Big tech firms, whether entering or already active on payments markets, are under scrutiny. PSD2 has opened up the payments markets to non-bank companies, but this comes with both risks and opportunities. EU regulators are examining anticompetitive risks, for example the possibility of leveraging a strong position in one market into another market. Competition, innovation, privacy and security for financial transactions will all be hot topics as scrutiny increases on providers of payment services. The message remains as vital as...

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has determined that the Digital Services Tax that will be imposed by France is unreasonable or discriminatory and burdens or restricts U.S. commerce. As a result, the Section 301 committee will hold hearings to determine which products from France may be subject to additional duties of up to 100% of the dutiable value to compensate for this action by France. The 63 tariff subheadings that have been identified as candidates for this...

Thompson Hine LLP is pleased to announce Joan E. Meyer has joined the firm as a partner in the White Collar Criminal Practice, Internal Investigations & Government Enforcement practice group Joan has more than 25 years’ experience handling complex criminal and civil litigation, primarily domestic and international white-collar defense for companies involving anti-corruption, financial frauds, government contracting, false claims, securities and commodities violations, and trade compliance matters. She has tried scores of cases at the state and federal levels and...

By Alan Winston Granwell, Andrea Darling de Cortes, and Alexander R. Olama of Holland & Knight LLP Virtual currency transactions are now a prime focus of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) scrutiny. The IRS has numerous information-gathering tools to enforce its taxing power, including summons, artificial intelligence, data analytics, whistleblowers and even a taxpayer's social media. The takeaway from the IRS focus on this area is that individuals should properly report and pay tax on virtual currency transactions or prepare to pay back...

By Joanna Dodd Massey, President & CEO of JDMA Inc They may be young, but Gen Z now accounts for 40% of consumers and already influences between $29 billion and $143 billion in direct spending. Since the youngest of them are only nine years old, their buying power will continue to grow. That means their importance simply cannot be overstated. Despite having similar psychographics to younger millennials, Gen Z is distinct in a variety of significant ways that smart marketers...

The new act introducing a collective damages action on an opt-out basis for persons domiciled in the Netherlands will come in to force and effect on January 1st, 2020. As we reported in our newsletter of February 6th, 2019, no monetary damages could be sought on a collective basis under the old collective action regime. The essence of the new Act on the Resolution of Mass Claims in a Collective Action, also known by its Dutch acronym “WAMCA”, is that...

By Rogers Stevens, Associate, Pepper Hamilton LLP Q: An employee in my company has requested intermittent leave as an accommodation for what he claims is a debilitating “anxiety,” but he has no job performance issues and seems fine to me. Are we required to provide a reasonable accommodation under the ADA for anxiety? A: The question of whether an employee’s anxiety constitutes a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) is rather tricky for employers. Most people experience some level...

Broadly speaking, artificial intelligence (AI) is the term given to the ability of computer software to simulate human cognition, allowing machine systems to learn, reason, and interact. Over time, algorithmic software can be “trained” to make connections – from random inputs to revealing outputs – which allow it to “learn”, and “make” decisions. This decision-making process, when conducted without any human involvement, is known as automated decision making (ADM). Common examples of ADM are: An autonomous vehicle stopping so it doesn’t...