Editor's Note: In the U.S. laws and regulation space, the White House is focusing on privacy, evident through its session on accountability for big tech and the recent executive order highlighting cybersecurity risks. Meanwhile, the governor of California signed into law the Age-Appropriate Design Code Act and the New York legislature is considering a similar bill titled the Child Data Privacy and Protection Act. In U.S. litigation, a former security chief was convicted of obstructing justice in relation to...

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On Oct. 3, the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) took another step in identifying, assessing, and responding to the risks various types of digital assets pose to the financial system by releasing its Report on Digital Asset Financial Stability Risks and Regulation (Report) in response to President Biden’s March 2022 Executive Order on “Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets.” The Report reviews the specific financial stability risks and regulatory gaps digital assets pose and provides recommendations to address such risks....

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Amidst the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, some U.S. taxpayers were unable to file their 2019 or 2020 income tax returns within the IRS’ filing deadlines The Internal Revenue Service, in a show of understanding, fully waived penalties for individual taxpayers and businesses who filed certain late returns by September 30, 2022. Although the deadline has recently passed  — and the IRS is not extending it — taxpayers who file late 2019 or 2020 returns may nonetheless be eligible...

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Commission recommends candidate status for Bosnia and Herzegovina The EU is in favor of nominating Bosnia and Herzegovina as a candidate for accession to the European Union and has recommended the EU Council to grant the country candidate status. This was announced by the Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday at the European Union Ambassadors’ Conference where the Commission presented their 2022 Enlargement Package, evaluating the reforms in the Western Balkan states and Turkey. Keep reading. MEPs support new...

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On October 12, 2022, the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (see here), giving clarity as to when the new rules will apply. The DMA will enter into force on November 1, 2022, and it will become fully applicable in May 2023. At that point, the gatekeeper designation process will start, and once designated, gatekeepers will have six months to comply with the DMA. This means that the DMA will...

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On 6 October 2022, the European Commission (“EC”) published the final version of its 33 frequently asked questions (the “2022 FAQs”) on the interpretation of the reporting obligations pertaining to eligible economic activities and assets imposed under Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2020/852 (the “Taxonomy Regulation”) and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2178 (the “Disclosures Delegated Act”). 1. Background and rationale The 2022 FAQs, a first draft of which was published in February 2022, supplement the previous set of 22 frequently asked...

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The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) has released an interim final rule amending the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) in order to further restrict China’s ability to obtain advanced computing chips, develop and maintain supercomputers, and manufacture advanced semiconductors. New Controls Related to Advanced Computing and Semiconductor Manufacturing BIS’s rule on advanced computing and semiconductor manufacturing addresses U.S. national security and foreign policy concerns in two key areas. First, the rule imposes restrictive export controls on certain advanced...

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As signs of continued significant inflation surface weekly, business leaders and business owners are making decisions to guard against shrinking profitability and to protect long-term viability. Are they the right decisions? Each inflationary period has its own distinct set of pressures. Successful decisions made during 2008’s inflationary period might not translate successfully to the next inflationary period. Even within the same inflationary period, the impacts on different organizations won’t be the same. To actively guard against negative inflation impacts, assess and...

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Under the Working for Workers’ Act, every covered Ontario employer with twenty-five or more employees is now required to have a written electronic monitoring policy that complies with Part XI.1 of the Employment Standards Act, 2000. The electronic monitoring rules do not limit how an employer may engage in electronic monitoring of Ontario-based employees; however, they require an employer to indicate the following in its written policy: - whether the employer engages in electronic monitoring; - if so, what form(s) of electronic...

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On September 6, Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu warned that fintech and big techs partnerships and their forays into payment and lending could lead to increased risk for the banking industry. “My sense is that we are still in the early stages of a significant shift in how banking services are going to be provided in the future.” A copy of his remarks, made at the Clearing House Association and Bank Policy Institute’s Annual Conference, can be...

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