The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) undertook a series of initiatives in 2024 to address CFTC registrants’ and other industry participants’ use and application of AI technologies. While these actions do not constitute formal rulemaking or adoption of new regulations, they underscore CFTC’s continued awareness of and attention to the potential benefits and risks of
On Dec. 26, 2024, the nationwide preliminary injunction that a Texas district court issued in Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc. v. Garland against enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) and its beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting rule was reinstated by the merits panel of the Fifth Circuit assigned to the appeal (a different panel
On Nov. 21, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a final rule (Rule), pursuant to 12 U.S.C. § 5514(a)(1)(B), to establish supervisory authority over nonbank entities identified as larger participants in the general-use digital consumer payment applications market. While the CFPB already has enforcement power over digital funds transfer and payment wallet app
A Texas district court has issued a nationwide preliminary injunction four weeks before a key Jan. 1, 2025, reporting deadline for the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) that, while in effect, enjoins enforcement of the CTA’s beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements. The Texas court explicitly stated that this injunction “should apply nationwide.”
On Sep. 4, 2024, FinCEN published a final rule (Final Rule) adding certain RIAs and ERAs (collectively, Covered Advisers) to the definition of “financial institution” under the regulations implementing the BSA, and imposing on Covered Advisers broad AML and CFT program requirements, as well as other BSA recordkeeping and reporting requirements. The Final
On Nov. 6, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released an administrative complaint and accepted a proposed consent order resolving claims against GGL Projects, Inc., an AI-enabled customer review platform that does business as Sitejabber. The FTC alleges that Sitejabber provides its ecommerce clients with the ability to (a) collect ratings and reviews from consumers
On Oct. 16, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission announced its final “Click-to-Cancel” Rule for subscription services and other negative option offers. The rule requires sellers to make it as easy for consumers to cancel subscriptions as it was to sign up for them. The rule also changes businesses’ marketing, disclosure, consent, and recordkeeping requirements and
On Oct. 2, 2024, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (Proposed Rule) designed to strengthen recordkeeping requirements for custodial deposit accounts with transactional features, like those often used in banking-as-a-service (BaaS) models and other bank-fintech partnerships. The Proposed Rule is intended to ensure the FDIC’s ability to promptly make
On Sept. 12, 2024, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) took another step toward limiting the availability and scope of relief provided by CFTC Regulation 4.7 (Reg. 4.7) under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended (CEA). Although the changes adopted in the final rule (Final Rule) are less comprehensive than those the CFTC
On June 4, 2024, the CFPB released a circular cautioning companies against including unlawful or unenforceable terms and conditions in contracts for consumer financial products or services. The circular asserts that companies often embed unlawful or unenforceable terms in the fine print of their contracts, using this “fine print tactic” to deceive consumers into surrendering