Blog

White House will ask Supreme Court review on DACA program before appeals court

Posted on by Federica Romanelli
On January 16, 2018, the US Department of Justice appealed before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal Judge Alsup’s federal court order blocking the government from ending the DACA program. On the same date, the Department of Justice said that, within a few days, it will also file a petition for a writ of certiorari before judgment, seeking direct review before the Supreme Court. According to the press release, the Department is "now taking the rare step of requesting direct review on the merits Read more [...]

FTC’s first-ever settlement for violation of children’s privacy through connected toys

Posted on by Federica Romanelli
FTC announced that VTech Electronics Limited and its US subsidiary (VTech) agreed to settle with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) a claim that the companies violated children’s privacy through the commercialization of some connected toys. Allegedly VTech violated COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998) by collecting personal information from children without providing direct notice to their parents and without obtaining their consent. They also failed to take reasonable Read more [...]

FEDERAL JUDGE ALLOWS DACA RENEWALS TO RESUME…FOR NOW

Posted on by Federica Romanelli
On January 13, 2018, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) posted instructions for DACA applicants to resume filing applications. Following Judge Alsup’s federal court order, the DACA policy will be operated on the terms in place before it was rescinded on Sept. 5, 2017. See here for more information on what is DACA and why it was rescinded. Until further notice, and unless otherwise provided in the USCIS’s guidance, individuals who were previously granted deferred action under Read more [...]

Deceased Floridians maintain their Constitutional right to privacy

Posted on by Federica Romanelli
In this constitutional challenge to the 2013 amendments to sections 766.106 and 766.1065 of the Florida Statutes requiring claimants in a medical malpractice claim to disclose certain protected health information (PHI) and to consent to secret, ex parte interviews between health providers and defendant , the Florida Supreme Court held that the requirements were unconstitutional and that the right of privacy is not lost at death. The ruling concerned a medical malpractice claim brought by a Read more [...]

Italy approves a 3% ‘web tax’

Posted on by Federica Romanelli
On December 2017, Italy passed a 3% tax on certain internet transactions concerning services through electronic means. The 3% tax will be calculated on the value of the transaction (VAT excluded), notwithstanding where the transaction is executed. Services provided through electronic means include all those services provided through the internet or an electronic network and whose performance is basically automated – with minimal human intervention – and that would be impossible in the absence Read more [...]