January 2024

On January 17, 2024, the European Parliament formally endorsed its provisional agreement with the Council on the Directive Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition through Better Protection against Unfair Practices and Better Information (“Greenwashing Directive”).  The Council is now expected to endorse the provisional agreement after which the Directive will be published in the EU…

U.S. policymakers have continued to express interest in legislation to regulate artificial intelligence (“AI”), particularly at the state level.  Although comprehensive AI bills and frameworks in Congress have received substantial attention, state legislatures also have been moving forward with their own efforts to regulate AI.  This blog post summarizes key themes in state AI bills…

The ever increasing threats of mass arbitration have led many companies to re-examine the terms of their contracts with consumers and to include provisions intended to guard against such threats.  One of the options some companies may find themselves considering is doing away with the arbitration clause but keeping the class action waiver.…

From February 17, 2024, the Digital Services Act (“DSA”) will apply to providers of intermediary services (e.g., cloud services, file-sharing services, search engines, social networks and online marketplaces). These entities will be required to comply with a number of obligations, including implementing notice-and-action mechanisms, complying with detailed rules on terms and conditions, and publishing transparency…

China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (“SAMR”) is seeking public comment on its proposed amendment to the country’s Food Safety Law.  The amendment is intended to include ready-to-drink liquid infant formula in the current regulatory regime for powder infant formula, as part of the implementation of the “Four Strictest” principles for food safety (i.e., the most stringent…

On 24 January 2024, the European Commission (the “Commission”) published its European Economic Security Package (the “EESP”), which included the long-awaited proposal to reform the EU Regulation which established a framework for Foreign Direct Investment screening (the “EU FDI Regulation”). The EESP’s proposed regulation (the “Proposed Regulation”) is one of the EESP’s five initiatives to…

On January 24, 2024, the U.S. National Science Foundation (“NSF”) announced the launch of the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (“NAIRR”) pilot, a two-year initiative to develop a shared national research infrastructure for responsible AI discovery and innovation. The launch makes progress on a goal in President Biden’s recent Executive Order on AI safety and…

On January 24, the EU Commission released a communication announcing the European Economic Security Package (EESP) – as trailed in our previous blog. The Communication, which implements the EU’s Strategy (published in June 2023), is aimed at strengthening the EU’s economic security in a number of areas:

  • improved screening of foreign investment into the EU;
  • greater

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Opt-out collective actions (i.e. US-style class actions) can only be brought in the UK as competition law claims.  Periodic proposals  to legislate to expand this regime to consumer law claims have so far faltered.  However, this is now back on the Parliamentary agenda.  Several members of the House of Lords have indicated their support for…