In October 2020, the Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL), the French body that regulates the protection of personal data in that country, published two documents, one designated “guidelines” and the other called “recommendations,” establishing rules and good practices, concerning the use of cookies on the internet.

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The World Bank published its Annual Sanctions Report for 2020, highlighting the institution’s concern with the projects it finances globally and potential risks of fraud and corruption.

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On January 12, 2021, the French Anti-Corruption Agency (AFA) published new guidelines for companies in the public and private sectors, laying out recommendations in order to ensure compliance with the French Anti-Corruption Law (Sapin II) sanctioned since the end of 2016.

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Following the states of Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo, Santa Catarina, and the Federal District, the State of Pernambuco signed a law that compels the implementation of a compliance program (called an ‘integrity program’ in the public sector) by private companies that wish to contract with the state government. I am referring to State Law 16,722, enacted on December 9, 2019.

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The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just published new guidelines for manufacturers regarding the choice of names for their medicines. The guide focuses on how the trust and distinction of other existing medication may be transmitted to end-users, that is, to patients.

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On February 9th, webinar Judicialization of medicines: USA x Brazil’ was presented by partner Alexandre Dalmasso. Dalmasso discussed the access both Brazil and USA have to medicines as well as the legal and financial impact.

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The year 2020, plagued by the Covid-19 pandemic, has passed. European countries suffered amid the coronavirus's spread, with Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and France most negatively affected in the first wave. Subsequently, during the second wave, the United Kingdom and Portugal ended up leading in infection rates and discovering a new yet more contagious strain.

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The General Data Protection Law (LGPD), created in 2018, finally came into force in Brazil in 2020. The National Data Protection Agency (ANPD) was structured accordingly to begin managing and controlling the effective protection of personal data. However, to date, the ANPD has not yet started to standardize obscure aspects of the law and address gaps that need regulation.

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The recently formed National Data Protection Authority (ANPD) has a challenging mission to standardize or regulate various situations that require more detailed regulation by the primary authority responsible for personal data in Brazil.

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Recently, in an article on this website, the USA’s 2003 CAN-SPAM law that helped regulate spam was mentioned (Sending and Posting Advertisement in Mass, translated into Portuguese as ““Enviar e Postar Publicidade em Massa,” or Stupid Pointless Annoying Messages, which translates into Portuguese as “Mensagens Perturbadoras, Estúpidas e Sem Noção”).

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Under the General Data Protection Law (LGPD) now in force, a frequently asked question is whether collection companies contracted by financial institutions, retail chains, or other lending organizations can continue to call individuals – allegedly using their personal data shared by the companies which contracted the service and, therefore, creditors of the vindicated amount – or not.

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The National Council for AdvertisingSelf-Regulation (CONAR) launched the Guide for Digital Influencers in November2020 to establish standards and ethical criteria in advertising to be carriedby the channels used by such influencers.

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In this unique year of 2020, the significant milestone in the area of privacy and protection of personal data in the United States of America (USA) remains undoubtedly the CCPA - California Consumer Privacy Act, which started to protect the citizens of the State of California against commercial use of their personal data without their consent. But does privacy and protection of personal data in the US come down to the CCPA only?

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The Governor of the State of São Paulo, João Agripino da Costa Doria Junior – better known as João Doria – sanctioned State Bill # 1212/2019 on December 1, 2020. The bill was authored by State Deputy Alex de Madureira as he is known, since his name is Alexander Muniz de Oliveira, being born in Piracicaba, SP, and affiliated with the Social Democratic Party (PSD).

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