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Category Archives: Securities Law

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

SEC Filer Manual – Volume II EDGAR Filing July 2017

July 2017 EDGAR Filer Manual (Volume II) Notice – “Use this EDGAR® Filer Manual when making electronic filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or “Commission”). See Rule 301 of Regulation S-T. The EDGAR Filer Manual consists of three volumes. EDGAR Filer Manual (Volume I) General Information introduces the requirements for becoming… Continue Reading