DROPLETS

On 17 September 2026, the EU Commission proposed the KIDS Act (EU Keeping Internet Digital Spaces Accountable and Trustworthy), a harmonized framework extending beyond the Digital Services Act and AI Act. The Act establishes age-based access rules prohibiting children under 13 from social media, restricting 13–14 year olds to parent-managed mini accounts, and allowing self-managed accounts from age 15. It mandates safety-by-design measures including restrictions on addictive features, safer recommendation systems, privacy-protective defaults, and stronger protections against harassment and unwanted contacts. Special safeguards require AI companions and chatbots to be disabled by default for minors. Compliance falls primarily on the European Commission, with Very Large Online Platforms facing proactive compliance plans and supervisory fees. Non-compliance carries fines up to 6% of worldwide annual turnover. Adoption is expected to be phased, with obligations beginning six months after enactment, making this a cross-border regulatory milestone with immediate implications for global dig

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President Trump signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 on September 18, 2026, moving much of the US Russia sanctions framework from executive order into statute and making many designations mandatory, with an initial presidential review due within 30 days (on or before October 18, 2026). New mandatory measures cover Russian government-owned or affiliated entities, "oligarchs" who have not opposed the war, transferees of their assets, vessel providers, shadow-fleet owners, insurers, servicers and permissive foreign ports, and messaging entities used to circumvent sanctions. The Act also codifies investment, services and sovereign-debt restrictions, directs the SEC to delist Russian government-affiliated issuers, mandates the Russian uranium import ban and Rosatom leadership sanctions, and extends the Iran Sanctions Act five years.

For counsel, note that pre-enactment general licenses survive (§ 114(h)), but reliance must be tested against each designation authority, and the president retains broad § 115 waiver power on national-interest certification.

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The SEC Staff Greenlights Directed Voting Programs for Funds, issuing a no-action letter to the Mutual Fund Directors Forum that permits registered funds to implement directed voting programs. Under these programs, retail shareholders can give revocable standing instructions directing votes in favor of board recommendations, including independent directors, for most matters. The letter explicitly excludes contested director elections, changes to the primary investment advisory agreement, and certain fee-related items. The SEC staff declined to recommend enforcement action under Exchange Act Rules 14a-3(a) through 14a-12(a), emphasizing that the proposed programs align with the 1940 Act and Investment Company Act of 1940 when properly implemented. This represents a significant shift in retail investor access to board guidance within the U.S. mutual fund industry, potentially reshaping shareholder engagement and proxy voting dynamics across thousands of funds.

Continuation vehicle (CV) transactions account for roughly 87% of GP‑led secondary market activity in H1 2025, per HUB International. Sponsors use fairness opinions—often differing from public‑company opinions—to address conflicts arising from dual roles as buyer and seller. The 2025 ADIC v. EMG case exposed procedural gaps (inadequate notice, asymmetric disclosure, valuation missteps) that can trigger lawsuits. In response, ILPA issued a Jan 2026 Continuation Fund Disclosure Template and a Jun 2026 Continuation Vehicle Guidance, setting voluntary benchmarks for conflict management, pricing integrity, and process transparency. Though non‑binding, these guidelines are reshaping LP/LPAC expectations and influencing deal design. Firms advising private‑equity sponsors, investors, and lenders should track adoption, watch for litigation testing of fairness opinions, and prepare for tighter disclosure norms in CV structures.

The FCA’s new UK cryptoasset regime opens its application window on 30 September 2026 and closes on 28 February 2027, with regulated activities commencing on 25 October 2027. BCLP’s guide synthesises the seven core pillars of the regime—market integrity, client asset safeguarding, governance and individual accountability, prudential resilience, the Consumer Duty, financial crime controls, and financial promotions—and translates them into actionable advice for firms. It stresses that authorisation is not merely a paperwork exercise; firms must demonstrate how their business model, governance, financial resources, and controls will operate effectively in practice. The guide’s five steps—confirming the regulatory perimeter, testing operational readiness, building a coherent application, engaging deliberately with the FCA, and treating authorisation as a strategic decision—help counsel and clients align their compliance programmes with FSMA and MLR requirements. For sophisticated clients, the guidance reduces the risk of breaching the general prohibition and avoids delays that could disr

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The FDA opened applications on September 15 for its Expedited IND Pilot Program under HHS Operation TrialBlazer, seeking 8 to 10 sponsor-QRI pairs for a rolling, collaborative review process intended to shorten the path from IND-enabling activities to first-in-human trials. The pilot introduces Qualified Research Institutions—academic medical centers, CROs, or regulatory advisors—that partner with sponsors across pharmacology/toxicology, clinical, and CMC pillars, while FDA concurrently tests a real-time rolling submission platform. Participation is voluntary, statutory standards are unchanged, and FDA retains full authority over safe-to-proceed determinations. Counsel should note that QRIs operating IRBs must implement written conflict-of-interest procedures separating advisory and review roles, and compromised pairs face removal. The application deadline is October 30, with cohort selection expected by December 18. Sponsors should act now to identify and formalize QRI relationships, particularly given the narrow cohort and compressed timeline. Watch for FDA's guidance on how remove

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The Ninth Circuit recently rejected the ILWU's 'work preservation' defense in a landmark case involving SSA Terminals at the Port of Seattle. The court upheld the NLRB's award to the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (IAM) and held that unions cannot invoke historical work protection after a jurisdictional determination. This decision breaks a prior Kinder Morgan precedent that had permitted unions to use work preservation as a complete defense against alleged violations of Section 8(b)(4)(D). The court adopted the D.C. Circuit's Sea-Land reasoning, emphasizing that allowing such defenses would undermine the NLRB's authority to conclusively resolve jurisdictional disputes—core congressional intent behind Section 10(k). For sophisticated counsel and their commercial clients, especially those operating in multi-employer association environments like ports, construction, and manufacturing, this ruling provides critical clarity. Employers now have a stronger path to use Section 10(k) proceedings to resolve competing union claims without fearing post-award litigation based on wo

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On September 16, 2026, President Trump signed a memorandum titled “Restoring Reciprocity in Government Procurement,” directing the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), with the FAR Council, to identify Canadian‑origin items that could be removed from or become unavailable for federal civilian procurement. The effort responds to Canada’s “Buy Canadian” policies, which favor domestic suppliers, and establishes a process rather than an immediate blanket ban. OMB must pinpoint eligible Canadian products, alert agencies to domestic alternatives, and report regularly to the president. The USTR will monitor how Canada treats U.S. goods in its procurement markets and can recommend restoring access if Canada changes its stance. Agencies are empowered to implement the memo within existing authorities. Federal contractors should act quickly: audit their supply chains for Canadian components, identify alternative sources under the Trade Agreements Act, monitor OMB’s forthcoming lists, prepare challenge assessments, and track any shifts in agency solicit

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The DC Circuit vacated the Copyright Royalty Board's phase-one royalty allocation for 2014–2017 cable retransmission compulsory licenses and remanded. While the Court upheld most of the Board's methodologies — including the regression analysis and Bortz Survey adjustments — it found the Board's final synthesis of the two methods arbitrary and capricious because it failed to explain how it weighted and combined them. The anomalies in the allocations contradicted the record and the Board's own statements. Judge Rogers concurred in part and dissented in part, warning the majority's resolution of other challenges was premature. This matters for firms advising broadcast, cable, and copyright licensing clients because the remand requires the Board to redo a critical portion of its methodology without necessarily changing the outcome. Watch for the Board's revised allocation and whether the same methodological tensions resurface in future proceedings. The decision also reinforces that agencies must transparently reconcile competing valuation approaches under APA review.

Christopher Collins, a partner at Katten muchin rosenman, discussed the upcoming FCA cryptoasset regime and emphasized that sanctions compliance will be a top priority. The new regime opens a six‑month application window ending February 28, 2027, with heightened scrutiny on AI‑generated identity fraud and cross‑border sanctions evasion. Applicants must implement stricter background checks, advanced blockchain monitoring, and robust AML/KYC programs. The article underscores that the FCA expects to focus intensely on sanctions evasion as part of its review process, making compliance a make‑or‑break factor for any crypto business planning to operate in the UK post‑October 2027 launch. Practitioners should prioritize integrating AI risk assessments into their compliance frameworks to mitigate emerging threats. Early preparation is critical as the deadline approaches, and failure to meet FCA standards could result in delayed market entry or operational restrictions.

The SEC's September 1, 2026 proposal (Exchange Act Release No. 34-106246) would rewrite most of Rule 17ad for the first time in decades, with comments due November 3, 2026 and roughly 175 questions on the docket. It is deliberately technology-neutral rather than tokenization-specific: a blockchain or DLT could serve as, or form part of, the master securityholder file, provided the transfer agent keeps exclusive control, only one recordkeeping transfer agent serves each issue, and current-position records reconcile with transaction history. Other consequential elements: smart-contract and wallet-signed instructions would count as "items"; Form TA-2 would publicly disclose DLT platforms used and tokenized issue counts, making platform relationships competitively visible; written policies replace the 90% safe harbor and drive a 95% threshold before activity limitations; a new Rule 17ad-30 compliance program demands annual board-level approval; proposed Rule 17ad-31 adds Section 5 gatekeeping with a counsel-opinion safe harbor; a uniform six-year retention period collides with immutable

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The UK Labour government announced on 13 May 2026 that a Nuclear Regulation Bill will be introduced in the next parliamentary session to implement the 47 recommendations of the independent Fingleton Review, published in November 2025. That review concluded the UK had become the most expensive country in the world for nuclear construction due to fragmented oversight across up to eight regulators, disproportionate risk decisions, flawed legislation, government indecision, and weak industry incentives. The government's formal response, 'Building Our Nuclear Nation' (13 March 2026), accepted all recommendations in principle with a target implementation date of end-2027. Early actions already underway include designating the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) as lead regulator for multi-regulator projects from 31 March 2026, merging ONR with the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator (initial changes autumn 2026, full merger by end-2028), and establishing an expert panel to revise the tolerability-of-risk framework by June 2026. A Nuclear Regulatory Implementation Panel chaired by DESNZ will c

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The FDIC has proposed a reinterpretation of section 24(j) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act that would extend to FDIC-insured state-chartered banks the host-state law preemption national banks already enjoy when serving a state without opening a branch. Current FDIC regulation ties that preemption to branches; the proposal would instead cover "any branch in the host State... or any services provided in the host State," reaching licensing and registration requirements, contract, tort and criminal law, escrow-interest mandates, and non-interest fee bans such as interchange. It would expressly leave section 27 interest-rate issues and Madden usury questions, payment-data limits, debt-collection rights, and Dodd-Frank consumer-law carve-outs alone. Uninsured state-chartered entities — many state trust companies, Georgia's merchant-acquirer charter, Connecticut's uninsured charter — and non-bank affiliates would not gain; national trust banks would remain the only uninsured institutions with full national bank preemption.

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On September 30, 2026, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 690 into law, amending Penal Code § 637.2 to eliminate the private right of action under § 638.51 for alleged violations involving website‑based pen registers or trap‑and‑trace devices such as cookies, pixels and similar tracking technologies. Effective January 1, 2027, the statute applies retroactively for two years, covering claims arising from conduct dating back to January 1, 2025. Thereafter, only the California Attorney General may bring such actions, although plaintiffs may still pursue claims under related wiretapping statutes (§§ 631(a), 632) or assert independent torts. The change curbs a wave of putative class actions that have targeted online tracking practices, reducing litigation exposure for companies that deploy analytics tools, ad tech or third‑party data sharing. Counsel should review cookie‑banner mechanisms, consent protocols, privacy policies and third‑party data‑sharing agreements to ensure compliance, monitor for constitutional challenges to the retroactive provision, and watch for any g

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On September 30, 2026, Texas Comptroller Don Huffines signed an executive order directing the agency to propose an amendment to Rule 3.330 that would remove marketplace and platform fees from the definition of "data processing services" subject to sales and use tax. A 2025 amendment had formalized the position that marketplace commissions could themselves be a taxable data processing service, producing, per the publishing firm's account, tax on as much as 130% of a marketplace sale. The announced proposal would cover online retail marketplaces, prepared food and grocery delivery, short-term lodging, ride-hailing and other transportation, vehicle rental or sharing, pet care, and household and personal services, and signals a wider review of the data processing tax. The order itself changes nothing: the comptroller must file a proposed amendment with the Texas secretary of state for publication in the Texas Register, opening a 30-day public comment period. Until adoption, exposure in the covered categories is unchanged. Tax and litigation counsel for platforms, delivery and gig-economy

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Client takeaways from the 14th Global Antitrust Hot Topics conference (24 September 2026) raise real doubts about the Commission's Article 102 TFEU Guidelines on exclusionary abuses, adopted 3 September 2026. Panelists — from Cornerstone, the European University Institute, Baker Botts and CCIA Europe — described the text as largely a codification of Court of Justice case law, and flagged specific points where it goes further: the shift from a "likelihood" to a "capability to foreclose" standard, which lowers the Commission's evidentiary burden; paragraph 24's indication that dominance can be found below 40% market share, undercutting the 2009 Guidance Paper safe harbour; and paragraph 58's cost-of-proof presumption. A new qualification in paragraph 157(b) limiting exclusive-dealing counterfactuals drew criticism as unsupported by Qualcomm. Because Article 102 is enforced administratively, the Guidelines will likely carry unusual weight, and panelists expect other jurisdictions to model their own unilateral-conduct guidance on them. Watch for Commission decisions testing paragraphs 24

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On 18 September 2026, the EBA published final Guidelines on the sound management of third-party risk (EBA/GL/2026/09), replacing the 2019 outsourcing guidelines. The new framework explicitly separates non-ICT third-party services—now covered by the Guidelines—from ICT services governed by DORA, while expecting firms to adopt a holistic approach. The scope expands beyond traditional outsourcing to include credit institutions, relevant third-country branches, Class 1-minus and Class 2 investment firms, payment institutions, and electronic money institutions, with exclusions for legally required services, market information, global payment networks, and immaterial services. Firms must maintain updated registers documenting both non-ICT arrangements and ICT subcontractors supporting critical functions, and must conduct life-cycle governance, due diligence, contract remediation, and exit planning. No effective date has been set, but a two-year transitional period is contemplated for existing critical arrangements, and the Guidelines will apply to new or amended arrangements from the appli

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Enacted on September 30, 2026 as an urgency measure, SB 1000 immediately rewrites the California AI Transparency Act (CATA), which took effect weeks earlier and was expanded by AB 853. Three changes matter most. First, CATA's one-million-monthly-user threshold is gone: any person that creates, codes, or produces a GenAI system publicly accessible in California is now a "covered provider," and the exemption for non-user-generated television, streaming and movie content narrows to video games only. Second, the free "AI detection tool" becomes a "disclosure verification tool," with carve-outs for minor modifications, express permission to rely on third-party tools, a bar on outputting personal information absent express consent, and tighter retention limits. Third, CATA's optional manifest disclosure is eliminated; latent disclosures must interoperate with widely adopted standards, must state whether the system created or altered the content, and — from January 1, 2029 — whether the system is primarily assistive technology. Licensee governance is rebuilt around notice, a 72-hour provide

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California Governor Gavin Newsom signed three bills on September 30, 2026, creating the nation's most comprehensive state-level restrictions on AI-driven workplace monitoring. AB 1883 prohibits AI tools that infer employees' emotional states or collect neural data, with civil penalties up to $500 per violation. AB 1331 bans workplace surveillance in bathrooms, allowing only non-AI badge or alarm systems for secured access. SB 947, the No Robo Bosses Act effective July 1, 2027, bars employers from relying solely on automated decision systems for discipline or termination and requires human review of ADS outputs. The laws follow the EU AI Act's emotion-recognition ban and join a growing patchwork of state regulations in Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, New York City, and Texas governing automated employment decisions. Employers using or considering AI-powered monitoring — including wearables tracking biometrics, keystroke analysis, or video analytics — must audit tools for prohibited predictions and neural-data collection before deployment. Compliance planning for SB 947's human-review

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The U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury released FAQs on August 26, 2026, clarifying the HIPAA wellness‑program rules that have sparked more than 80 class‑action suits over tobacco‑use premium surcharges. The guidance grants enforcement relief to plans that reward employees only prospectively—i.e., after a participant satisfies a reasonable alternative standard such as a cessation course—while still requiring full disclosure of those alternatives in all plan materials that describe the wellness program. This relief addresses a split in federal district courts over whether the preamble’s “same, full reward” language compels retroactive reimbursement, potentially reducing liability for large corporate sponsors. Sophisticated counsel should audit existing wellness designs, update participant communications to include contact information and physician‑accommodation statements, and monitor upcoming court decisions that may treat the FAQs as binding. The next development to watch is how appellate panels interpret the agencies’ positions, which could influe

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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of Digital Millennium Copyright Act claims against GitHub, Microsoft, and OpenAI, finding that the plaintiffs did not allege removal or alteration of copyright management information from copies of their code. The court rejected a literal-identicality requirement, explaining that §1202(b) focuses on whether CMI was actually removed from an existing protected work, not whether the infringing work is identical. However, it concluded that Copilot’s process of learning from existing code and generating new code does not constitute making copies from which CMI was removed. The decision also declines to decide whether AI output that is substantially similar to copyrighted code could support a copyright infringement claim, and it leaves unresolved the “input” theory that plaintiffs forfeited. For technology and AI clients, this clarifies that DMCA claims require pleading facts showing CMI was stripped from a pre-existing copy, not merely that AI output lacks attribution.

On 3 September 2026 the European Commission adopted long-awaited guidelines on the assessment of exclusionary abuses under Article 102 TFEU, replacing the 2008 enforcement-priority guidance with effect from 10 October 2026. The 70-plus page text reinstates a soft safe harbour at 40% market share, presumes dominance above 50% (rebuttable only exceptionally), adds digital-specific dominance indicators (data advantages, AI entry barriers, high sunk costs, lock-in, network effects), and sets a cumulative four-prong after-markets test. It also extends scrutiny to buyer-side dominance over suppliers and flags algorithmic pricing as a potential collective-dominance trigger.

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New York has enacted a comprehensive personnel‑records law that will take effect on November 8, 2026. Under Labor Law §210‑b, all employers—both public and private—must provide current and former employees with free access to their personnel records within five business days of a written request. Employers must also give 10‑day notice when placing negative information in an employee’s file and allow employees to dispute inaccurate entries, with a written response becoming part of the record. The statute requires retention of records for three years after termination and mandates that any written personnel policy be kept available. Employers who retaliate against employees exercising these rights face penalties of $500 to $2,500 per violation, enforced by the Attorney General. While the law mirrors Massachusetts’ approach, New York’s carve‑out protects third‑party personal data. Counsel should review existing HR policies, update handbooks, train managers on notice and dispute procedures, and monitor anticipated chapter amendments that may clarify record‑creation obligations. The next

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Introduced September 16, 2026, the Stop Corporate Takeovers of Physicians Act of 2026 would create the first federal corporate practice of medicine regime. An entity not majority-owned and controlled by licensees (physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants) could not own or control a practice or contract for licensees' professional services, with exceptions limited to nonprofit and public providers, hospitals, hospital-affiliated clinics, critical access hospitals and rural emergency hospitals — so private equity and insurers are not singled out.

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On September 29, 2026, a New York Supreme Court judge in Richmond County cancelled all roughly 17,000 pied-à-terre tax notices mailed by the NYC Department of Finance, finding the agency acted arbitrarily and capriciously by skipping the individualized "initial determination" of non-primary-residence status that the statute requires. The surcharge, enacted by AB 10009 in May 2026, first falls due January 1, 2027 for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026, and the response deadline for notice recipients had been extended to October 6.

Two features reach beyond this case. The judge barred future notices that make liability turn on an owner proving an "exemption," reasoning primary residences are categorically outside the tax — a due-process framing that could resurface in other high-end property surcharges. He also ordered removal of the department's July 24 "Supplemental Roll," which identified owners of about 960,000 properties, roughly 99% of which are not taxable, citing exposure to harassment.

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On September 25, 2026, Judge Ann Aiken of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon ruled that the statutory phrase “combined earnings” in the CFPB’s funding provision refers to the Federal Reserve System’s gross revenues before expenses, not its profits after deducting interest expenses. She rejected the Office of Legal Counsel’s contrary interpretation, which had led Acting Director Russell Vought to decline requesting CFPB funds when the Federal Reserve showed a loss under that calculation. Judge Aiken also held that the CFPB Director has an affirmative duty to request the amount he determines reasonably necessary for the Bureau’s operations, and she vacated Vought’s decision not to seek funding as a violation of the Administrative Procedure Act and the constitutional separation of powers. The decision aligns with two earlier district court rulings (D.C. and Northern California) reaching the same conclusion. Although the court declined to issue an injunction for fiscal year 2026 because the fiscal year was nearing its end, the ruling creates a clear district‑court precede

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In United States ex rel. Pannek v. Archer Daniels Midland, Judge Sunil Harjani granted ADM's Rule 12(b)(6)/9(b) motion, finding the former employee failed to plausibly allege that the government actually relied on ADM's data-security representations when making specific payment decisions; the complaint was dismissed without prejudice, so a replead is expected. Citing Universal Health Services, the court reasoned a misrepresentation is not material merely because the government makes regulatory compliance a condition of payment, and the relator's conclusory claim that funding would have changed was insufficient. The court also applied Seventh Circuit precedent that regulatory noncompliance alone is not a false statement, and rejected an implied-certification theory that did not identify a specific affirmative representation plus plead materiality of the omission. Notably, it accepted adequate allegations that key cybersecurity rules applied to ADM's awards, and found scienter plausibly alleged only for statements made after a 2019 audit and a 2022 report to executives. Why it matters:

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The Fifth Circuit's September 15, 2026, decision vacated the Environmental Protection Agency's 2024 final rule prohibiting 40 of 53 identified uses of methylene chloride, a common industrial solvent, and invalidated the EPA's unreasonable‑risk determination under the Toxic Substances Control Act. In a unanimous opinion, the court held that the EPA must assess risk for each condition of use rather than as a whole, must factor in proven use of personal protective equipment (PPE), may not require zero risk, and may regulate only "to the extent necessary." The ruling is the first appellate interpretation of TSCA's "conditions of use" requirement and will shape how the EPA evaluates future chemicals, especially for regulated manufacturers, importers, and downstream users. Counsel should review existing TSCA compliance programs, document PPE practices, and anticipate more tailored, rather than blanket, restrictions. Companies that rely on methylene chloride in adhesives, paint removers, or automotive products should also watch for updated guidance or proposed rules that incorporate the cou

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The article details Japan's June 2026 shareholder proposal landscape, noting 106 companies received proposals and 153 were submitted by institutional investors. Governance-focused proposals dominated alongside traditional financial ones. The Tokyo Stock Exchange amended its securities listing regulations effective December 1, 2026, requiring listed companies with parents or major shareholders holding 40%+ voting rights to disclose minority shareholder approval percentages for director election proposals. If a proposal fails to secure >50% minority approval, companies must outline remediation plans and report progress within six months. Examples include e-LogiT Co., Ltd. achieving 80.53% approval for director appointments, and Noritz Corporation seeing 40.3% support for abolishing takeover defenses despite rejection. Takeover defense measures have fallen from 569 in 2008 to 239 by mid-2026. Activist funds like HIP Capital and Strategic Capital drove many proposals, with several reaching 30%+ support. The TSE's rationale emphasizes protecting minority shareholders whose votes previousl

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On September 29, 2026, the Small Business Administration amended 13 CFR Part 112, its Title VI implementing regulation, deleting disparate impact liability and the affirmative action provisions at Sections 112.3(b)(3) and 112.7(d), effective immediately and without notice and comment under the APA's 5 U.S.C. § 553(a)(2) exception. SBA relied on DOJ's review and the same reasoning DOJ, Interior, Transportation, Agriculture and Labor used over the preceding ten months, citing Alexander v. Sandoval, Loper Bright, Students for Fair Admissions and Executive Order 14281, and called the removed provisions encouragement of "the exact conduct the Equal Protection Clause forbids." The affirmative action rescission is a layer the other agencies' rules did not need to reach.

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The Securities and Exchange Commission issued a five‑year Innovation Exemption that creates a new, limited pathway for Tokenized Securities Venues (TSVs) to operate automated market‑maker liquidity pools for tokenized National Market System stocks. Eligible TSVs can run permissioned AMM pools without registering as national securities exchanges, broker‑dealers, or alternative trading systems, but they must publish a detailed public notice, disclose ownership, governance, participant eligibility, and maintain a rolling 30‑day public transaction data feed. The pilot caps the number of eligible stocks and overall market‑wide trading volume, imposes strict transparency, anti‑money‑laundering, and sanctions compliance, and requires the underlying equity issuer to be notified and given a 30‑day window to object to third‑party tokenization of its shares. The order also offers limited dealer relief for firms that provide proprietary liquidity to the pools, while preserving existing securities‑law obligations for primary issuances and other activities. Counsel should monitor the notice filing

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The September 2026 domain name landscape sees several notable developments. Google Registry is launching four new generic top‑level domains—.EAT, .FLY, .HERE and .PHONE—under a “Start Date” sunrise followed by early access and general availability windows spanning late 2026 into 2027. Trademark owners are warned to file before third‑party grabs. Austria implements the EU NIS2 Directive via its NISG 2026, requiring .AT domain holders to provide a telephone number and to cooperate with verification, with potential contract termination for non‑compliance. Meanwhile .FR reaches 4.5 million registrations, underscoring its status as a major European ccTLD. Two UDRP rulings from WIPO illustrate the high bar for establishing bad‑faith registration: one over “thescentstories.com” where the U.S. fragrance brand’s claim failed because the Indian respondent’s prior Indian trademark and lack of reputation in India; the other over “hismile.com” where the Australian oral‑care brand’s bid was undermined by the respondent’s plausible crypto‑project intent. Counsel should monitor upcoming sunrise wind

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US national securities exchanges are positioned to begin 23x5 trading on December 6, 2026, adding an overnight session from 8:00 pm to 4:00 am Sunday through Thursday, with a mandatory one-hour trading pause before the Monday-Thursday evening session. The SEC has conditionally approved 24X, Cboe EDGX, MEMX, Nasdaq and NYSE Arca; launch remains contingent on the consolidated equity data plans (CTA, CQ and UTP) being ready. The SEC approved SIP plan amendments on June 26, 2026 (9:00 pm Sunday to 8:00 pm Friday), NSCC cleared overnight trading from June 29, FINRA trade reporting facilities extend to the same window, and CAT has redefined the industry-member Trade Date. A LULD Plan amendment approved August 5, 2026 imposes static 20% Overnight Price Bands from 9:00 pm to 4:00 am, with no automatic pauses. Listing markets have adopted harmonized mandatory regulatory-halt rules for nine corporate-action categories, halting affected securities from 8:00-9:00 pm the day before the effective date and reopening at 8:00 am. Counsel should also confirm overnight risk disclosures under exchange r

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Evonik Corporation and Huntsman International LLC have filed a petition with the U.S. Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission seeking antidumping and countervailing duties on specific amine compounds imported from China. The scope includes defined organic amines used as polyurethane catalysts, identified by CAS numbers and HTSUS subheadings. Petitioners allege dumping margins of 261‑476% and claim Chinese subsidies exceed de minimis levels. The investigation schedule calls for DOC initiation on October 19 2026, ITC preliminary questionnaires by October 13, hearings in late October, and preliminary DOC determinations from December 2026 through March 2027, with final decisions expected by mid-2027. For sophisticated counsel and corporate clients in chemicals, manufacturing, and supply-chain management, the case raises material risk exposure, potential duty liabilities, and compliance deadlines that could reshape import costs. Stakeholders should monitor the scope definition, possible duty rates, and opportunities to submit comments or request hearings. The petition u

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McGuireWoods maps the emerging 'surveillance pricing' regime — algorithms plus personal data used to set individualized prices — across three fronts. First, the FTC's Aug. 19, 2026 proposed enforcement policy statement signals that failing to conspicuously disclose personalized pricing and the data behind it may be deceptive under Section 5, with illustrative examples spanning food delivery, grocery, hotels and rideshare. Second, California's final ADMT regulations, adopted July 24, 2025 and effective Jan. 1, 2026, require pre-use notice, opt-out rights, explanations and privacy risk assessments for 'significant decisions' by Jan. 1, 2027, while CCPA purpose-limitation and data-minimization standards are hard to satisfy where data collected for other purposes is repurposed to price. Third, states are layering on statutory duties: New York's Algorithmic Pricing Disclosure Act, Maryland HB 1475 (proposed effective Oct. 1, 2026) and Colorado's SB 26-189. Counsel should inventory what data actually feeds pricing models, map third-party pricing-vendor data provenance and disclosures, and

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On September 28, 2026, US Senate passed Protect College Sports Act by a 77–22 vote, advancing legislation to House of Representatives. The bill preserves a conditional antitrust safe harbor (Section 118) for institutions that comply with a revenue‑share cap, while adding a new retention fund allowing up to $22.5 million per year above the cap to retain current athletes, plus $5 million for women’s, Olympic and non‑revenue sports. The cap and safe‑harbor conditions now sunset after nine years unless Congress passes a joint resolution extending them, creating a periodic legislative check that could reopen antitrust exposure if the cap lapses. Section 205 introduces a per se prohibition on mergers involving conferences with annual media‑rights revenue exceeding $700 million, split into two prongs that limit conference expansions and bar private‑equity‑driven assembly of new associations. The bill also extends the antitrust exemption under the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 (Section 202) for pooled media rights, subject to a 75 percent FBS‑institution participation threshold. Additional

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President Abelardo De la Espriella’s government unveiled a sweeping investment agenda aimed at jump‑starting private and foreign capital in Colombia’s strategic sectors. The plan revives hydrocarbon exploration, backing fracking and fast‑tracking gas projects through a new multi‑disciplinary ANH group, while loosening mining restrictions and signaling a repeal of ten restrictive resolutions in Special Mining Districts. A U.S.–Colombia memorandum on critical minerals and a proposed large‑scale incentive regime (inspired by Argentina’s RIGI) promise tax and currency benefits for projects above US$150 million. Infrastructure highlights include the COP 45.7 trillion 5G road concessions and a revived National Infrastructure Agency pipeline. At the same time, the administration proposes parallel environmental and community consultations to speed permitting, though any reforms must respect ILO Convention 169 and Colombian constitutional law. For sophisticated counsel, the developments demand early assessment of treaty‑based protection, arbitration options (ICSID/UNCITRAL), and the regulator

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On September 1, 2026, Honeywell Aerospace agreed to pay $2,042,518 to settle False Claims Act allegations that the company failed to meet NIST Special Publication 800‑171 security controls on a Department of Defense contract. The U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Cyber‑Fraud Initiative uses the FCA to pursue contractors that neglect required cybersecurity measures, misrepresent practices, or omit incident reporting. The settlement underscores that even isolated network non‑compliance can trigger multi‑million‑dollar liability and highlights the high value the government now places on NIST SP 800‑171 adherence for contractors handling Controlled Unclassified Information. Whistleblower qui tam actions remain a primary enforcement catalyst, and the case reinforces the importance of robust internal reporting and self‑disclosure programs. For sophisticated counsel, the decision signals a need to rigorously document compliance, scope systems precisely, audit DFARS clause 252.204‑7012 obligations, and prepare for increased scrutiny as the CMMC 2.0 pause shifts focus to self‑certification e

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On September 21, 2026, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed seven data center bills that primarily take effect on January 1, 2027, according to Foley & Lardner. Reported subject matter spans new tariff provisions, entitlement rules and disclosure obligations, with hyperscale cloud operators, data center developers and electric power producers all implicated.

The significance is structural rather than incremental. Data center load growth is forcing the question of who pays for the generation, transmission and distribution capacity it consumes, and a seven-bill package signals a settled legislative position rather than a single isolated mandate. Rate design, cost allocation and disclosure duties touching hyperscalers will ripple through utility commission proceedings, power purchase agreements, site selection and project financing, and the compliance posture of developers whose economics were underwritten under the prior regime.

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New York Labor Law § 27-f, effective December 13, 2026, requires covered private employers to maintain opioid antagonists like naloxone in workplace first aid kits. The mandate applies to corporations, LLCs, and other business entities federally required to keep first aid supplies under OSHA standards (29 CFR 1910.151(b)). The New York Department of Labor issued proposed rules on September 23, 2026, establishing comprehensive compliance requirements. Employers must determine appropriate quantity based on worksite size, risk factors, and staffing levels, with supplies ideally placed near AEDs and first aid kits. Training mandates include at least one designated employee per business hour, covering overdose recognition, antagonist administration, emergency response protocols, and Good Samaritan protections under Public Health Law § 3000-a. Key compliance deadlines include the December 13, 2026 implementation date and November 22, 2026 comment period for the proposed rules. OSHA released complementary guidance on September 24, 2026, recommending inventory monitoring and emergency respon

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On 3 June 2026 the European Commission unveiled the European Technological Sovereignty Package, whose centrepiece is the proposed Cloud and AI Development Act (CADA). CADA seeks to replace simplistic ownership‑based tests of cloud‑service sovereignty with a multi‑factor, evidence‑based framework that examines where data is processed and stored, the location of operational and technical support, sub‑processor chains, and contractual safeguards. The article explains that EU‑owned providers can still be exposed to foreign legal orders if they outsource support outside the EU or rely on non‑European subcontractors, while non‑EU providers may achieve sovereignty through strong technical controls such as encryption and customer‑held keys. For law‑firm counsel, the development means that due‑diligence questionnaires, vendor‑management policies, and cloud‑contract clauses must be updated to reflect the new operational criteria, and ongoing monitoring is required because corporate structures and supply chains can drift over time. Clients should watch for the final adoption of CADA, any accomp

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In United States v. Alisigwe, the Second Circuit held on September 17, 2026, that federal officers may manually search a traveler’s cellphone at the border—including international airports—without any individualized suspicion. The majority applied the border‑search exception, treating the phone as property, and distinguished “non‑routine” searches that require reasonable suspicion. The ruling affirms the defendant’s conviction after two manual border searches uncovered fraudulent identity and banking data. The court left unresolved whether more intrusive forensic examinations, such as off‑site data extraction, require any suspicion, creating a split with the Fourth Circuit, which demands individualized suspicion for forensic border searches. The decision also highlights pending questions about compelled passwords and warrantless access to cloud data. For multinational clients, the ruling expands permissible border inspections; counsel should advise limiting sensitive data on travel devices, consider auto‑delete features, and monitor evolving jurisprudence on forensic searches and dig

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On September 4, 2026, Treasury and the IRS published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would add Code Reg. § 1.501(c)(3)-2, making it a condition of Section 501(c)(3) exemption that a private school not adopt, maintain, or enforce any policy discriminating on race, color, or national or ethnic origin across educational, admissions, scholarship, loan, athletic, or any "school-administered or school-supported program" — a term left undefined.

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On October 6, 2026 the Supreme Court hears argument in Anderson v. Intel Corporation Investment Policy Committee (No. 25-498), which asks whether ERISA prudence claims based on alleged fund underperformance must plead a "meaningful benchmark." The Ninth Circuit affirmed dismissal of participants' challenge to certain Intel 401(k) plan investments; petitioners argue the judicially created benchmark requirement has no basis in ERISA and that the underlying hedge fund and private equity holdings were categorically imprudent. Intel's fiduciaries defend the requirement as necessary to plausibly connect underperformance to an imprudent process; the Solicitor General supports them and will argue. Amicus coalitions span the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and major retirement and asset-management trade groups on one side, and AARP, Americans for Financial Reform and consumer advocates on the other.

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On September 29, 2026, the President met with executives of several leading AI developers and announced a voluntary framework, the "White House Accord on Super Intelligence." Signatories would adopt four layers of controls: internal monitoring of model capabilities and alignment, a dedicated internal oversight function, an independent external auditor, and an independent board-level committee supervising both. The text uses recommendatory "should" language, has no enforcement mechanism, and says it "may make sense to codify these steps into laws and regulations." A separate executive order that day substituted "Super Intelligence" for "Artificial Intelligence" in federal usage without imposing substantive obligations.

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On September 23, 2026, a three-member NLRB majority in Lion Elastomers LLC held that the Board's 2020 General Motors decision — which replaced the Atlantic Steel "setting-specific" approach to abusive conduct with the Wright Line employer-motive test — "constitutes extant Board precedent." The route there matters: the Board had used a Fifth Circuit remand to overrule General Motors outright in Lion Elastomers II, and the Fifth Circuit vacated that maneuver in 2024 as a "bait-and-switch" exceeding the remand's scope and depriving the employer of due process.

For clients, discipline for profanity, threats or similar outbursts during otherwise protected activity will again turn on employer motive: would the employer have taken the same action regardless of the protected activity? The setting-specific frameworks for workplace confrontations, social media posts and Clear Pine Mouldings picket-line conduct are not the governing standard for now.

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The European Commission proposed the EU KIDS Act on 17 September 2026 to harmonize minor protection online, covering social networking, video-sharing, games, app stores, operating systems, AI companions and chatbots. It establishes tiered age restrictions (under-13 ban, guardian-controlled accounts for 13-15, autonomous from 15), safety-by-design obligations (banning addictive features like infinite scrolling, default off for engagement signals), and certified privacy-preserving age assurance. Enforcement includes compliance plans, independent audits, fines up to 6% worldwide turnover, and GDPR-level penalties by DPAs. The proposal overlaps with DSA, GDPR and EU AI Act, requiring integrated compliance. Denmark's draft bill sets a minimum age of 15 for VLOP social media, while the UK and Australia have separate under-16 bans. Adoption is unlikely before 2028. Sophisticated counsel should map services to scope, audit addictive designs, plan age verification, and align EU/UK programmes; VLOPs must prepare Article 5 compliance plans. Next watch: European Parliament and Council positions,

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West Virginia has filed a constitutional challenge to its in-state renewable energy requirements, according to a recent Jones Day client alert dated Oct. 1, 2026. The lawsuit contends that the state's renewable-energy mandate exceeds constitutional authority, potentially jeopardizing existing clean-energy projects and compliance obligations for utilities and developers operating in the state. For sophisticated counsel and corporate clients in the energy sector, this filing signals a possible shift in how state-level renewable policies are defended against constitutional scrutiny. Legal teams should monitor the pleadings, the specific constitutional provisions invoked, and any preliminary injunction requests, as the outcome could set a precedent influencing other states' clean-energy statutes and affect the broader market for renewable investments. Counsel may need to reassess risk assessments for existing renewable contracts and consider proactive strategies to safeguard client interests amid evolving regulatory landscapes.

In July 2026, the Illinois Department of Labor notified employers of significant changes to the Equal Pay Registration Certificate program effective January 2027. The IDOL eliminated the 'prefers not to identify' option for race and ethnicity reporting, requiring employers to use employment records or observer identification to populate missing self-ID data. Concurrently, the agency shortened the overdue-filing remediation process from three steps to two, accelerating penalty exposure. The IDOL also published findings from a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign analysis of 2021–2023 EPRC data revealing consistent gender and racial pay gaps, and proposed a three-tier threshold flagging system to identify employers with gaps exceeding 5%, 15%, or 25%. For Illinois employers, this signals a shift from passive compliance to active enforcement targeting statistical disparities. Counsel should advise clients to audit their EPRC data against the proposed flagging thresholds, review self-ID collection procedures, and consider privileged pay-equity analyses before the IDOL releases self-au

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On 17 September 2026 the European Commission published its proposal for an EU "KIDS Act" harmonising age-based restrictions and safety duties for services accessed by minors. Social-networking and video-sharing services meeting risk factors such as live streaming to unspecified audiences, off-network contact and uninterrupted-consumption design would face under-15 access restrictions on a staggered basis. Providers must age-check existing accounts within six months, using EU-certified age verification rather than self-declared dates of birth; other categories, including app stores, games, operating systems and AI companions, may use alternative assurance consistent with accuracy, reliability, security and non-discrimination principles, with zero-knowledge approaches flagged as the expected form. VLOPs would file compliance plans, obtain independent audits and publish summaries. Supervision runs through existing machinery: national digital services coordinators or the Commission under the DSA, and exclusive Commission/AI Office competence for AI companions and chatbots under the AI Ac

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On September 18, 2026, DOJ revised two sections of the Justice Manual. First, Section 4-4.111 now directs attorneys to assess dismissal in every qui tam case and confirms dismissal can be revisited after declination as litigation progresses; the standard broadens from 'facially lack merit' to 'meritless' qui tams, aligning with the Supreme Court's Polansky decision. Second, Section 1-19.000 restores DOJ's pre-2021 policy that agency guidance documents alone cannot sustain FCA claims — enforcement must be grounded in binding legal requirements, though guidance remains evidence on notice, knowledge, and professional standards. For defendants, the post-declination dismissal window creates a new strategic moment to engage DOJ, especially where claims are duplicative, inconsistent with agency priorities, or otherwise implicate the Manual's seven dismissal factors. Watch for early dismissal motions in pending qui tam cases and increased DOJ scrutiny of guidance-based allegations.