Austrian lawyer and privacy activist Max Schrems filed several multi-billion euro complaints in courts around Europe against Google (Android), Facebook, and two Facebook subsidiaries WhatsApp and Instagram Friday—the same day as EU data protection laws, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) , went into effect. Combined, the lawsuits seek to fine a total 6.7 billion [...]
US President Donald Trump signed a bill into law Thursday that decreases some Obama-era regulations imposed on banks by the Dodd-Frank Act . Trump’s signature comes just two days after House approval on Tuesday. The new law allows banks with up to $250 billion in assets, as opposed to the previous $50 billion, escape some [...]
A three-judge panel on the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on Thursday rejected a student’s argument that a school district’s transgender bathroom policy was an unconstitutional violation of his privacy, affirming the lower court’s decision. The lawsuit involved Pennsylvania Boyertown Area School District, which had a practice of allowing transgender students to [...]
A judge for US District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri held Tuesday that a prison’s policy of refusing hormone therapy treatments to its transgender inmates was an unconstitutional violation of the Eighth Amendment. The lawsuit was filed by Jessica Hicklin, a transgender woman in the custody of the Missouri Department of Corrections (MDOC), [...]
Swedish lawmakers passed legislation Wednesday making explicit consent or clear communication a requirement before sexual conduct, or it will be considered rape. “The purpose of the legislation is to clarify that every individual has an unconditional right to decide over their own sexual relations,” according to a press release from the Riksdag, Sweden’s legislative body. [...]
Senators Amy Klobuchar and Roy Blunt released a bipartisan bill Wednesday overhauling sexual harassment policy for members of Congress and Capitol Hill staff, including requiring lawmakers to pay for financial settlements out of their own pockets. The Senate bill requires members of the House and Senate to reimburse the US Treasury for payment of any [...]
UN Special Rapporteur Maud de Boer-Buquicchio on Monday urged Ireland to include a national strategy to prevent and respond to sexual violence against children. “I recognise the considerable progress made by Ireland in passing laws which strengthen protection against child marriage, sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children, including through the use of Information and [...]
Britain’s Southwark Crown Court dismissed charges against Barclays regarding agreements between the bank and Qatari investors during the 2008 financial crisis. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) , a British anticorruption government organization, charged Barclays and four of its former executives in June 2017 with conspiracy to commit fraud and violation of the Companies Act of [...]
US President Donald Trump signed a resolution Monday that overturns a 2013 lending rule intended to prevent racial bias in auto loan interest rates. The original rule was issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and was titled the “Indirect Auto Lending and Compliance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.” Under this rule, automobile [...]
Maria Lourdes Sereno, Chief Justice of the Philippines’ highest court, was removed from office Friday after President Rodrigo Duterte, who referred to Sereno as his “enemy,” called for her ouster, citing violations in her appointment. The Solicitor General Jose Calida filed a quo warrant petition , a legal proceeding challenging a person’s right to office, [...]
