We are pleased to announce the launch of the Conflict Minerals Consortium, a cross-industry group of service providers working to assist companies in meeting the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s new conflict minerals rule.
Foley Hoag is the only law firm member of the consortium and will be working to advise clients on the legal aspects of compliance with the new rule,… More
Burma’s Hluttaw, or Parliament, passed a new Foreign Direct Investment Law on September 7. Few details on the legislation are yet available, and we have seen only partial translations, although the final version reportedly is preferable to its draft predecessor. President Thein Sein has not yet signed it into law.
From the information available thus far, it is clear, however, that the law is a significant improvement on the version that the lower Hluttaw passed earlier this summer,… More
Google’s decision to block access to an anti-Islamic video in Libya and Egypt as a result of widespread violence highlights some of the complex challenges that face companies that host user-generated content. Companies that host such content must confront circumstances in which the nature of that content can have far-reaching effects ranging from affronts to cultural norms to difficult political and security challenges.
At the same time,… More
According to an article in the Wall Street Journal last week (subscription required), smartphone makers are receiving an increasing number of requests from U.S. law enforcement agencies for assistance in bypassing password protections on encrypted mobile devices seized from criminal suspects. Although it is heartening to hear the article’s report that companies such as Google are challenging warrants requiring them to divulge “any and all means of gaining access,… More
The new draft Equator Principles reflect and build upon the IFC Performance Standards’ requirement that companies obtain the free, prior, and informed consent (“FPIC”) of indigenous peoples for development projects. This language reflects the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (“UNDRIP”), which was supported by all but four countries in the UN General Assembly in 2007. The four countries that originally voted against the Declaration – the United States,… More