The Office of the Attorney General of Texas (“OAG”) announced a “first-of-its-kind healthcare generative AI” settlement with Pieces Technology, Inc. (“Pieces”). The settlement related to the Texas OAG allegations that Piece’s advertising and marketing claims about the accuracy of its generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) products in violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices – Consumer Protection Act … Continue Reading
On August 20, 2024, a Texas federal judge permanently barred the implementation of a controversial Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulation that would have invalidated tens of millions of existing non-compete agreements and precluded the adoption of new covenants. We discussed the FTC’s non-compete regulation earlier this year. The decision comes as a relief to employers … Continue Reading
As a digital technologies hub in the Asia Pacific region, Singapore is making a big push to advance Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies across various sectors, including healthcare. The promise of AI in managing Singapore’s ageing population and enhancing patient care and treatment more broadly cannot be overstated. This spans the ability to better predict and … Continue Reading
On June 27, 2024, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that a bankruptcy court does not have the statutory authority to discharge creditors’ claims against a non-debtor without the creditors’ consent (except in asbestos cases). The decision in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma settles a long-standing dispute in the bankruptcy world that will have significant impact on Purdue … Continue Reading
On 5 June 2024, the Australian Information Commissioner commenced civil penalty proceedings in the Australian Federal Court against Medibank Private Limited (an Australian health insurance provider) in relation to an October 2022 data breach. On 25 October 2022, Medibank notified the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) of a data breach concerning sensitive personal … Continue Reading
Washington’s My Health My Data Act (“MHMDA”) and Nevada’s SB 370 (“NV CHD Law”) (collectively, “CHD Laws”) went into effect at the end of last month, on March 31, 2024 (as many know, MHMDA’s geofencing prohibition went into effect last summer). Unlike the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”), a federal law which governs privacy and security … Continue Reading
On February 28, 2024, President Biden issued a groundbreaking executive order (EO) establishing the framework for new restrictions on transactions involving US persons’ sensitive personal data and “countries of concern,” including China, or related parties.… Continue Reading
Members of our Government Investigations & White Collar team recently presented a timely webinar on the new Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA). The Act, which has been referred to as “the most consequential anti-foreign-bribery law passed in almost 50 years,” allows the DOJ to prosecute foreign officials who demand or accept a bribe from a … Continue Reading
Fishermen in the small town of Cape May, New Jersey, are at the epicenter of a legal challenge that could reshape the landscape of agency authority. The fishermen are challenging the entrenched “Chevron” doctrine, which for years has afforded deference to government agencies with respect to reasonable interpretation of ambiguous statutes. Once again, the US … Continue Reading
On Tuesday January 30, we hope you will join a seasoned team of former Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors for what will certainly be a robust a discussion on “the most consequential anti-foreign-bribery law passed in almost 50 years”: the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA). Passed as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), … Continue Reading
On December 18, 2023, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (collectively, the “government”) released the final 2023 Merger Guidelines (the “Guidelines”) which set forth factors and frameworks the government will use when assessing mergers and acquisitions. While the Guidelines are not legally binding, they provide important guidance on how the … Continue Reading
On December 11, 2023, Singapore’s Ministry of Health launched a public consultation exercise on a proposed Health Information Bill (Bill), with a draft expected to be tabled in Parliament in the first half of 2024. Whilst extensive industry consultations have been conducted on the proposed provisions of the Bill involving 39 focus groups and over … Continue Reading
Courts around the country continue to disagree on the causation standard to be applied in False Claims Act cases based on alleged Anti-Kickback Statute violations. Two recent federal district court decisions out of the District of Massachusetts, United States v. Regeneron Pharms., Inc., No. 20-11217-FDS, 2023 WL 7016900 (D. Mass. Oct. 25, 2023) and United … Continue Reading
On December 4, 2023, Singapore’s Ministry of Health (Ministry) announced that the nation’s first ever comprehensive health data law, the Health Information Bill (Bill), will be introduced in mid-2024. A set of Cyber & Data Security Guidelines for Healthcare Providers (Guidelines) was also published. Of particular importance is that these Guidelines will frame and eventually … Continue Reading
It has become commonplace to talk about compliance becoming more and more of a challenge amidst the increasing complexities and fragmentation of regulations worldwide. Data protection compliance is no exception. As new requirements continue to mushroom across the globe with escalating frequency and accompanied by heightened repercussions for any failure to meet expected standards, global … Continue Reading
Nine years after its initial inception, Singapore’s data protection authority (Commission) published in September 2023 an updated set of advisory guidelines for the healthcare sector (Revised Guidelines). As with other advisory guidelines issued by the Commission, the Revised Guidelines are not intended to be legally binding, but will guide the interpretation and enforcement of Singapore’s … Continue Reading
With its private right of action and expansive scope – extending far beyond Washington state’s borders and applying to a wide swath of health- and non-health-oriented companies alike – Washington’s My Health My Data Act is poised to be more ground-shifting than any other consumer privacy law that came before it. Join Kyle Fath, Bola … Continue Reading
Singapore has open-sourced the world’s first AI governance testing framework and toolkit, called “AI Verify”. As a single integrated software toolkit operating within a user’s enterprise environment, AI Verify allows users to conduct technical tests on their AI models, and record process checks for reporting to any shareholders or regulatory bodies. Additional toolkits can be … Continue Reading
In April, we previewed two significant False Claims Act (FCA) cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, United States ex. rel. Schutte v. SuperValu, Inc., No. 21-1326 (“SuperValu”), and United States ex. Rel. Proctor v. Safeway, Inc., No. 22-111 (“Safeway”). The FCA provides that “any person who knowingly presents, or causes to be presented, a false or fraudulent claim” to the United … Continue Reading
The Supreme Court recently heard oral argument in the appeal of two False Claims Act (FCA) cases from the Seventh Circuit that called into question the level of intent, or scienter, required to establish corporate liability under the FCA for “knowingly” overbilling the government for goods or services. The Court’s eventual decision may have widespread … Continue Reading
Recently, the Sixth Circuit issued an important decision limiting the scope of claims alleging violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute that are brought under the False Claims Act. In Shannon Martin, M.D., et al. v. Hathaway, et al., No. 22-1463 (March 28, 2023), the court clarified the meaning of remuneration under the Anti-Kickback Statute. Squire Patton … Continue Reading
In a blow to the Biden Administration’s goal to heighten enforcement of labor-related competitor agreements, a Maine jury on Wednesday acquitted four home-health operators who were accused of conspiring to fix the wages of home-health workers in the Spring of 2020. The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) had alleged that the operators violated Section 1 … Continue Reading
Are bankruptcy doors now opening for cannabis companies? A recent decision from a California bankruptcy court indicates perhaps so, at least for cannabis companies that are no longer operating. Squire Patton Boggs partner Mark Salzburg discusses this case and its implications on our Restructuring GlobalView blog, available at this link.… Continue Reading
President Biden signed into law the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023” on December 29, 2022 (the enactment date). The Act includes the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (“MOCRA”) which increases the authority of the United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) to regulate cosmetics and provide enhanced protections for consumers. The new law includes … Continue Reading
