On February 24, Congressman Patrick McHenry (NC-10) formally introduced his bill to modernize the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (“GLBA”) in the House as H.R. 1165. The bill was first released as a discussion draft in June 2022, although the latest version reflects a number of updates as compared to the initial discussion draft. The bill has
New BIPA Claims Accrue “With Every Scan or Transmission” of Biometric Information, Says the Illinois Supreme Court
The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that separate claims under the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) accrue “with every scan or transmission” of a person’s biometric information—rejecting the idea that only a single claim accrues at the start of a series of similar scans or disclosures.
The decision, Cothron v. White Castle, substantially increases
German Government presents new law to incentivize paediatric medicines and antibiotics and to combat generics shortages
On 14 February 2023, the German Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) has presented the new draft “Act to Combat Supply Shortages of Off-Patent Medicines and to Improve the Supply of Paediatric Medicines” (Arzneimittel-Lieferengpassbekämpfungs- und Versorgungsverbesserungsgesetz or “ALBVVG”). Some commentators also refer to the new law as the “Generics Act” but this term appears
Commerce Seeks Comments on Regional Tech Hubs Program
In August 2022, the Chips and Science Act—a massive, $280 billion bill to boost public and private sector investments in critical and emerging technologies—became law. We followed the bill from the beginning and anticipated significant opportunities for industry to inform and influence the direction of the new law’s programs.
One such opportunity is available
Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on Children’s Online Safety
On Tuesday, February 14, 2023, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing titled “Protecting Our Children Online.” The witnesses included only consumer advocates, and no industry representatives. As Committee Chair, however, Senator Durbin (D-IL) indicated that he plans to hold another hearing featuring representatives from technology companies.
EDPB Releases its 2023-2024 Work Program
On February 22, 2023, the European Data Protection Board (“EDPB”) released its Work Program for 2023-2024 (“the Program”), outlining the key priority areas for the next two years. The Program is divided into four pillars, which largely reflect the priorities already set out in its Strategy 2021-2023.
National Transposition of the EU Representative Actions Directive: What is the Current Status?
The EU Representative Actions Directive (“RAD”) was meant to have been transposed by all EU member states by December 25, 2022. However, the EU Commission announced on January 27, 2023, that only three out of the 27 EU member states have properly transposed the RAD into their national legislation as required, and that it will
ECJ clarifies presumption of innocence in hybrid investigations and scope of restrictions by object in information exchanges (HSBC v Commission)
On 12 January 2023, the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) published its long-awaited judgment in C‑883/19 P HSBC v Commission.
The ECJ confirmed that HSBC had engaged in anti-competitive conduct but partially overturned the General Court’s (“GC”) judgment on procedural grounds. The judgment provides critical guidance on the nature of anticompetitive information exchanges in the
China Finalizes Standard Contract for Cross-Border Transfers of Personal Information
On February 24, 2023, the Cyberspace Administration of China (“CAC”) released the final version of the Measures on the Standard Contract for the Cross-border Transfer of Personal Information (“Measures”) (only available in Chinese here), including a template contract (“Standard Contract”) accompanying the Measures. The Measures will take effect on June 1, 2023, but are
EU Talking Life Sciences Audiocast: Episode 1 – Key Developments in the Pharma Sector: A Review of 2022 and Insights for 2023
Tune into the first episode of Covington’s Talking Life Sciences Audiocast, where Grant Castle, Peter Bogaert and Marie Doyle-Rossi discuss key developments and trends in the pharma sector. Our speakers review the major issues of 2022, including the Clinical Trials Regulation, the Health Technology Assessment Regulation, European Health Data Space proposal and Brexit.