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Client Advisories
7.03.25
Payments Playbook Series: Agentic Payments Playbook
As payments innovation continues to accelerate, Wilson Sonsini is publishing a series of pragmatic playbooks to help companies navigate the legal complexities in the highly regulated payments space. In this new installment, we provide a blueprint for developers of agentic AI for payments.
Client Advisories
11.13.24
The New National Security Rules for Investing U.S. Capital
In late October 2024, the U.S. Treasury Department (Treasury) issued its final rules (the Outbound Rules) implementing President Biden’s Executive Order (EO) 14105 on “outbound” U.S. investment. See our prior mailers here and here. The Outbound Rules will take effect on January 2, 2025, and will add a new layer of diligence to most U.S. parties’ investment activities. On their face, the rules are comparatively narrow, restricting U.S. persons from engaging in certain technology investment and other capital-allocating activities when the target entity has ties to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and operates in certain specific technology areas. However, in practice, the Outbound Rules will create incentives for U.S. investors—and many non-U.S. funds—to engage in diligence and obtain representations from any business that cannot otherwise clearly rule out connections to those technology areas or to the PRC.
Client Advisories
10.03.24
10 Things You Should Know About the EU Artificial Intelligence Act
The Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) is the first comprehensive legislation that regulates AI horizontally across all sectors in the European Union (EU). It came into force in August 2024, and will apply in phases. It will have far reaching consequences on all companies developing, implementing, or using AI solutions in the EU and beyond. These updated FAQs provide ten key considerations you should know about the AI Act, and some tips on what you can do to prepare.
Client Advisories
5.02.24
Payments Playbook Series: AI in Payments
As payments innovation continues to accelerate, Wilson Sonsini is publishing a series of pragmatic playbooks to help companies navigate the legal complexities in the highly regulated payments space. In this new installment, we provide a blueprint for artificial intelligence (AI) companies looking to offer solutions to financial institutions to help build a safer, more efficient payments ecosystem. Financial institutions may also find this playbook helpful as they transition beyond exploring AI solutions to deployment.
Our Playbook for AI in Payments outlines the key business decisions, strategic risk mitigants, and critical regulatory considerations to help set you up for success.
Our Playbook for AI in Payments outlines the key business decisions, strategic risk mitigants, and critical regulatory considerations to help set you up for success.
Client Advisories
3.19.24
SEC Actions Highlight Focus on the Use of AI by Investment Advisers
We are pleased to share this issue of Fintech in Brief, which discusses that two settlement orders involving claims by investment advisers regarding their use of artificial intelligence (AI), both announced on the same day, underscore the continued focus on advisers’ use of AI by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) examinations and enforcement divisions. The SEC alleged, among other things, that each investment adviser made statements in marketing and regulatory filings about its purported use of AI, but neither could back up its statements when examined. The SEC alleged the advisers violated the antifraud provisions of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.
Client Advisories
5.18.22
Increased Scrutiny for AI Systems and Draft AI Legislation in the EU
EU lawmakers are preparing a new Artificial Intelligence Act (AIA). Timing for adoption remains unclear, but once the AIA enters into force, it will impose strict obligations on providers and users of AI systems. In the meantime, EU regulators have started issuing fines against companies using AI systems on the basis of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). For example, the Hungarian privacy regulator recently issued a fine of approximately $680,000 against a bank for non-compliance with GDPR rules in the context of its use of AI software to analyze customer service calls. To learn more about the upcoming legislation, please see Wilson Sonsini's Fact Sheet below on the current draft AIA.
Client Advisories
2.14.22
Legal Requirements for Mitigating Bias in AI Systems
An alphabet soup of U.S. government agencies has taken steps toward regulating artificial intelligence (AI). Last year, Congress passed the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act, which creates numerous new initiatives, committees, and workflows on AI, with the goal of preparing the federal workforce, conducting and funding research, and identifying and mitigating against risks. In November 2021, the White House announced efforts to create a bill of rights for an automated society. And members of Congress are introducing bills like the Algorithmic Accountability Act and the Algorithmic Fairness Act, aimed at promoting ethical AI decision making. On the state level, at least 17 state legislatures introduced AI legislation in 2021.