Regulatory News: Year in Review

SEC Guidance on Social Media and Business Disclosures Stirs Controversy

Margot Campbell | April 17

Could social media sites such as Facebook or Twitter soon become a tool for tracking investment news? Possibly, according to the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), which announced last week that corporations may use social media sites to make business announcements without violating disclosure rules.

RegBlog’s Next Chapter

Cary Coglianese (University of Pennsylvania) & James Hobbs | November 11

When the Penn Program on Regulation (PPR) first established a blog on regulation nearly four years ago, it was a rather conventional blog. But PPR sought to use its project to pursue some rather unconventional aspirations: making accessible and interesting one of the most vital but least visible facets of law and policymaking—regulation.

FTC Staff Report Outlines Best Practices for Mobile App Industry

Lauren-Kelly Devine | March 7

In a mobile industry growing at what former Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Jon Leibowitz described as “breathtaking speed,” the FTC staff issued a new report setting forth guidelines to ensure that consumer privacy protection keeps pace with technological innovation.

Start-up Companies Await SEC Guidance on Equity Crowdfunding

Lauren-Kelly Devine | March 19

Last year, entrepreneurs across the country cheered the announcement of the CROWDFUND Act, a federal statute that will enable start-up businesses to raise funds from investors through specialized Internet portals. However, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is behind schedule in creating the regulatory framework to implement the statute, leaving unanswered several questions about the legal status of crowdfunding.

Penn Convenes Major Dialogue on Chinese Administrative Law

James Hobbs | January 29

Chinese and American scholars recently met at the University of Pennsylvania Law School to discuss the current state of administrative law in China, and how agency decision making can be made more effective, transparent, responsive, and participatory.

New York City Unleashes a Flood of Open Data

James Hobbs | April 30 

Governing the country’s largest city requires massive amounts of information. Now, New York City is trying to make big data from the Big Apple open and accessible online.

CMS Proposes to Significantly Increase Reward for Reporting Medicare Fraud

Bianca Nunes | June 18

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently proposed a rule that would substantially increase the potential reward for individuals who report Medicare fraud. The current Medicare Incentive Reward Program (IRP) provides a maximum reward of $1,000 per identified case.

When It Comes to Regulation, Europe is the New United States

Ted Oxholm | January 1

The United States and Europe have swapped regulatory philosophies, according to David Vogel, professor of business and political science at the University of California, Berkeley, who spoke at the University of Pennsylvania recently as part of the Penn Program on Regulation’s risk regulation seminar series.

Senators Question President’s Pick for OIRA Administrator

Brady Sullivan | June 14

Senator Rob Portman may have put it best Wednesday when he described the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) Administrator as “the most important job in Washington that nobody has ever heard of.”