Posts by Business Editor

By: Allison Bock Over the last year, the COVID-19 pandemic stimulated a significant increase in telehealth services, and patient privacy considerations came to the forefront as patient-consumers questioned the ability of privacy regulation to keep up with the industry’s digital growth.[1]  Health care industry actors thus have combined efforts to safeguard patient privacy rights given the…

By: Zhuo Zhao After hitting the one-year mark on the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses are still struggling economically to recover from the yearlong loss of income and the U.S. government is still struggling to effectively assist struggling businesses.  The Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) is a “loan designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep…

By: Declan Andersen In March 2020, the Governor of Idaho signed into law a bill (“HB 500”) that acts as a ban for transgender women and girls from competition with cisgender women and girls.[1] Barbara Ehardt, the Idaho State Representative who sponsored the bill, stated that the legislation aimed to protect the competitive balance of women’s sports.[2] Lindsay Hecox, a…

By: Lola Abdulai  In an ongoing case against a consultant, Hamid Akhavan, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York will determine whether Akhavan’s argument that banks had knowledge of online debit and credit card transactions for cannabis holds any water against his charge for bank fraud.[1] While Akhavan’s case is complicated by…

By: Adaoma Okafor In the wake of racial and political injustice, Black people are pushing for more diversity, representation, and inclusion everywhere from the workforce to the media.[1] Given the Black presence in the fields of entertainment and sports, it is no surprise that Black consumers are substantial viewers in these fields. Overall, Black consumers…

By: Alexandria Johnson A year ago, analysts predicted the transmission of COVID-19; now they’re predicting the dissemination of the vaccine. As countries worldwide seek to inoculate their populations, soaring demand and limited supply have left some countries out in the cold.[1] Experts use the term vaccine nationalism to describe the process by which governments enter…

By: Kali Fleming American investors are increasingly interested in mandatory disclosure requirements for public companies’ environmental, social, and governance (ESG) based data.[1]  ESG-based data “refers to the three central factors in measuring the sustainability of an investment” which can be determinative in the value that companies create for their stakeholders.[2]  The Securities and Exchange Commission…

By: Alexandria Bowles Texas’ electricity supply is controlled by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (“ERCOT”), which is said to have underestimated the need for supply of electricity during the recent historic winter storm.[1] ERCOT has been put on notice in the past about the underwhelming ability of the Texas power grid to respond to…

By: Louis Naiman On February 24th the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that it plans to hold a workshop to explore the phenomena of dark patterns.[1]  Coined by Harry Brignull in 2010, dark patterns are “user interface design choices that benefit an online service by coercing, steering, or deceiving users into making unintended and potentially harmful…

By: Francesca Oliveira Former National Football League (“NFL”) players filed suit[1] against the NFL for using discriminatory practices to determine whether players qualify for NFL concussion settlement payouts.[2] In 2020, Kevin Henry and Najeh Davenport, two retired Black NFL players, filed suit “accusing the league of ‘explicitly and deliberately’ discriminating against Black players filing dementia-related claims.’”[3] The NFL…