INSIDE COMPLIANCE – Page 3 – Loyola University Chicago School of Law

Raw Milk: Legal to Sell, But Safe to Drink?

October 2, 2026Food and Drug Law

Milk that has not undergone pasteurization to kill potentially harmful pathogens, known as raw milk, is at the center of a growing regulatory debate. In 2026, state legislators introduced more than forty bills seeking to expand access to unpasteurized dairy products. Now, federal legislators have entered the conversation with the proposed bipartisan Interstate Milk Freedom Act (Milk Act), which would prevent federal interference with raw milk sales between states that have legalized the product. Supporters frame these proposals as a matter of personal freedom, claiming that if adults understand the risks, there is no reason for the government to prevent them from drinking milk straight from a farm. That argument, however, assumes that consumers receive enough reliable information about raw milk to fully understand those risks. Under the current patchwork of state laws, that assumption is unlikely.

PasteurizationState Laws

The Equality for Every Family Act’s Modernization of Illinois Gestational Surrogacy Law

October 2, 2026health

On December 12, 2026, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed into law the Equality for Every Family Act (EEFA), amending state parentage laws, including the Illinois Gestational Surrogacy Act (Act). The EEFA includes language changes inclusive of nontraditional families and updates to medical requirements for gestational surrogacy contracts. The updated Act will further facilitate gestational surrogacy arrangements by improving the process for establishing parental rights to resulting children. These changes are a step in the right direction to expand access to reproductive care for same-sex couples and single parent households, especially in the face of political pushback against gestational surrogacy.

healthcareIllinois

Disclosure of AI Use in Patient Care Should Be Mandated

October 2, 2026Healthcare Compliance

AI use in health care is increasing. As of 2026, more than 80% of physicians reported using AI, double the rate reported in 2023. Physicians reported using health AI for assisting in diagnoses and drafting responses to patient portal messages. They believe that AI can be a useful tool for aiding patient convenience, work efficiency, and providing value based care. But do patients know that their providers are using AI? To ensure patients are making truly informed decicisons about their health, providers should be required to inform patients when AI is used in their treatment or care.

AIhealthcare

Roadside Service in the Final Frontier: The Compliance Void in On-Orbit Servicing

May 1, 2026International Affairs, Regulation

In 2024, a Japanese commercial satellite maneuvered to within 15 meters of a derelict piece of debris floating in low Earth orbit, a feat never accomplished by a private company – until now. Astroscale Holdings, operating under a contract with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), executed a precise series of approach maneuvers around a completely unresponsive object. This was a genuine technological milestone in the commercial space industry, and just a preview of an entire industry that existing legal frameworks were not built to govern or foresee.

Commercial SpaceFAAOn-Orbit ServicingOuter Space TreatySpace and Satellite

DOJ’s Proposed Rule on Attorney Discipline: Balancing Federal Interests with Ethical Accountability

April 27, 2026Department of Justice

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has proposed a new regulation that would significantly alter how ethical complaints against Department attorneys are handled. Under the proposal, the DOJ would be permitted to review bar complaints against its attorneys before state disciplinary authorities could proceed with investigations. The proposal stems from the DOJ’s concerns about excessive, baseless complaints against its attorneys that are politically motivated and could interfere with federal litigation. Yet, the proposed rule raises concerns about whether government attorneys will be held to the same independent disciplinary standards as private attorneys. By reshaping the relationship between the DOJ and state bar authorities, the regulation affects not only attorney discipline but also the balance of authority between federal and state oversight. Therefore, the rule’s significance lies not only in the procedure it creates, but in the larger questions it raises regarding accountability, independence, and the regulation of the legal profession.

DOJrules of professional conduct

Evolving Technology in Law Enforcement: Concerns and Solutions

April 23, 2026Regulation, technology

Facial recognition technology has become widespread in consumer and commercial environments, and particularly law enforcement. Despite numerous benefits, these systems raise great concerns about privacy and data protection. The current legal frameworks are not strong enough to effectively manage the risks. No federal laws currently exist to regulate the use of facial recognition technology. Instead, enforcement is left to the states. Without aggressive state initiatives, use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement will continue unabated. This will result in data collection mired in algorithmic bias and will result in a complete disregard of civil liberties.

AIFacial Recognitionlaw enforcement

Hidden Ingredients: The Urgent Need to Regulate Microplastics in What We Eat and Drink

April 23, 2026EPA, Regulation

Carolyn Nsimpasi

Associate Editor

Loyola University Chicago School of Law, JD 2026

A toothbrush. Gum. Polyester clothing. All these items contain tiny plastic fragments known as microplastics, and even smaller nanoplastics. These particles are so small that they slip through water filtration systems, drift through the air, and accumulate in the food and beverages we consume daily. What was once considered a distant environmental issue has now increasingly become a direct human health concern, one that demands urgent regulation.

#microplastics#nanoplasticsEPARegulation

Slack, Teams, and WhatsApp: The Expanding Scope of Business Records in Digital Communication

April 21, 2026Regulation

The definition of a “business record” has evolved significantly in response to the proliferation of digital communication platforms. Historically, organizations focused on formal documentation, such as emails, signed contracts, and official reports, as the primary sources of recordkeeping. However, the widespread adoption of real-time messaging tools such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, and WhatsApp has fundamentally altered how business decisions are communicated and documented. Messages that include approvals, negotiations, instructions, or the exchange of sensitive information may all qualify as business records. Consequently, organizations must broaden their conceptualization of recordkeeping to include informal and semi-formal communication channels alike, as technology and record keeping mechanisms are quickly expanding.

Digital Age PrivacyDigital Content RegulationDigital SecurityEvidenceRecordsSEC

New Bill Introduced to End Special Treatment of Congress Members at the Airport

April 20, 2026Transportation

The ongoing partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has caused widespread disruption for travelers. Wait times have been record breaking due to the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) staffing shortages. A new bill has been passed in the Senate to end special treatment for members of Congress who can currently bypass these long lines. While the legislation may ignore the root issue of long wait times for travelers and short staffing for TSA agents, it highlights the growing public demand for fairness and accountability in our nation’s government.

AirportCongressDHSsafetyTravelTSA

Own Thyself: IP and competition issues in modern Name Image and Likeness claims

April 16, 2026Antitrust, Athletic Regulation, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Sports, Uncategorized

Name. Image. Likeness. Three words which, when taken together, evoke increasingly complex meanings. Recently, a number of high profile cases have spotlighted the growing concerns over the meaning and implications of “self” ownership, a concept traditionally lying at the intersection of intellectual property and tort law, connections to privacy law, as well recently implicated issues of antitrust-competition and emerging technology (i.e. AI) regulation.

In an ever-evolving and interconnected technological landscape, issues of Name Image and Likeness (NIL) reveal broad and far reaching implications for today’s courts and regulators. From the scope of traditionally limited contracts to licensing to perpetual ownership and indefinite use, state regulation and limited judicial decisions may finally prove insufficient for the task at hand. However, new applications combined with time-tested legal tools may help even the playing field, both by protecting competition and preventing exploitation.

Recent cases in the sports and entertainment industries (NCAA and SAAG-AFTRA) validate the importance of modern-regulation as a supplement to less-than-binding jurisprudence. While U.S. federal agencies have expressed interest and states have individually taken important steps toward governing NIL controversies, countries like England, France, Spain, Italy and Germany offer clear, robust protections, benefits which U.S. lawmakers and regulators should carefully consider.

Antitrustintellectual propertyNCAASAAG-AFTRA