CRS report via LC – COVID-19 Liability: Tort, Workplace Safety, and Securities Law, September 24, 2020: “Although the COVID-19 pandemic is still unfolding, a number of plaintiffs have already filed lawsuits seeking compensation for COVID-19-related injuries. Some stakeholders have expressed concern that the risk of COVID-19-related lawsuits threatens a range of businesses and other entities with substantial financial losses. Those stakeholders claim that this risk may discourage these entities from reopening and adversely affect the economy as the nation attempts to emerge from the pandemic. Some observers are therefore urging Congress to pass legislation insulating businesses, schools, and other organizations from COVID-19-related liability. Others, however, claim that the risk of potential liability arising from COVID-19 is actually minimal, and that enacting a COVID-19 liability shield would remove entities’ legal incentives to take steps to prevent the spread of the disease…”
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Category Archives: Securities Law
How to make sure Google automatically deletes your data on a regular basis
Vox: “…The company announced on Wednesday that auto-delete will be the default setting for user account activity settings. That said, this “default” setting only applies to new accounts or existing accounts that now turn on data retention after having it disabled. And the default auto-delete time still gives Google as much as three years of… Continue Reading
SEC is plugged into the potential pitfalls of making Covid-19 vaccines
Via Quartz: SEC filings tell us a lot about the potential pitfalls of making Covid-19 vaccines. Companies working on vaccines detail how unlikely it is for a trial to fail, and it underscores how vaccines aren’t a magic bullet—total public health must be considered if we’re going to make progress….Enter 8-K forms. Publicly-traded companies are required… Continue Reading
Move Fast and Break Things Law, Technology, and the Problem of Speed
Chesterman, Simon, ‘Move Fast and Break Things’: Law, Technology, and the Problem of Speed (January 8, 2020). NUS Law Working Paper 2020/001. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3516032 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3516032 “Since computers entered into the mainstream in the 1960s, the efficiency with which data could be processed has raised regulatory questions. This is well understood with respect… Continue Reading
SEC Launches New Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology
“The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the launch of the agency’s Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology (FinHub). The FinHub will serve as a resource for public engagement on the SEC’s FinTech-related issues and initiatives, such as distributed ledger technology (including digital assets), automated investment advice, digital marketplace financing, and artificial intelligence/machine learning. The FinHub… Continue Reading
Securities Regulation and Initial Coin Offerings: A Legal Primer
CRS Report – Securities Regulation and Initial Coin Offerings: A Legal Primer. August 31, 2018 R45301 “Initial coin offerings (ICOs)—a method of raising capital in exchange for digital coins or tokens that entitle their holders to certain rights—are a hot topic among legislators, regulators, and financial market professionals. In response to a surge in the… Continue Reading
OpenEDGAR: Open Source Software for SEC EDGAR Analysis
Computational Legal Studies: “Our next paper — OpenEDGAR – Open Source Software for SEC Edgar Analysis is now available. This paper explores a range of #OpenSource tools we have developed to explore the EDGAR system operated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). While a range of more sophisticated extraction and clause classification protocols can… Continue Reading
You Can’t Opt Out Of Sharing Your Data, Even If You Didn’t Opt In
FiveThirtyEight: “…Yonatan Zunger, a former Google privacy engineer, noted we’ve known for a long time that one person’s personal information is never just their own to share. It’s the idea behind the old proverb, “Three may keep a secret if two of them are dead.” And as far back as the 1960s, said Jennifer Lynch,… Continue Reading
SEC Launches Additional Investor Protection Search Tool
News release: “The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the launch of an additional online search feature that enables investors to research whether the person trying to sell them investments has a judgment or order entered against them in an enforcement action. The new tool is intended to assist the public in making informed investment… Continue Reading
Equifax data breach fallout – hundreds of class action suits and SEC subpoena
Equifax faces hundreds of class-action lawsuits and an SEC subpoena over the way it handled its data breach “Equifax, the credit reporting firm, is facing more than 240 class-action lawsuits from consumers — in addition to suits from shareholders and financial institutions — over the way it handled a massive data breach that affected 145.5 million Americans. The… Continue Reading
Google – Updating our Transparency Report and electronic privacy laws
“Today, we are releasing the latest version of our Transparency Report concerning government requests for user data. This includes government requests for user data in criminal cases, as well as national security matters under U.S. law. Google fought for the right to publish this information in court and before Congress, and we continue to believe… Continue Reading
Secure EDGAR data breach exploited for possible insider trading w updates
Statement on Cybersecurity Chairman Jay Clayton, Sept. 20, 2017 “…Notwithstanding our efforts to protect our systems and manage cybersecurity risk, in certain cases cyber threat actors have managed to access or misuse our systems. In August 2017, the Commission learned that an incident previously detected in 2016 may have provided the basis for illicit gain… Continue Reading
