Compliance Challenges of Influencer Advertising

Posted on October 19, 2025Categories FTC

Influencer marketing has become a global industry, projected to exceed $24 billion in 2025, with the United States representing one of its largest and most dynamic markets. Influencers have become key cultural and commercial figures, often blurring the line between entertainment and advertising. This rise has brought with it serious concerns about transparency, deception, and consumer protection. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the primary regulator of advertising in the United States, has increasingly turned its attention to influencer marketing and the legal obligations it entails.
Tags

Everything, Everywhere, All at Once: Data Privacy and Protection in a Post-Pandemic Reality

Posted on October 18, 2025Categories Journal of Regulatory Compliance, Privacy & Security, Regulation

Today, the exponential growth and mass adoption of information technology tools and the constant exchange of user data presents an ongoing challenge for regulators seeking to protect data and privacy rights. Particularly from the Covid-19 pandemic onward, a dramatic increase in both demand and dependency has caused a tectonic shift across both public and private sectors. As a result of this ongoing IT and data revolution, the legal and regulatory landscape faces new opportunities and challenges, in terms of providing clarity and stability to regulated industries, entities, and individuals. One notable area of concern is data privacy and protection. Unfortunately, the U.S. Federal system currently lacks a centralized regulatory framework for protecting user data and privacy. However, other nations offer clear models, case studies from which the U.S. could greatly benefit. For example, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, is an established, globally recognized regulatory framework. If adopted by U.S. regulators, the GDPR could provide clear regulatory guidance for individuals and entities seeking to navigate an increasingly high-risk era of data protection and management.

Tags

Love is in the Air – at Work?

Posted on October 17, 2025Categories Employment

When Coldplay unintentionally exposed their CEO’s affair with his co-worker, they reminded employers’ of the stark reality of romantic relationships in the workplace. With little time outside the office to meet people, 60% of adults admitted to having a workplace relationship in 2024. While employers are entitled to have their own policies, workplace relationships open up a world of legal risks, including sexual harassment, hostile work environments, and retaliation claims, all of which are regulated by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Implementing comprehensive workplace romance policies – such as those outlined in employee handbooks or formal “love contracts” – can help mitigate potential risks.
Tags

Circumventing the Salary Cap: The Regulatory Gaps within the NBA

Posted on October 16, 2025Categories Contracts, Sports

In the National Basketball Association (NBA), competition is fierce and success is often decided by razor-thin margins. NBA franchises are consistently looking for ways to gain a competitive edge, prioritizing player acquisitions to increase ticket sales, sponsorships, and franchise value to ultimately improve their chances of winning a championship. Most teams aim to build their roster through the annual NBA draft or the annual NBA free agency period. However, with growing competitive pressure, the line between strategic edge and rule circumvention becomes increasingly blurred. In September 2025, allegations surfaced that the Los Angeles Clippers circumvented the NBA salary cap when reporter Pablo Torre asserted that star player Kawhi Leonard received a $28 million no-show endorsement from Aspiration, a company with financial ties to Clippers owner Steve Ballmer. These allegations have led to the increased examination of current NBA policies and raised questions as to whether the NBA can take a more proactive approach to compliance.

The “Fix” Feels Confusing: The USPTO’s New Bifurcated Process for Patent Reviews

Posted on October 8, 2025Categories Intellectual Property

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently changed how it decides whether to move forward with patent challenges known as inter partes reviews (IPRs). Instead of a single panel deciding both discretionary and merit questions, Acting Director Coke Morgan Stewart (Stewart) created a bifurcated, two-step process. First, the Director decides whether to deny a case based on discretionary factors. If the case is approved, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) panel will then evaluate the merits.

Although designed to streamline review and manage workload, the new system has instead generated conflicting guidance and expanded discretion. Some of the new factors tend to favor patent owners, while others favor petitioners. Without clearer guidance, both sides are left uncertain: patent owners cannot reliably gauge whether their rights will hold, and petitioners cannot predict when their challenges will be heard. Clearer instruction should be given by the USPTO.

Who Owns the Airwaves? FCC Compliance and the Fight for Free Expression

Posted on October 5, 2025Categories Antitrust, Regulation

The struggle to balance government oversight, corporate power, and free expression has placed the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) at the heart of America’s media debate. The FCC plays a central role in U.S. media regulation, overseeing licensing, national ownership limits, and broadcasters’ statutory “public interest” obligations. The FCC’s national television ownership rule prevents any one company from controlling stations that reach more than 39% of U.S. households. This mandate was designed to ensure that no single corporation could dominate the public airwaves. Yet, as recent events surrounding FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, Nexstar Media Group’s proposed $6.2 billion acquisition of Tegna Inc., and the temporary suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live reveal, these safeguards are under mounting pressure. What began as a technical question of regulatory compliance has evolved into a broader confrontation over free speech, political influence, and the fragility of democratic guardrails in American broadcasting.
Tags

America’s Fractured Approach to AI Regulation

Posted on October 3, 2025Categories Artificial Intelligence, Regulation

Federal efforts to promote artificial intelligence (“AI”) innovation by avoiding comprehensive regulation has prompted state legislatures to fill the regulatory void, creating a fractured regulatory landscape. This threatens the very innovation AI was meant to create in a global race towards general AI. Today’s AI systems are examples of Artificial Narrow Intelligence, trained to perform specific tasks but are unable to operate outside their defined parameters. In contrast, Artificial General Intelligence, or Strong AI, is a theoretical form of AI capable of apply prior knowledge and skills to new contexts, enabling it to learn and perform any intellectual task a human can without additional human training of the underlying models. This pursuit has driven unprecedented investment, technology corporations have poured billions of dollars into AI capital expenditures with this number only continuing to rise. Compliance teams are left scrambling to manage an increasingly complex regulatory environment that is evolving faster than legal departments and regulators can effectively manage.
Tags

Unbalanced Collisions: NFL Concussion Protocols and Ongoing Compliance Challenges

Posted on October 2, 2025Categories Sports

The NFL season is back! Fans are buzzing about new uniforms, preseason rankings, and highlight-worthy plays, and there’s plenty to get excited about. Yet amid all the excitement, one issue continues to remain a pressing concern – the health and safety of the players. Football delivers thrills on the field, but the physical toll on athletes often lasts long after the final whistle. This season offers a chance to take a closer look at how far the NFL has come and how much work remains when it comes to protecting its players.
Tags

Large Law Firms v. Small: A Two-Tier Professional Responsibility System

Posted on September 30, 2025Categories Ethics

The legal profession has long emphasized a standard of professional responsibility. These rules have been “uniformly” applied to all licensed attorneys in the country. In practice, however, the realities of firm size can create what appears to be a two-tier system of professional responsibility. Large law firms operate under intense regulatory, reputational, and insurance oversight, while small firms and solo practitioners are often equipped with fewer resources which can expose them to disciplinary scrutiny more easily. These dynamics shape the ethical landscape of the legal profession.
Tags