Keep your finger on the legal world's pulse

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has proposed new guidance warning that AI companies whose chatbots are designed to produce responses aligned with "ideological objectives" could violate federal consumer protection law. The agency said AI developers that train models to avoid responses deemed discriminatory toward certain groups may, in some cases, run afoul of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Act, which prohibits unfair or deceptive business practices. The FTC also said complying with Colorado's AI anti-discrimination law could potentially conflict with the FTC Act, reflecting the Trump administration's broader scrutiny of perceived political bias in AI systems. The proposal is open for public comment through July 31, after which the agency will consider whether to adopt the policy. The guidance is the latest effort by FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson to use the agency's consumer protection powers to address concerns raised by conservatives over alleged ideological bias in technology platforms. 

 

Reuters

Cal-Maine Foods, Versova, and Hickman's Egg Ranch have reached settlement agreements with the U.S. Department of Justice and 17 states to resolve allegations that they colluded to inflate egg prices between June 2022 and March 2025 by coordinating pricing submissions to a key industry index. While the companies denied wrongdoing, they agreed to pay a combined $3.3m to the states, donate 53m eggs to food banks and non-profit organizations, and implement antitrust compliance measures, including restrictions on communications with competitors over pricing and bidding. The investigation followed a period in which U.S. egg prices surged to a record average of $6.23 per dozen in March 2025 before falling below $2.20 per dozen by May 2026 as poultry flocks recovered from the bird flu outbreak.

 

CBS News

US News and World Report

Wall Street Journal

The Supreme Court will consider whether Americans have a constitutional right to own so-called assault weapons. The justices said they will hear appeals challenging bans on the AR-15 and similar semiautomatic firearms in Connecticut and the Chicago area. Similar laws are in place in about a dozen states. The upcoming cases are the court’s latest steps toward clarifying the doctrine set in place by the 2022 Bruen decision, which requires gun laws to pass a “history and tradition test”, said Hayley Lawrence, the executive director of the Center for Firearms Law at Duke Law School. “Bruen was this enormous sea change in constitutional interpretation. It bakes in judicial discretion, and Supreme Court justices don’t like how lower courts are applying the test they created,” she said. “[These cases] are an opportunity to further clarify the methodology and application of the history and tradition test.”

 

AP News

The Hill

The Guardian

Virginia has approved legislation allowing recreational cannabis sales through licensed retail stores from July 1st 2027, five years after becoming the first Southern state to legalize adult possession. Regulators will begin accepting applications for up to 350 retail licences from February 2027, while the legal possession limit will double from one ounce to two ounces and home cultivation will remain permitted. The new retail market is expected to generate around $51m in tax revenue during its first year through a combination of excise and sales taxes. Supporters say the move will replace the illicit market with a regulated system offering tested and accurately labeled products, although some campaigners have criticised higher fines for public consumption, arguing they could lead to disproportionate enforcement.

 

US News and World Report

World Cup fans have sued StubHub, saying the resale ​platform had failed to deliver expensive tickets for the tournament purchased on the ‌secondary market. In a proposed class action filed in Manhattan federal court, fans claimed they "did not get what they paid for" ​because StubHub never delivered their promised tickets. "[Fans] were lied to and purchased World Cup tickets for large sums of money - only to incur tremendous financial losses . . . This is a new low for a sports ticketing industry that has been rampant with consumer protection issues time and time again to the detriment of the fans who make sports special," the complaint said. StubHub said: “Our singular ⁠goal is to get fans into events, and if anything goes wrong, ​our FanProtect Guarantee provides replacement tickets or a full refund."

 

CBC

Reuters

A federal lawsuit filed by California drivers accuses major gas chains, including Walmart and 7-Eleven, along with technology company Kalibrate, of colluding to keep gas prices artificially high using AI software. The lawsuit, which tests California's updated antitrust law, claims that Kalibrate's program encourages gas stations to share private pricing data, leading to price-fixing. “The quintessential image of price fixing is a secret deal made between competitors over cigars in a smoky back room,” attorneys wrote in the complaint. “But as technology has advanced, so too have the mechanisms available to competitors to fix prices without the cigars, the smoke, or even the room.”

 

Los Angeles Times

Goldman Sachs has named Michael Bosworth as acting ​general counsel. Kathryn Ruemmler, who resigned after emails showed her links with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, stays on as an adviser. Ruemmler will testify before the U.S. House Oversight Committee investigating Epstein later this month.

 

Reuters

The Trump administration has declined to renew the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in its current form following its mandatory six-year review, leaving the trade pact in force for up to another 10 years with annual reviews while negotiations continue over proposed changes. The move starts the countdown towards the agreement's expiry unless all three countries agree to a revised version. The U.S. is seeking tougher North American rules of origin for automobiles and other industrial goods, aiming to reshore manufacturing, reduce trade deficits and limit China's access to the regional trading bloc. Talks with Mexico are due to resume later this month, and Canada has also pledged to continue negotiations while seeking relief from U.S. tariffs on steel, aluminum, vehicles and lumber. The USMCA underpins around $1.6tn of annual trade between the three countries, and industry groups, including automakers and agricultural exporters, have urged governments to preserve the agreement.

 

Bloomberg

CNBC

Reuters

Washington Post

Michael Jay has joined Vinson & Elkins as a partner in its intellectual property and technology litigation practice in Los Angeles. Previously with DLA Piper, Jay specializes in representing innovative companies in patent and trade secret disputes across various sectors, including technology, media, and life sciences. His expertise covers areas such as wireless communications, smartphones, semiconductors, computer software, and medical devices.

 

Bloomberg Law

Apple has accused the Competition Commission of India (CCI) of "copy-pasting" its rivals' claims and failing to properly conduct its own investigation in concluding the U.S. tech firm breached competition laws. In a submission, Apple argued that Indian antitrust investigators had not done their own analysis and instead indulged in "copy-pasting" many submissions from the company's opponents in the CCI case such ​as Tinder-owner Match, Walmart's Indian payments app, PhonePe, and Indian rival Paytm. Apple denies claims made by CCI investigators in a privately issued report in 2024 which said the company engaged in "abusive conduct" on the apps platform of its iOS operating system, and wrongly mandated the use of its payment system.

 

Reuters

Gabriel García Luna, Guatemala's new attorney general, has committed to dismantling the "repressive and vengeful" administration of his predecessor, Consuelo Porras. Porras faced international sanctions for obstructing anti-corruption efforts and persecuting justice officials. “Everyone has a concept of a Public Prosecutor's Office that can be used in a certain way, and we can no longer have that,” García Luna said. “It is not a political entity, nor a political weapon for anyone, and I do not intend to repeat the actions taken in previous administrations.” He has launched a review of cases involving alleged abuses during Porras' tenure. His predecessor had “formed a parallel government that destroyed the prosecutorial profession, mainly by dismissing between 800 and 1,000 employees during her eight-year tenure,” García Luna said.

 

AP News

Americans are expected to pay more for their Fourth of July celebrations this year as higher production, labor and transportation costs continue to drive up the prices of food and fuel. The American Farm Bureau Federation estimates the cost of a cookout for 10 people has risen 4% year-on-year, broadly in line with inflation, while Wells Fargo's Agri-Food Institute estimates barbecue costs have increased 2.4%. Beef prices remain at record highs, with ground beef and steak up 14% from a year ago due to tighter cattle supplies, higher feed and labor costs, drought conditions and supply chain disruptions. Other notable increases include pork and beans, up 13.8% as aluminum can costs rise, strawberries, and hamburger buns, up 7.7% because of increased production and distribution costs. The National Retail Federation expects consumers to spend a record average of $94.41 per person on Independence Day food this year.

 

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