On October 9, 2020, the French Supervisory Authority (“CNIL”) issued guidance on the use of facial recognition technology for identity checks at airports (available here, in French). The CNIL indicates that it has issued this guidance in response to a request from several operators and service providers of airports in France who are planning
2020
California to Require Annual Pay Data Reporting to DFEH
In an effort to close gender and racial pay gaps, California Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed Senate Bill (SB) 973 to require certain California employers to submit an annual pay data report to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) starting next year. The new law largely mirrors the EEO-1 “Component 2” pay data…
New Hampshire Brings COVID-19 Tax Dispute to Supreme Court; Case Highlights Challenges Facing Employers and Employees
On Monday, October 19, the State of New Hampshire filed a bill of complaint in the Supreme Court of the United States asserting that its southern neighbor, Massachusetts, is violating its state sovereignty. The suit attacks Massachusetts’s emergency regulations governing the taxation of income during the COVID-19 state of emergency. Massachusetts enacted a rule pursuant…
CISA and MS-ISAC Release Joint Guide on Ransomware
On September 30, 2020, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (“CISA”) and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (“MS-ISAC”) released a joint guide synthesizing best practices to prevent and respond to ransomware. This guide was published the day before OFAC and FinCEN released their coordinated guidance on ransomware attacks that we previously summarized here…
California Attorney General Releases New Proposed Modifications to California Consumer Privacy Act Regulations
On Monday, the California Attorney General (“AG”) proposed a third set of modifications to the recently enacted California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) regulations. Interested parties have until October 28 to file comments in response.
These proposed modifications are the latest effort in an extensive rulemaking process that has lasted more than a year. Most recently,…
California AG Settlement Suggests Privacy and Security Practices of Digital Health Apps May Provide Fertile Ground for Enforcement Activity
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (“AG”) announced in September a settlement against Glow, Inc., resolving allegations that the fertility app had “expose[d] millions of women’s personal and medical information.” In the complaint, the AG alleged violations of certain state consumer protection and privacy laws, stemming from privacy and security “failures” in Glow’s mobile application…
FCC Announces Section 230 Rulemaking
FCC Chairman Pai announced today that the FCC will move forward with a rulemaking to clarify the meaning of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA). To date, Section 230 generally has been interpreted to mean that social media companies, ISPs, and other “online intermediaries” have not been subject to liability for their users’…
Final Regulations Address TCJA Disallowance for Meal and Entertainment Expenses
On October 9, the IRS published final Treasury Regulations addressing the deduction disallowance of expenses associated with providing entertainment, business meals, and other food and beverages in the Federal Register. The final regulations, which track the proposed regulations published on February 26, 2020, preserve, with certain limitations, taxpayers’ ability to deduct 50 percent of the…
IRS Posts Tax Tip on Backup Withholding
On October 14, 2020, the IRS posted Tax Tip 2020-136 entitled, “Helpful information for taxpayers on backup withholding.” This particular Tax Tip serves as a great reminder for payers making payments for which backup withholding is required, especially if they are unaware of the troubling consequences of noncompliance.…
OASDI (Social Security) Wage Base Up Over 3.7% for 2021
On October 13, the Social Security Administration announced that the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (“OASDI”) wage base will increase to $142,800 for 2021. The 3.7% increase follows a 3.6% increase in the wage base for 2020 and a 3.5% increase for 2019. Wages in excess of the wage base paid by an employer…