2021 NAAG Eastern Region Meeting
The Surveillance Economy: How Attorneys General Protect
Privacy, Safety, and Equality in the Information Age
October 7-8, 2021 | Burlington, VT
Conference Summary
The speakers at this conference discussed how regulators and law enforcement could help protect privacy and safety — while preventing discrimination — in an ever-increasing digital world.
On October 12, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in the case Cameron v. EMW Women’s Surgical Center, P.S.C., an appeal from the Sixth Circuit. Plaintiff abortion providers (collectively, “EMW”) initiated this case, seeking to challenge the constitutionality of a controversial Kentucky law, H.B. 454. The law prohibits the “dilation and evacuation” abortion
On October 18, consumer advocate groups and 19 state attorneys general wrote comment letters, urging banking regulators to denounce “rent-a-bank” arrangements between financial institutions and fintechs or other third-party providers.
The consumer advocates and attorneys general both push regulators to address and denounce financial institutions partnering with nonbanks to engage in high-cost lending otherwise prohibited
Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed California Assembly Bill 45 (AB 45) into law, which, among other things, allows hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) to be included in any food, beverages, and dietary supplements sold in California. This is not only a break from California’s prior position prohibiting CBD from being included in such products even as the
The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and several state attorneys general are challenging the American Airlines Group, Inc. (American) collaboration with competitor JetBlue Airways Corp. (JetBlue). Both sides to the dispute accuse the other of harming competition among airlines. On September 21, the DOJ and its state attorney general partners filed
On September 30 and October 1, Troutman Pepper attended the 2021 National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) Presidential Summit, “Taking the Politics Out of Hate,” held in Washington, DC.[1] Hosted by NAAG President and District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine, the summit focused on ways that attorney general offices can combat hate
State regulatory agencies in Alabama, Kentucky, New Jersey, and Texas have increased their efforts to challenge digital asset-related products by issuing cease-and-desist or “show cause” orders against New Jersey-based cryptocurrency company, Celsius Network LLC (Celsius). In September, Celsius — which provides a blockchain-based cryptocurrency lending and trading platform — became the most recent target of
Several state attorneys general recently signaled their interest in pursuing broader and more effective enforcement antitrust actions by urging the federal government to pass legislation that would strengthen current federal antitrust laws and solidify the states’ authority to enforce them.
In late September 2021, a group of 32 state attorneys general sent a letter to
On August 17, former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt formally announced he will be running in 2022 for the U. S. Senate seat currently held by Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto, who served as Nevada attorney general from 2006 to 2014.
Laxalt graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University and from Georgetown University Law Center. He
While national anti-human trafficking initiatives, such as the Blue Campaign[1] and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children,[2] are relatively well-known, several state attorneys general have been outspoken leaders in the fight against human trafficking through legislation, initiatives dedicated to public education and awareness, and victim recovery.
Many of these initiatives will