On May 3, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that it will add twenty positions to the newly renamed Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit within its Division of Enforcement. (Securities and Exchange Commission). This unit’s previous name was simply the “Cyber Unit,” but this new renaming indicates the SEC’s increased focus on crypto assets. Id. Since the SEC created this unit in 2017, it has brought more than 80 enforcement actions related to fraudulent and unregistered crypto asset offerings and has levied more than $2 billion dollars in fees, fines, and penalties…
Read MoreThe GameStop short squeeze and trading halt in early 2021 fueled debates around Wall Street hedge funds and retail trading. One of the areas that drew the most attention was the practice of payment for order flow (“PFOF”), which is a popular form of compensation received by the retail trading brokers such as Robinhood. (Alex Rampell and Scott Kupor, Andreessen Horowitz). Shortly after the trading frenzy, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) released a 44-page report on how the short squeeze and trading halt went down, and raised several red flags on retail broker practices in the report. (Yun Li, CNBC). Since then, the SEC’s chair, Gary Gensler, has directed efforts to research and propose a set of rules aiming to make the US retail securities market more transparent and fair…
Read MoreIn light of recent events and social media exposing continued racial inequalities in the United States, social justice has become a topic at the forefront of discourse. Calls for change and acknowledgment of social justice issues have reached further into the corporate sphere with both the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and shareholders alike demanding more accountability and transparency on the impact corporations have on racial inequalities. (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission). Recently, Apple shareholders, against the Apple CEO’s recommendation, approved proposals for audits on the company’s civil-rights impact, including the company’s diversity, pay equity, and use of concealment clauses in employment agreements. (Gurman, Bloomberg Law). This recent push is one of many instances calling for similar corporate action and accountability across the board. (Maiden, Corporate Secretary). With recent SEC focus on social justice, new regulations and shareholder pressure, social justice is a topic corporations won’t be able to avoid much longer…
Read MoreThe National Football League (“NFL”) implemented the Rooney Rule for hiring head coaches in 2003. (Julie Goldsmith Reiser, Lori Nishiura Mackenzie, Bloomberg Law). The Rooney Rule requires any NFL franchise interviewing candidates for head coaching positions to interview at least one minority candidate or be subject to a $500,000 fine. Id. When the Rooney Rule was first implemented, it appeared to be successful in achieving its goal of increasing the number of diverse head coaches in the NFL. Id. However, statistics now show otherwise…
Read MoreThe rise of artificial intelligence (“A.I.”) and automated decision-making tools in making consumer-facing decisions led federal regulators, such as those at the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), to identify bias in algorithms along with deceptive and manipulative conduct on the internet among their top regulatory priorities moving forward. (Ali Arain, et. al., Bloomberg Law). In particular, regulators seek to identify whether A.I. and algorithms exclude specific consumer groups in an unfair and discriminatory manner, whether data collection efforts accurately reflect real-world facts, and whether automated decision-making tools are used in a transparent manner. Id. The extent to which A.I. replicates human bias and what, if anything can be done about that, is a question regulators will need to grapple with in the coming years…
Read MoreIt is no secret the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has been ramping up its regulation of cryptocurrencies in the past several years. (Packin, Forbes). However, in the absence of well-fitting regulations, the crypto community has been struggling to understand how securities laws may or may not apply to specific digital assets. Id. According to recent reports, the SEC is looking to expand its regulation even further by targeting certain non-fungible tokens…
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