On August 7, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced a $45 million settlement with online lead generator MediaAlpha, Inc. and its subsidiary QuoteLab, LLC (collectively, “MediaAlpha”), resolving allegations that the companies misled consumers seeking health insurance products. According to the FTC, MediaAlpha tricked consumers into sharing sensitive personal information under the guise of offering
August 2025
Corporate Political Disclosure Shareholder Proposals Draw Surprising Support
Shareholder proposals on political issues—particularly lobbying spending disclosure and campaign finance issues—have been a common part of the proxy landscape for some time now. This proxy season, proposals seeking greater transparency around corporate political spending had surprising success compared to the past. This alert highlights that, especially given this development, companies should be aware of…
Adoption of Implementing Act on Non-Price Criteria in Renewable Energy Auctions
On 23 May 2025, the European Commission adopted several pieces of secondary legislation under the Net-Zero Industry Act (“NZIA”), including an Implementing Regulation on Non-Price Criteria in Renewable Energy Auctions (“Implementing Act”). The Implementing Act gives legal effect to Article 26 NZIA, which obliges each Member State to apply, from 30 December 2025,…
Congress Weighs Foreign Agent Disclosure and Registration Bills
Congress is considering several bills to broaden disclosure and registration requirements related to the regulation of foreign agents under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”) and the Lobbying Disclosure Act (“LDA”): the Foreign Registration Obligations for Nonprofit Transparency (“FRONT”) Act (S. 2305), Disclosing Foreign Influence in Lobbying Act (S. 856 / H.R.
Fourth Circuit Clarifies Standard for Rule 23’s Ascertainability and Predominance Requirements
The Fourth Circuit’s recent decision in Glover v. EQT Corporation, 2025 WL 2405514 (4th Cir. Aug. 20, 2025), provides clarity on what plaintiffs must do to certify a class in a breach-of-contract case while reaffirming that individualized fact-intensive inquiries make it difficult to certify fraudulent concealment claims as a class action.…
Bid Rigging Risk for Government Contractors
Consistent with the Trump Administration’s focus on procurement fraud, a recent settlement and guilty pleas secured by the DOJ demonstrate that bid rigging is in the Administration’s crosshairs. Government contractors should be aware of the legal risks associated with bid rigging when engaging in the bidding process. …
D.C. Circuit Deepens Circuit Split on Interpretation of “Consumer” Under VPPA
In Nicole Pileggi v. Washington Newspaper Publishing Company LLC, the D.C. Circuit unanimously affirmed the district court’s dismissal of a complaint alleging that news magazine and website Washington Examiner disclosed consumers’ personal information through a third-party pixel in violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act (“VPPA”). …
Massachusetts Enacts New Shield Law Expanding Protections for Certain Health Data
On August 7, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signed into law a new Shield Law (S.2543) – the Shield Act 2.0 – that restricts providers’ ability to disclose information in certain health care-related investigations, among other provisions. Like the Washington Shield Law that was enacted in 2023, the Shield Act 2.0 covers gender-affirming treatment in addition…
SBA Proposes Increasing 200+ Receipts-Based Size Standards
On Friday, August 22, 2025, the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) released a proposed rule to increase the size standard for what it considers to be a small business across 263 industries. The proposed rule principally covers receipts-based size standards. These proposed increases stem from SBA’s periodic review of size standards to ensure the standards reflect…
D.C. Circuit Deepens Circuit Split on Interpretation of “Consumer” Under VPPA
In Nicole Pileggi v. Washington Newspaper Publishing Company LLC, the D.C. Circuit unanimously affirmed the district court’s dismissal of a complaint alleging that news magazine and website Washington Examiner disclosed consumers’ personal information through a third-party pixel in violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act (“VPPA”).
In 2023, Pileggi alleged that the Examiner’s use of…