Artificial Intelligence
NCLA Amicus Brief Takes on SEC’s Arbitrary Calculations of Civil Penalties in Enforcement Cases
Washington, D.C., Nov. 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently announced record-breaking enforcement results, boasting a staggering $4.2 billion in civil penalties imposed during just the past fiscal year—the agency’s “highest on record.” It did so by using putatively “civil” law enforcement powers to seek and impose severe financial penalties—calculated using arbitrary and inconsistent multipliers—against American citizens without due process and procedural protections. The New Civil Liberties Alliance has challenged this questionable practice in an amicus brief filed supporting rehearing en banc in SEC v. Jocelyn M. Murphy, et al. NCLA argues the full Ninth Circuit has an excellent opportunity to bring desperately needed consistency, clarity, and discipline to the calculation of civil penalties in enforcement cases prosecuted by SEC.
Congress has not changed SEC’s baseline statutory penalty limits since adopting them in 1990, yet the magnitude of the agency’s penalties has expanded dramatically in recent decades. The $4.2 billion record in civil penalties was more than triple SEC’s average annual penalty totals over its preceding five fiscal years. Today’s SEC penalties are often impossible to square with the statutory penalty caps legislated by Congress. As the Murphy case demonstrates, SEC uses several tricks to artificially inflate penalties and evade statutory penalty caps, including arbitrarily slicing violations into smaller units and demanding a maximum penalty for each piece.
SEC requested civil penalties for each allegedly misleading communication made by Defendant Murphy and for each month that Defendants Michael Murphy and Richard Gounaud traded securities without proper registration as broker-dealers, for total requested penalties of $1.7 million (21 communications), $523,863 (65 months) and $385,641 (46 months), respectively. But the statutory text does not support the district court’s penalty multipliers. It only authorizes relatively modest penalties assessed “[f]or each violation”—not for each communication sent in connection with a violation and not for each random unit of time a defendant was in violation. Indeed, the unit-of-time multiplier is especially arbitrary and limitless. By its logic, the violation-slicing could be even thinner, such that each week, day, or hour without proper registration could theoretically be treated as a separate violation.
Despite legislating in this area on several occasions, Congress has not provided any intelligible principles to guide the SEC or the courts in determining how to calculate the number of violations in any given case—a critical input in determining (and limiting) the magnitude of any potential penalty. When agencies are allowed to determine sentences by recharacterizing violations in arbitrary ways, that takes away Congress’s power to define crimes and establish available sentences. In this case, the violations not only were sliced more thinly than the applicable statutes can bear, but the slicing was completely haphazard and inconsistent, resulting in egregiously inflated and disproportionate penalties that the Ninth Circuit should reverse and remand.
NCLA released the following statement:
“For far too long, agencies like the SEC have routinely sidestepped penalty caps legislated by Congress, using gimmicks like arbitrarily slicing violations into numerous pieces and demanding a separate maximum penalty for each little piece. The resulting eye-popping penalties make for great headlines and feature prominently in agency budget requests, but they are often excessive to the point of lawlessness. This case gives the full Ninth Circuit an excellent opportunity to bring order and discipline to these runaway penalties.”
— Russ Ryan, Senior Litigation Counsel, NCLA
For more information visit the amicus page here.
ABOUT NCLA
NCLA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group founded by prominent legal scholar Philip Hamburger to protect constitutional freedoms from violations by the Administrative State. NCLA’s public-interest litigation and other pro bono advocacy strive to tame the unlawful power of state and federal agencies and to foster a new civil liberties movement that will help restore Americans’ fundamental rights.
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Artificial Intelligence
Slovenian Tourist Board Unveils Innovative Projects to Enhance Tourism and Sports Visibility: Audio Stories, AI-Powered Virtual Assistant, and “Slovenia – Sports Destination” Website
LJUBLJANA, Slovenia, May 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Slovenia is a land of countless natural beauties, cultural treasures, top health and wellness resorts and superb gastronomy, which the Slovenian Tourist Board aims to showcase to visitors in an innovative and attractive way. To achieve this, the Board continually analyzes current marketing trends and develops projects designed to excite tourists, spark their curiosity and inspire them to explore further.
By staying at the forefront of marketing strategies, the Slovenian Tourist Board ensures that the country’s unique attractions are presented in the most engaging and appealing manner possible. The most recent projects to boost Slovenia’s visibility include three new projects: Sounds Like Slovenia, a series of audio stories, an AI-powered virtual assistant named Alma on slovenia.info and the “Slovenia – Sports Destination” website.
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Meet Alma, an AI-powered virtual assistant
Alma, named after the adventurous traveller and writer Alma M. Karlin, operates using advanced AI technology, filtering content to suit user interests. She sources reliable information from the slovenia.info database and over 50 verified websites of Slovenian tourist destinations and providers. As one of the first AI assistants in Slovenian tourism, and among the few AI assistants integrated in national tourism organizations’ websites in Europe, Alma positions slovenia.info as a reliable source of information and inspiration for international visitors.
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Slovenia – Sports Destination Website
The Slovenia–Sports Destination website serves as a comprehensive resource for organizing sports activities and events, conferences, rehabilitation and inspiration, available in both Slovenian and English. Sports agencies, clubs, and event organizers can use the portal to connect directly with relevant partners in Slovenia. The website also provides direct contacts for specialized sports agencies and federations, assisting with the organization of preparatory matches and other logistical needs. Information on sports accommodations is also available.
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Sounds Like Slovenia
Thematic playlists on Spotify and sound stories on slovenia.info provide an immersive audio experience of Slovenia’s landscapes and cultural offerings. Themes are categorized into five categories: the Sounds of Nature, Thrilling Outdoor Adventures, Cities and Culture, Health and Well-Being, and Gastronomy. Crafted for the global digital campaign, the audio list aims to captivate travelers worldwide.
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Together, these projects demonstrate Slovenia’s dedication to innovation and sustainability in tourism, offering visitors unforgettable experiences in this vibrant European destination with a green heart.
Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2422785/Sounds_like_slovenia.jpg
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/slovenian-tourist-board-unveils-innovative-projects-to-enhance-tourism-and-sports-visibility-audio-stories-ai-powered-virtual-assistant-and-slovenia—sports-destination-website-302156165.html
SHENZHEN, China, May 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — On May 26, the closing and awards ceremony of the Huawei ICT Competition 2023–2024 Global Final was held in Shenzhen. This year’s competition attracted more than 170,000 students from over 2,000 universities and colleges across more than 80 countries and regions, making it the largest offline competition since its launch. More than 160 teams, adding up to a total of 470 contestants from 49 different countries and regions, made it through national and regional competitions to reach this year’s global final, held in Shenzhen May 23-26.
After fierce competition, 19 teams from nine countries (Algeria, China, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, the Philippines, Tanzania, Türkiye, and Uganda) won the Grand Prizes of the Practice and Innovation Competitions. The Best Social Media Popularity Award was won by a team from Pakistan. The Green Development Award was won by two teams from China and Morocco. The Women in Tech Award was granted to four teams from Kenya, Malaysia, Morocco, and Uganda. And the TECH4ALL Digital Inclusion Award was won by two teams from China and the Philippines.
Zhou Hong, President of Huawei’s Institute of Strategic Research, said: “To make sure everyone can truly enjoy the benefits of digitalization while such technologies are making radical progress, Huawei believes it is crucial to guarantee that digital technologies are accessible to all.”
Stefania Giannini, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education, said in a video message:,”UNESCO works to uphold the basic rights and agency of every learner and teacher when using digital technology and AI, and promote an inclusive, equitable, open, and secure digital future for all. Many thanks to our partners like Huawei for their longstanding support.”
Ritchie Peng, President of Huawei’s ICT Strategy and Business Development Department, stated: “ICT is the cornerstone of the intelligent world. Through the Huawei ICT Competition, we aim to provide students with a global platform to compete and exchange ideas.”
On the same day, Huawei also held the ICT Accelerating Education Transformation Summit. At the summit Huawei awarded 24 instructors the title “Huawei ICT Academy Global Most Valuable Instructor.” The awards, given out for the first time this year, aims to show gratitude for the important contributions the instructors have made to talent development, and mark them as role models showing how the brightest minds can grow even brighter. These role models will help drive sustainable development of the ICT talent ecosystem.
The Huawei ICT Competition is an annual contest held by Huawei for global university and college students. Through the competition, Huawei aims to provide students with an international platform for healthy competition and exchange of ideas. Since its launch in 2015, the competition has helped students enhance their ICT knowledge and practical skills, while also increasing their ability to innovate by using new technologies and platforms. The ultimate goal is to advance technological development and facilitate digital inclusion around the world.
Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2423048/Closing_awards_ceremony.jpg
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/winners-of-huawei-ict-competition-20232024-global-final-announced-302156441.html
TAIPEI, May 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — NEXCOM, a leading supplier of network solutions, CTOne, a global cybersecurity leader in communication technology, and Vertex, a professional system integrator of 5G private network, join forces for groundbreaking POC targeted to advance 5G private network security within semiconductor manufacturing site framework. Designed to address the specific cybersecurity challenges common in OT networks, collaborative solution offers unparalleled protection, and seamless integration into existing network architectures with minimal disruption to operations during deployment.
Improved Network Security
NEXCOM’s 1U Edge server, the TCA 5170, delivers scalable performance and advanced cybersecurity features, empowering manufacturers with robust OT network protection. Leveraging cutting-edge technologies, the TCA 5170 accelerate encryption and decryption processes, ensures authentication and real-time threat detection, safeguarding private networks against evolving cyber threats. Its scalability makes it ideal for deployments of all sizes, from smaller production lines to semiconductor giants, providing comprehensive security solutions for diverse industrial needs.
More Visibility, Easier Management
The integrated solution simplifies the management of complex OT networks, enabling IT teams to efficiently monitor and manage network security while optimizing resource utilization. CTOne’s virtualized private 5G security software, installed on TCA 5170 and deployed at strategic points at the semiconductor manufacturing site, integrates seamlessly across IT and CT networks to deliver full visibility with real-time monitoring of data traffic. Combined with CTOne’s built-in 5G protection capabilities, the solution enable immediate interception and isolation of threats while supporting a Zero Trust strategy.
“This collaboration has been pivotal in delivering a comprehensive cybersecurity solution for semiconductor manufacturing sites,” said Ming-Yang, Yi, senior manager of AMEA business development group of CTOne. “By integrating our advanced 5G visibility and security capabilities with NEXCOM’s TCA 5170, we’ve created a robust solution that enhances data protection and optimizes operational efficiency of private 5G networks.”
“Working alongside NEXCOM and CTOne has allowed us to deliver a truly comprehensive cybersecurity solution for private 5G network,” said Willis Fu, Technical Director at Vertex. “Bringing together NEXCOM’s TCA 5170 and CTOne’s Mobile Network Security solution ensures seamless protection of the private 5G network, providing our end customer with peace of mind and confidence in their operations.”
“The TCA 5170 is a compact 1U server that offers different configurations and scalable performance, allowing our ecosystem partners to easily adapt and run their applications for deployments of all scales,” said Jennifer Lan, Sales & Marketing Director of Network & Communication Solutions at NEXCOM. “Our successful collaboration with CTOne and Vertex underscores our commitment to providing top-tier security and operational efficiency for our clients.”
Read full Case Study: Security-Solution-to-Protect-Private-Networks-at-Semiconductor-Facilities.pdf (nexcom.com)
This joint solution can be experienced firsthand at upcoming exhibitions:
May 29 – May 31, 2024, CommunicAsia 2024, Singapore, Singapore EXPO, Hall 4, booth 4E3-14June 26 – June 28, 2024, COMNEXT, Japan, Tokyo, Tokyo Big Sight, South Hall, Booth 9-14About NEXCOM
Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, NEXCOM integrates its diverse capabilities and operates six global businesses, including the Network and Communication Solutions (NCS) unit. NCS focuses on the latest network technology and helps to build reliable network infrastructure, by delivering professional design and manufacturing services for customers all over the world. NCS’s network application platform is widely adopted in Cyber Security, Load Balancing, 5G uCPE, SD-WAN, SASE, Edge Computing, OT Security, Storage, NVR, and other network applications for businesses of all sizes.
Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2423000/3__End_to_End_Cybersecurity_Solution_to_Protect_Private_Networks_at_Semiconductor_Facilities.jpg
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/nexcom-ctone-and-vertex-join-forces-to-enhance-private-network-security-302156384.html
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