.S. Government shutdown is now the longest in U.S. history and is starting to have serious implications for Government contractors.  One of many key concerns arises when contractors approach their contract funding ceiling — can they continue to work, and what happens if there is a cost overrun?[1]

The answers are often complicated for…

Introduction

In late 2018, the Upper Tribunal of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal released two significant decisions as to the Freedom of Information Act 2000, section 35, which provides the government a limited basis to withhold communications from disclosure. These are Department for Education v Information Commissioner & Whitmey [2018] UKUT 348 and Cabinet Office v…

On the eve of the recent government shutdown over border security, Congress and the President were in agreement on a different issue of national security: mitigating supply chain risk. On December 21, 2018, the President signed into law the Strengthening and Enhancing Cyber-capabilities by Utilizing Risk Exposure Technology Act (the “SECURE Technology Act”) (P.L.