Tag:Regulation
The Covert Consequences of Organic Food Labeling
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) the organic food market is experiencing double-digit growth in recent years. Despite the list of reasons that bump up the cost of organic foods, consumers are increasingly willing to pay a premium. Unfortunately for consumers, the weak, unclear, and sometimes non-existent labeling regulations imposed on organic products means that they may not be getting what they think they are paying for.
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.
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.
SEC Adopts New Rules for Whistleblower Program
Twelve years after the 164-year-old brokerage firm Lehman Brothers collapsed during the global financial crisis that had been sparked by the subprime mortgage catastrophe, last month the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted a new rule changing parts of the agency’s whistleblower program. The program, which was established by the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010, permits the agency to provide financial awards to whistleblowers who provide it with original information about fraud and securities violations. At issue in this new rule is how the SEC will evaluate and apply its award criteria based on the circumstances in each case. Commissioners voted 3-2 to adopt the final rule – which is effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register – during their Sept. 23 meeting. The SEC said the new rule was aimed at more efficient claim processing, increased transparency to the structure used by the Commission in determining award amounts and making other changes that reflect the Commission’s experience overseeing the program.
How Will Stronger Internet Privacy and Election Laws Impact Facebook?
During his election campaign, President Trump hired Cambridge Analytica, a political data firm, to gain access to the private data of more than 50 million Facebook users. The data included users’ personal identities, friend networks, and “likes.” The election campaign and Cambridge Analytica team used users’ data to target political and digital ads, increase online fundraising, and reach out to and sway undecided voters.
In 2019, following intense public criticism and accusations of political bias and censorship, Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, began advocating for the regulation of four areas: harmful content, election integrity, privacy, and data portability. However, no legislation has been passed, no regulation has been implemented, and Zuckerberg has not offered support for any proposals. A blank promise with no action. Congress needs to work with countries around the globe in order to regulate Facebook as a public utility and ensure that hate speech and incitements of violence are not tolerated.
DEA Introduces New Rule on Hemp Derivatives, Extracts, and Cannabinoids
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently published an interim rule on hemp and hemp derivatives to reflect the statutory amendments to the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) made by the Agriculture Improvement Act (2018 Farm Bill). This new rule modifies the DEA’s existing regulations in an attempt to conform with the 2018 Farm Bill’s purposeof legalizing and regulating the hemp industry.
Separating Boys and Girls in Illinois Schools
Single-sex educational opportunities are many and varied, from all girls or boys’ private schools and colleges to single-sex classes offered in some public schools. Title IX established the framework in which schools can establish these single-sex programs to ensure their fairness and constitutionality. Individuals advocate for these types of programs under the assumption that the programs help students achieve greater academic performance. While there is no conclusive research supporting this theory, the ample anecdotal testimony and success stories from schools with these programs, offer a compelling voice in support of single-sex education. Some of these success stories come from schools in Illinois where single-sex classes have been recently implemented into the curriculum.
College Football in the Time of COVID-19
Fall of 2020, like most of 2020, is looking different for everyone. While some schools are resuming in-person classes, other schools have chosen to resume online classes; while some people are returning to offices, other businesses have announced that employees will continue to work from home until at least July of 2021. The uniformity of our daily lives is gone, and that it is exactly what is happening with the different college football conferences for Fall 2020. With the National Collegiate Athletic Association “NCAA” having no control over college football, it was up to the Power Five Conferences to independently decide what each conference’s season would look like this fall.
Rule Changes, Regulatory Waivers Expand Access to Health Care Services During Pandemic
Recent regulatory waivers and rule changes by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) have resulted in a notable increase in patients seen remotely, according to two recent studies. The studies suggest that CMS regulatory waivers and rule changes, which included expanded access to COVID-19 testing and telehealth services in response to challenges faced by health care providers and patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, have increased remote delivery of mental health care and highly specialized clinical practices like plastic surgery.
The Show Must Go On: Clinical Trials for Other Conditions Continue During COVID-19 Pandemic
In early April of 2020, a high-tech, temperature-controlled cooler traveled halfway across the country on an airplane with a man whose sole job was to get the contents of that cooler –– a promising trial drug to treat a specific form of muscular dystrophy –– from a Baltimore-based research hospital to a family member of mine living in a west Chicago neighborhood. Ordinarily, this family member would make a monthly visit to Baltimore and take the trial drug under the supervision of researchers, but with a pandemic raging on, researchers made do. COVID-19 has undoubtedly changed the way people around the world are going about their lives and everyone is doing their best to be flexible. Clinical drug trials are no different.