MVA White Collar Defense, Investigations, and Regulatory Advice Blog

In AMG Capital Management v. FTC, a unanimous Supreme Court recently struck the Federal Trade Commission’s (the FTC) power to obtain monetary relief under § 13(b) of the FTC Act (the Act). Under § 13(b), the FTC can seek the aid of a court to obtain a permanent injunction. The issue the court addressed is whether Congress, by enacting § 13(b) and using the words “permanent injunction”, granted the FTC authority to obtain monetary relief directly from the courts rather than through the administrative process, which ultimately allows for such relief. The Court held the FTC is not ...

By Neil Bloomfield and Lindsey Frye.  The legal and regulatory landscape continues to evolve in an effort to meet the pervasive and destructive effects of cyber attacks.  2017 brought a substantial increase in the number of attacks and the severity of the breaches.  Hacking victims disclosed former breaches to be more serious than originally reported, while others delayed disclosure of the hacks entirely.  Cyber attacks affected both the private and public sectors with equal force.  Attacks were launched by private and state-sponsored groups, making cyber defense a popular talking ...

By Neil Bloomfield and Lindsey Frye.  This will be our first in a series of updates on the status of regulation and enforcement in the context of cybersecurity related issues.  Regulation and liability in the context of a cyber attack present complex questions.  The easy target is the individual or organization that committed that attack—the criminal hacker.  Unfortunately, the easy target is often beyond the jurisdiction of U.S. courts, and even if they are not, they lack the resources to provide a meaningful recovery.  Secondary targets, which have become the focus of ...