NCAA’s Name, Image, and Likeness Rule Proposal is Changing the Collegiate Sports Model

On October 25, 2019, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) unanimously voted to begin changing the rule to allow colleges athletes to profit off their name, image, and likeness. This progressive move is a big deal for the organization, which has previously kept an extremely firm line between amateurism and professionalism for their athletes. Despite opposition by some to change the current model, public opinion is strongly in favor of these types of changes.

Supreme Court to Review SEC Authority in Enforcement Actionsment

The Supreme Court has granted certiorari to consider whether the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has the authority to obtain disgorgement in district court actions. Disgorgement is the repayment of “ill-gotten gains” imposed as a court sanction to recover funds that were received through illegal or unethical business transactions. These recovered or disgorged funds are paid back with interest to those who the practice affected. Each year, the SEC obtains billions of dollars in disgorgement, so an adverse ruling by the Supreme Court could eliminate one of the SEC’s most important remedies for securities violations. In 2018, for example, the agency returned $794 million to harmed investors.

HIPAA And The Growth Of Technology

Earlier in 2019, a lawsuit was filed against University of Chicago Medicine, University of Chicago Medical Center, and Google. The suit claims that patient information was shared with google as part of a study aimed to advance the use of Artificial Intelligence, however, patient authorization was not obtained and the data used was not properly de-identified. In 2017, University of Chicago (UChicago) Medicine started sending patient data to Google as part of a project to look to see if historical health record data could be used to predict future medical events.

Complying with the Every Student Succeeds Act’s Reporting Requirements

The annual Illinois School Report Cards under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) were released on October 30. The report cards are now focused on student growth under ESSA which was signed into law four years ago. This will be the second Report Card released in Illinois under the new reporting guidelines under ESSA that requires states to evaluate schools on a variety of indicators of success, rather than just by student achievement. These report cards will rank schools from “Exemplary” to “Lowest-Performing” and report school spending this year as well as student performance data.

As CBD Sales Grow, FTC Cautions Against Misrepresentations

On September 10, 2019 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent warning letters to three companies that sell oils, tinctures, capsules, “gummies,” and creams containing cannabidiol (CBD) regarding the companies’ false advertising practices. Cannabis is a plant of the Cannabaceae family and contains more than eighty biologically active chemical compounds. The most commonly known compounds are delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). CBD does not cause intoxication like THC.

CMS Launched Pilot Project to Offer Individual Market Wellness Programs

Workplace wellness programs — efforts to get workers to lose weight, eat better, stress less and sleep more — are an $8 billion industry in the U.S. Recently, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) launched a pilot project for states to implement health-contingent wellness programs in the individual market. The project is part of a mandate under the Affordable Care Act that added a provision to the Public Health Service Act calling for health-contingent wellness programs to be tested in the individual market through a pilot project operated by HHS, the Department of Labor and the Treasury Department.

Recent Movements in Biometric Data Privacy

In 2008, the Illinois legislature introduced and passed the Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), which became the first law of its kind in the US. BIPA was passed to protect individuals against the unlawful collection and storing of biometric information. While many states have enacted similar laws, BIPA remains the most stringent among its contemporaries.

Are Tech Companies Doing Enough to Combat Social Media’s Harmful Effects?

Today, we have entire generations of people who do not know life without the internet. Social medial plays a central role in the lives of these individuals. Originally created to serve a purely social function, social media platforms have changed. Many consumers even use sites like Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram as their primary source of news. In addition, social media is an integral marketing tool for many businesses. No matter its function, no one can deny the presence of social media in our everyday lives. The impact of social media is so profound that it is worth considering its negative effects. In particular, social media companies must be cognizant to their platform’s impact on adolescents. Many Americans, mainly parents, feel social media companies are not doing enough. But are they required to do more? Should the government become involved, similar to their involvement in the Facebook privacy controversy?

Virtual Influencers Leave Unanswered Questions on FTC Act Compliance

Thanks to the continued prominence of social media in people’s daily lives, it is no surprise that more familiar marketing strategies such as celebrity product endorsements would update for the current era. Recently, social media advertising has practically entered the realm of science fiction with the introduction of computer-generated influencers. These avatars are created to sell, but who is responsible if they fail to comply with advertising laws?

Fair Play For Play for Student Athletes: Will the NCAA Embrace or Reject?

 On September 30, 2019, California signed into law the biggest change to college athletics in the modern era of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”). Senate Bill 206 will allow college athletes to profit from the use of their name, image, and likeness, as well as protect the athletes from sanctions by the NCAA for violations stemming from the profits. One of college athletics’ core tenants has been the amateurism of their athletes and the emphasis on scholarship. This monumental change will have far reaching and lasting impact on college athletics and may disrupt the whole system as we know it.