The European Union’s Antitrust Actions Against Google and Apple: The Last Soldier of Big Tech Regulation

Posted on April 6, 2025Categories International Affairs, technology

Due to President Trump’s focus on weakening regulations on big technology companies, the European Union (EU) finds itself once again at the forefront of regulating big tech to ensure fair competition within digital markets. The EU’s recent actions, as of March 19, 2025, accuse Google and Apple of antitrust violations, a move that may increase geopolitical tensions as President Trump has made it clear he will protect American companies from “overseas extortion.” The EU remains one of the few remaining checks on the power of big tech.
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The IRS-ICE Data Sharing Deal: A New Era of Regulatory Compliance Challenges

Posted on April 3, 2025Categories Privacy & Security, tax

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is reportedly nearing an agreement to share limited taxpayer data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), marking a significant departure in tax enforcement and immigration policy. This potential deal would allow ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to verify whether names and addresses match filed tax records, purportedly to facilitate immigration enforcement efforts. However, this agreement raises concerns about taxpayer privacy, legal and corporate compliance, and potential declines in tax participation, which could undermine both federal revenue tax collection and trust in the tax system.
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Trump IRS Downsizing Could Lead to $500B in Lost Tax Revenue for the Federal Government

Posted on April 3, 2025Categories Regulation, tax

As part of the Trump administration’s broad efforts to downsize the federal government, it reportedly plans to cut more than 20% of the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) workforce by mid-May 2025. This planned reduction in staff follows the nearly 6,700 probationary IRS employees already fired by the administration and the 4,700 employees who left the IRS after accepting the administration’s “voluntary buyout” offer. In total, reports indicate that the Trump administration could reduce the IRS workforce by nearly half its current size. Downsizing of this magnitude could greatly impact the amount of tax revenue collected by the IRS as there may no longer be adequate staffing to conduct large audits and complete other tax collection efforts. In fact, these cuts have led Treasury Department and IRS officials to project a decrease of up to 10% in federal tax collection compared to 2024, representing over $500 billion in lost revenue for the federal government. This level of reduced tax collection would primarily benefit the wealthiest Americans, while low- and middle-income individuals would be the most impacted by the likely continuation of offsetting funding cuts to public welfare and services.
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The NCAA’s Gamble on Sports Betting Tech

Posted on April 2, 2025Categories Athletic Regulation, technology

March Madness is among the most anticipated sporting events of the year, with millions of viewers and billions of dollars in wagers making it one of the busiest times for college sports betting. However, rapid expansion of legalized sports betting across the U.S. has introduced significant regulatory challenges for the NCAA, colleges, and the compliance community. With an estimated $31 billion wagered in the 2025 tournament alone, ensuring conformity with NCAA sports betting regulations has become increasingly complex. To address these challenges, the NCAA has turned to advanced compliance technology, like Prohibet and Integrity Compliance (IC360), to monitor and enforce wagering restrictions.
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Chicago’s Battle for Affordable Housing

Posted on March 28, 2025Categories Compliance Spotlight, Journal of Regulatory Compliance, Regulation, tax

As Chicago grapples with a severe affordable housing shortage—an estimated 119,000 units short—the city continues to experiment with policy solutions. More than half of Chicagoans are rent-burdened, meaning they spend over 30% of their income on rent and utilities. In response, city leaders have turned to tax abatements and zoning mandates to increase the supply of affordable housing. Two key programs—the Affordable Housing Special Assessment Program (AHSAP) and the Affordable Requirements Ordinance (ARO)—represent different approaches to tackling this crisis. Chicago’s affordable housing crisis requires a multifaceted approach, and while the AHSAP and ARO offer valuable incentives and mandates, neither alone is sufficient to address the city’s deep-rooted affordability and racial equity challenges.
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FIRM Act Sent to Senate to Vote on Eliminating the Use of Reputational Risk in Banking

Posted on March 27, 2025Categories Banking, Finance & Banking

On March 6, 2025, the Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Senator Tim Scott, introduced a bill designed to eliminate reputational risk as a component of regulatory supervision in banking. The Financial Integrity and Regulation Management Act, or FIRM Act, is the latest edition in the Senate’s efforts to reduce the potential influence of banking regulators in perpetuating debanking schemes of various industries. The bill has received praise and support from many leaders and industry groups in the banking industry including a letter of support from a coalition of 26 state financial officers and comments in favor of the bill submitted by the American Bankers Association (ABA). On March 13, 2025, the Senate Banking Committee voted in favor of sending the bill to the Senate to begin congressional voting. While it remains debatable if reputational risk is being misused to politically influence the types of clients that banks service, it is clear that reputational risk in regulatory exams is an unnecessary extension of strategic risk that should be removed from examinations to close the door to any possibilities of political misuse.
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The Cost of Efficiency: National Parks at Risk

Posted on March 27, 2025Categories Environmental

On February 14, the Trump administration fired approximately 1,000 National Park Service (NPS) employees as part of a program led by Elon Musk and the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is designed to eliminate federal jobs and to cut federal spending. The President did not announce the firings publicly, but Democratic Congressmen have confirmed and denounced the layoffs in a letter written by Sens. Jeff Merkley and Angus King and signed by twenty other senators. Since then, some NPS positions have been reinstated, but the situation raises real concerns about the future of conservation in the United States, as well as individuals and communities whose livelihoods depend on the economic well-being of our parks.

Supreme Court Limits EPA’s Authority in San Francisco v. EPA: A Blow to Clean Water Protections?

Posted on March 27, 2025Categories EPA

In a landmark decision issued on March 4, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in City and County of San Francisco v. Environmental Protection Agency that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cannot impose certain types of permit requirements on entities discharging pollutants into U.S. waters. The case, which centered on the Clean Water Act (CWA), has significant implications for how the federal government regulates water pollution and protects water quality. The decision, which saw a 5-4 vote, limits the EPA’s ability to enforce “end-result” requirements in permits, raising concerns about the future of water quality standards and environmental protection.
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Resetting Online Education: ED’s New Online Education Reporting Rule

Posted on March 26, 2025Categories Education

In January 2025, the U.S. Department of Education (“ED”) released a final rule including provisions on reporting requirements for online and distance education. Supporters of the rule argue its implementation will enhance transparency and accountability for institutions of higher education. Conversely, critics of the rule raise concerns about the financial burdens associated with implementing the reporting requirements. Nevertheless, the ED claims the goal of the regulation is to collect the data necessary to assess the quality and effectiveness of distance education.
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Will AI Make Trade Secrets No Longer Secret?

Posted on March 21, 2025Categories Artificial Intelligence

Most companies own valuable trade secrets, such as the recipe for Coca-Cola or Google’s algorithm. But can a company that develops AI have trade secrets? The Uniform Trade Secrets Act defines a trade secret as “information, including a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique, or process,” that derives economic value and is the subject of efforts to maintain its secrecy. The protection of trade secrets is essential for companies to maintain their competitive edge and drive economic growth. As such, they are instrumental in both corporate governance and compliance. Companies already deal with the risks of employees using generative artificial intelligence (AI) and exposing trade secrets; however, recent AI regulations in Europe and the United States have further increased risks relating to trade secrets.
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