Plugging the "Gaps" on Transfers of U.S. Sensitive Emerging Technology: New and Permanent Dual-Use Export Control Statutory Authority Becomes Law
Client Alert | 1 min read | 08.16.18
The Export Control Reform Act of 2018, included within the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2019, became law on August 13, 2018, and provides “modern” and permanent statutory authority for the U.S. Export Administration regulations (EAR), which control the export, re-export, and transfer of U.S. origin “dual-use” items. As a result of the effort to strengthen control over foreign investment in the United States (contained in a companion statute within the NDAA), the law directs the Commerce Department to establish an inter-agency process, subject to a public notice and comment period, for the identification of “emerging and foundational technologies” that are essential to the national security of the United States, and requires the imposition of licensing requirements (even if unilateral) at least for transfers of such technologies to U.S. arms embargoed countries, which includes China. With respect to potential technologies likely to incur heightened scrutiny, a Commerce Department industry event in May of this year highlighted U.S. advancements vis-a-vis Europe and China in the areas of artificial intelligence (particularly autonomy, and human-AI interaction), 5G technology, and robotics, among others.
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Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.21.25
On November 7, 2025, in Thornton v. National Academy of Sciences, No. 25-cv-2155, 2025 WL 3123732 (D.D.C. Nov. 7, 2025), the District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a False Claims Act (FCA) retaliation complaint on the basis that the plaintiff’s allegations that he was fired after blowing the whistle on purported illegally discriminatory use of federal funding was not sufficient to support his FCA claim. This case appears to be one of the first filed, and subsequently dismissed, following Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s announcement of the creation of the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative on May 19, 2025, which “strongly encourages” private individuals to file lawsuits under the FCA relating to purportedly discriminatory and illegal use of federal funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in violation of Executive Order 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity (Jan. 21, 2025). In this case, the court dismissed the FCA retaliation claim and rejected the argument that an organization could violate the FCA merely by “engaging in discriminatory conduct while conducting a federally funded study.” The analysis in Thornton could be a sign of how forthcoming arguments of retaliation based on reporting allegedly fraudulent DEI activity will be analyzed in the future.
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.20.25
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.20.25
Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.19.25
