Photo courtesy of the author
For many years, regulatory uncertainty in the United States has been part of the landscape for innovators, particularly with the rise of emerging technologies such as cryptocurrencies, blockchain, and artificial intelligence. It can, unfortunately, thwart the progress of responsible innovation and place our innovators at a competitive disadvantage.
We recently have seen a dramatic example of regulatory uncertainty in the artificial intelligence space.
by Amber C. Thomson, Howard W. Waltzman, Kathryn Allen, and Megan P. Von Borstel
Amber C. Thomson, Howard W. Waltzman, Kathryn Allen, and Megan P. Von Borstel (Photos courtesy of Mayer Brown)
As the digital world becomes an integral part of children’s lives, state legislatures are placing greater emphasis on regulating how companies handle children’s personal information. This article explores the recent developments in state and federal children’s privacy legislation, examining how states are shaping the future of online safety for minors and shedding light on amendments to the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
As social media companies and digital services providers increasingly cater to younger audiences, state legislatures are placing greater emphasis on regulating how companies handle children’s personal information. This Legal Update explores the recent developments in state and federal children’s privacy legislation, examining how states are shaping the future of online safety for minors and shedding light on amendments to the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”).
Photo courtesy of the author
For more than a decade, as part of its oversight of financial institutions’ compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and regulations thereunder, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has repeatedly stated that any person accepting and transmitting convertible virtual currencies (“cryptocurrencies”) must register with FinCEN as money transmitters and thereafter comply with the anti-money laundering/counter-terrorism financing program, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements.[1] Even so, a number of cryptocurrency or virtual currency businesses have ignored these longstanding requirements, sometimes resulting in massive criminal and civil penalties.[2]
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Much recent attention has centered on shifts in approach at the Department of Justice in the new Administration, but one area where we should expect as much continuity as change is at the intersection of corporate crime and national security.
During two separate leadership stints at the Department of Justice, I oversaw corporate criminal enforcement—from 2014 to 2015 and again from 2022 to 2024. The difference was night and day. Where national security prosecutions were corporate crime outliers in the mid-2010s, by 2022 they represented a majority of DOJ’s major corporate criminal resolutions. And then the number doubled from 2022 to 2023. Early signals indicate that national security will be a continued area of white-collar focus in 2025 and beyond.
by Jeffrey P. Bialos, Ginger T. Faulk, Mark D. Herlach, and Nicholas T. Hillman
From left to right: Jeffrey P. Bialos, Ginger T. Faulk, Mark D. Herlach, and Nicholas T. Hillman. Photos courtesy from Eversheds Sutherland.
On February 21, 2025, President Trump issued a memorandum titled “America First Investment Policy” (the “Investment Memo” or “Memo”), in which the President aims to modify the U.S. Government’s approach to inbound and outbound foreign investment to address national security threats.
The Investment Memo reconfirms the United States’ longstanding commitment to open investment to encourage domestic development of key advanced technologies and takes steps to streamline investments by trusted allies and partners. Among other things, it seeks to establish the “fast tracking” of certain investment and environmental reviews and seeks to minimize the use of “open ended” mitigation agreements.
by Andrew J. Ceresney, Charu A. Chandrasekhar, Luke Dembosky, Avi Gesser, Erez Liebermann, Julie M. Riewe, Jeff Robins, Kristin A. Snyder, and Cameron Sharp
Top left to right: Andrew J. Ceresney, Charu A. Chandrasekhar, Luke Dembosky, and Avi Gesser. Bottom left to right: Erez Liebermann, Julie M. Riewe, Jeff Robins, and Kristin A. Snyder. (Photos courtesy of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP).
On February 20, 2025, the SEC announced the creation of the Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit (“CETU”) to focus on “combatting cyber-related misconduct and to protect retail investors from bad actors in the emerging technologies space.” In this blog post, we provide an overview of the announcement, which illustrates that the Trump administration will continue to prioritize SEC cybersecurity and artificial intelligence examinations and enforcement, with a particular emphasis on fraudulent conduct impacting retail investors.
by Sheila R. Adams James, Ronan P. Harty, Christopher Lynch, Mary K. Marks, Suzanne Munck af Rosenschold, Howard Shelanski, Caroline Ziser Smith, and Jesse Solomon
Top left to right: Sheila R. Adams James, Ronan P. Harty, Christopher Lynch, and Mary K. Marks. Bottom left to right: Suzanne Munck af Rosenschold, Howard Shelanski, Caroline Ziser Smith, and Jesse Solomon. (Photos courtesy of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP)
As the first month of the Trump administration comes to a close, we provide updates on key developments in Trump 2.0 antitrust enforcement, particularly focused on merger review. Early hints suggest that the Trump administration may be more measured in moving away from the Biden administration’s aggressive approach on antitrust than many observers initially anticipated.
by David B. Anders, Sarah K. Eddy, Kevin S. Schwartz, Randall W. Jackson, Ralph M. Levene, Michael W. Holt, Aline R. Flodr, and John F. Savarese
Top left to right: David B. Anders, Sarah K. Eddy, Kevin S. Schwartz, Randall W. Jackson.
Bottom left to right: Ralph M. Levene, Michael W. Holt, Aline R. Flodr, John F. Savarese. (Photos courtesy of authors)
As we write this memorandum, President Trump’s second administration is forming in Washington, with new leadership teams being appointed at DOJ, the SEC and across other regulatory and law-enforcement agencies. In 2017, when President Trump first took office, we avoided predicting what the administration’s significant white-collar and regulatory enforcement priorities and policies might be in the absence of noteworthy signals from President Trump or his nominees and in light of the then slow pace of leadership confirmations. Eight years later, however, the lessons from President Trump’s first administration, as well as the track record and statements from his recent nominees and closest advisors, offer some insights into the new administration’s likely enforcement priorities. Given that, we have some thoughts on what to expect from President Trump’s second term:
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Chase D. Kaniecki and Alexi T. Stocker. Not pictured: Catherine Johnson. (Photos courtesy of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP)
On February 1, President Trump issued executive orders imposing sweeping tariffs on products of Canadian, Mexican, and Chinese origin pursuant to his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, 50 U.S.C. 1701, et seq. (IEEPA), after expanding previously-declared national emergencies to respond to the “extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl.”
by Kimberly A. Parker, Matt Jones, Jay Holtmeier, Erin G.H. Sloane, Christopher Cestaro, Brenda E. Lee, Aaron M. Zebley and Emily L. Stark
Top left to right: Kimberly Parker, Matt Jones, Jay Holtmeier, and Erin Sloane. Bottom left to right: Christopher Cestaro, Brenda Lee, Aaron Zebley, and Emily Stark. (Photos courtesy of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP).
Soon after being sworn in, President Trump issued Executive Orders identifying top administration priorities: combating illegal immigration, drug cartels, and unlawful DEI practices. Taking a similar tack, on her first day in office, February 5, 2025, Attorney General Pamela Bondi instructed the US Department of Justice (“DOJ” or “Department”) to redirect its enforcement efforts from certain corporate crimes so that it could devote greater attention to the priorities outlined by the President. Across fourteen memoranda that promised more guidance to follow, Attorney General Bondi detailed changes that could transform the corporate enforcement landscape. This included a direction to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) Unit of the DOJ to “prioritize investigations related to foreign bribery that facilitates the criminal operations of Cartels and TCOs,” or transnational criminal organizations, and to “shift focus away from investigations and cases that do not involve such a connection.”[1]