Posts Tagged ‘Washington college of law’
The FTC’s Plan to Throw Away “Junk Fees” in New Proposed Rule
By: Kevin Quintanilla A big win may come soon to consumers due to the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) new proposed rule to ban junk fees.[1] Junk fees refer to hidden costs or extra charges that a consumer must pay, oftentimes substantially increasing the total price of a product or service.[2] These fees are frequently not…
Read MoreHow Social Media Influencers may be Violating Depression-Era Securities Laws
By: Seth Bilbrey With venture capital firms and other investment companies flocking to social media to promote investment projects, courts are being forced to look at a depression era securities law to determine what exactly a “seller” is.[1] The 1933 Securities Act (“Securities Act”) has allowed investors who have purchased unregistered securities, or who were…
Read MoreCareful How You Use Your AI: How the NO FAKES ACT Can Alter the Digital Landscape for Celebrities
By: Hannah Lief The Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act of 2023, also known as the NO FAKES ACT, is a bipartisan proposal that is designed to create a uniform right to publicity, protecting a celebrity’s voice, image, and visual likeliness.[1] It was introduced by four U.S. senators in a draft federal…
Read MoreTexas’s Online-Age Check and What It Could Mean for Businesses
By: Sophie Ossip On August 31, 2023, U.S. District Judge David Ezra declared a Texas online-age requirement bill unconstitutional in Free Speech Coalition, Inc. v. Colmenero.[1] The Texas Attorney General’s Office appealed to the Fifth Circuit and a three-judge panel took up the case on October 4, 2023.[2] The bill required businesses that host adult…
Read MoreGrappling with the Implementation of the SEC’s New Cybersecurity Disclosure Requirements
By: Olivia Woodmansee In July 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) voted to adopt a final rule on cybersecurity disclosure for public companies.[1] The rule is predicted to fundamentally alter most, if not all, public companies’ incident response processes.[2] The SEC now requires companies to disclose material cybersecurity incidents via Form 8-K within four…
Read MorePrime Target: FTC Takes Aim at Amazon in Antitrust Claims
By: Caitlyn Lindstrom On September 26, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission. (“FTC”), along with seventeen states, filed suit against Amazon.com, Inc. (“Amazon”), claiming Amazon’s business practices violate Section 5(a) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45(a)[1] and Section 2 of the Sherman Act, 15, U.S.C. § 2[2], in addition to state competition and consumer…
Read MoreBed Bath & Beyond Unreasonable: Two Ways the Law Stops Ocean Carriers from Sinking U.S. Businesses and One Way It Falls Short
By: Patrick Rogers Bed Bath & Beyond, one of the United States’ most prominent retail brands, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year.[1] In a complaint filed with the Federal Maritime Commission (“FMC”) last Tuesday, Bed Bath & Beyond alleged that the ocean carrier Yang Ming violated the Shipping Act and contributed to the…
Read MoreTo Be or Not to Be? Second Circuit Affirms Notes Issued in Syndicated Loans are Not Securities
By: Elizabeth Sloop When a borrower requires a loan too large for a single lender’s capital base, a group of lenders, or syndicate, may step in to provide funds.[1] By participating in syndicated lending, the lenders, typically banks and non-bank financial institutions,[2] are able to distribute the risk of default among themselves.[3] Because of the…
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