2023

On Wednesday, December 13, 2023, the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) launched a public engagement effort related to its review of the risks and benefits of certain highly-capable artificial intelligence (AI) models.  Among the issues that NTIA will examine to assess these risks and benefits are the model weights that “open”…

Latin America

Scope and format

The Brazilian National Congress approved a historic tax reform that revamps the existing consumption tax system, in place since the 1960s.  The reform generally simplifies the Brazilian tax system, reducing the compliance cost for business.  However, it also creates a new tax on certain goods and services.

The reform takes…

In the early hours of December 14, 2023, the Council of the EU (“Council”) and the European Parliament (“Parliament”) reached a provisional political agreement on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (“CSDDD”). Described as a “historic breakthrough” by Lara Wolters, who has led this file for the Parliament, the CSDDD will require many companies in…

At its December 8 board meeting, the California Privacy Protection Agency (“CPPA”) voted to advance a legislative proposal that would require vendors of web browsers to include a feature that would allow consumers to exercise data subject rights through opt-out preference signals.  Regulations promulgated under the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California…

Earlier this year, the UK’s privacy and competition regulators (the ICO and CMA) issued a joint paper setting out their concerns and expectations in the field of dark patterns – techniques designed to mislead or deceive users of online services – which the regulators refer to as “harmful online choice architectures”. As we’ve previously noted…

On November 27, 2023, the Council of the EU formally adopted the Data Act, following the European Parliament’s endorsement of November 9, which concludes the EU legislative process.  As noted below, the Data Act will shortly be published in the Official Journal and become enforceable in 2025.

The Data Act is designed to require…

On December 9, 2023, the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission reached a political agreement on the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (“AI Act”) (see here for the Parliament’s press statement, here for the Council’s statement, and here for the Commission’s statement). Following three days of intense negotiations, during the…

Through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (“IIJA”) and the Inflation Reduction Act, the Department of Energy (“DOE”) has awarded billions of dollars to a series of new infrastructure and clean energy programs.  The scope and size of these programs have, in turn, attracted scrutiny from the DOE’s Office of Inspector General (“OIG”), as evidenced…

The requirement to pay “prevailing wages” to covered workers is a perennial aspect of many types of government contracting, including construction contracts subject to the Davis-Bacon Act (“DBA”) and certain related laws (collectively referred to as the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts or “DBRA”).  In recent years, Congress has also expanded the reach of prevailing wage…

Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) announced a deadline of Monday, January 22, 2024 for all holders of international Section 214 authority to respond to a one-time information request concerning their foreign ownership.  Most telecommunications carriers hold international Section 214 authority (i.e., authorization to provide telecommunications services from points in the United States to points…