Expert Analysis

• Tracking The 2027 Va. Bills That May Tighten Data Center Regs

  

  Data center developers and operators should monitor Virginia legislation responding to the state's new data center accountability framework, local moratoria and the end of an electricity consumption tax, which could change review thresholds, impose new energy rules and slow the approval process, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

• OCC Plan May Bring Data Sharing Flexibility, Diligence Issues

  

  The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's recent proposal to overhaul its supervisory information sharing regime for the first time in decades would provide important flexibility to banks, but it could create new issues around confidentiality agreements, disclosure controls and diligence processes, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

• Protecting Trade Secrets When AI Agents Go Rogue

  

  In light of a recent incident in which artificial intelligence agents compromised parts of Hugging Face's production systems, and the uncertain court guidance surrounding liability in such situations, companies looking to update their trade secret protections should carefully examine agents' permissions and technical limitations, says Matt Nealon at Marshall Gerstein.

• Challenges On The Horizon For Illinois Data Center Projects

  

  Illinois has more data centers in operation or under construction than all but five other states — but such projects face growing litigation threats and a range of state and local legislative proposals that could hinder further development of these facilities in the Land of Lincoln, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

• Reckoning With The IP Risks Of Building Vibe-Coded Products

  

  While artificial intelligence can now be prompted into generating potentially valuable software, developers who sell vibe-coded products must account for questions about authorship, copyrightability and their ability to control the resulting code, say attorneys at Lawgorithm Advisors.

• Planning For D&O Exclusions As Risks Mount For Banks

  

  Banks should scrutinize directors and officers exclusions for artificial intelligence, disclosure and cybersecurity risks during policy renewal negotiations to preserve coverage amid the current uptick in insurer scrutiny and related shareholder litigation, say attorneys at Jones Walker.

• CFIUS Annual Report Reveals Enforcement Trends

  

  The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' recently published annual report to Congress shows that it is increasingly focused on nonnotified transactions, mandatory filing compliance, critical technologies and postclosing mitigation enforcement across the full life cycle transactions, say attorneys at Bass Berry.

• Importer Risk Rises As AI Enters Trade Fraud Enforcement

  

  The Trump administration's new data-driven and artificial intelligence-enabled push against tariff evasion raises the stakes for companies with global supply chains, making it crucial that they consider strengthening response protocols, documentation and internal reporting mechanisms, say attorneys at Cooley.

• Parsing The Latest Signals On FTC Section 5 Enforcement

  

  Federal Trade Commission cases brought over the last several years and Commissioner Mark Meador’s recent call for stand-alone Section 5 enforcement suggest businesses should prepare for continued scrutiny of conduct beyond traditional antitrust violations, particularly in essential goods, technology and labor markets, say attorneys at Axinn.

• Series

  Fintech Regulator Outlook: Collaboration In North Dakota

  

  The recent speed of new digital asset products entering the market continues to introduce compliance challenges, so regulators and companies alike must examine the intersection of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, collaboration and modernization to navigate regulatory complexity, says Lise Kruse at the North Dakota Department of Financial Institutions.

• What Lawyers Should Know Before Accepting Crypto Payment

  

  As clients increasingly request to pay legal fees, retainers and escrow funds using cryptocurrency, lawyers should consider how only a handful of state bar authorities have addressed the issue with varying ethics opinions, as well as the related questions that no authority has yet answered, says attorney Felix Shipkevich.

• What To Know As State 'Neural Data' Privacy Laws Emerge

  

  Attorneys at Goodwin discuss new state laws aimed at regulating consumer data generated from nervous system activity, explain why neurotechnology is attracting state and federal legislators’ attention, and highlight the compliance obligations that industry players should address now.

• Data Sale In Spirit Bankruptcy Raises Novel Privacy Risks

  

  Spirit Airlines' planned sale of deidentified business data to Google for artificial intelligence training exposes gaps in the Bankruptcy Code's privacy guardrails, particularly for employee information, say attorneys at Patterson Belknap.

• IDScan Data Breach Puts Spotlight On Vendor Oversight

  

  A recently reported breach that exposed millions of identification documents held by IDScan.net highlights the liability risks for businesses that contract with third-party identity processors, and emphasizes the importance of auditing vendors' data retention practices, say attorneys at Tucker Ellis.

• Zillow-Redfin Settlement Spotlights Nontraditional-Deal Risk

  

  The Federal Trade Commission's recent settlement with Zillow and Redfin serves as a reminder that authorities are increasingly interested in challenging nontraditional transaction structures that effectively eliminate a market participant, which includes some exclusivity arrangements, say attorneys at Freshfields.