Insights

FY 2024 saw continued growth in False Claims Act enforcement, with a record year for new qui tam and government-initiated actions, and the highest total recovery in three years. Enforcement of pandemic-related fraud and cybersecurity noncompliance increased, and health care, procurement, and small business fraud violations were again priority areas. A groundbreaking opinion from the District Court for the Middle District of Florida may have teed up a potentially landscape-shifting decision about the viability of the qui tam mechanism in the not too distant future. And a landmark administrative law decision at the U.S. Supreme Court may impact many FCA cases to come. Significant decisions regarding retaliation, excessive fines, the first-to-file rule, and the public disclosure bar were also handed down by courts of appeals. Crowell attorneys discuss these highlights and others in a “Feature Comment” published in The Government Contractor.

As digitalization has become more ubiquitous and attacks surfaces widened, the number of cyberattacks have correspondingly increased. In 2024, ransomware attacks in particular grew in their frequency and impact. In an effort to enact more stringent policy approaches, governments introduced over 170 data protection laws between 2023 and 2024. With not a single company immune from these regulatory winds, industry must keep a close watch.

Significant shifts in U.S. technology policy are taking shape at the start of the new administration. This is especially true in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), where President Trump revoked President Biden’s Executive Order 14110, titled “Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence,” as part of his flurry of Day One executive actions. The administration is now moving quickly to put its own stamp on this area in an effort to strengthen U.S. AI leadership and competitiveness and outpace other nations, particularly the People’s Republic of China.

Crowell Global Advisors joined the industry delegation to the 5thASEAN Digital Ministers’ Meeting (ADGMIN) hosted by Thailand from January 16-17, 2025. The official theme for this year was “Secure, Innovative, Inclusive: Shaping ASEAN’s Digital Future,” with a focus on promoting safe adoption of emerging technologies by ASEAN Member States (AMS).

The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) is currently in the process of introducing the first ever amendments to its Cybersecurity Act (CS Act) 2018 via the Cybersecurity (Amendment) Bill.  Through these Amendments, CSA is looking to account for advancements in Singapore’s technology and business landscape since 2018.  It is also hoping to holistically enhance the cybersecurity of not only the country’s critical information infrastructure (CII) but also other digital infrastructure important for Singapore’s economy.

C&M International’s Asia-based digital policy team joined an industry delegation last week at a key gathering to discuss Southeast Asia’s future digital economy. Singapore hosted the 4thASEAN Digital Ministers’ Meeting (ADGMIN) from 30 January to 02 February, 2024 under the theme “Building an Inclusive and Trusted Digital Ecosystem”. Josephine Teo, Singapore’s Minister for Communications and Information, chaired the meeting alongside her counterpart from Thailand, Prasert Jantararuangtong, Minister of Digital Economy and Society as the Vice Chair.

On 15 December 2023, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) opened stakeholder consultation on its draft Cybersecurity (Amendment) Bill 2023. This draft Bill is the first review of the Cybersecurity Act 2018 and aims to enhance Singapore’s cyber resilience in the face of the country’s increasing digitalization.

On November 9, 2023, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”) released the Final Public Draft (“FPD”) of Special Publication (“SP”) 800-171 Revision (“Rev.”) 3, “Protecting Controlled Unclassified Information in Nonfederal Systems and Organizations” and the Initial Public Draft of NIST SP 800-171A Rev 3, “Assessing Security Requirements for Controlled Unclassified Information.”  The FPD of SP 800-171 Rev. 3 condenses several control requirements from the initial public draft while adding new requirements under existing controls.  The initial draft of SP 800-171A now aligns with SP 800-171 Rev. 3 and includes more detailed assessment procedures than its predecessor.  Changes in both documents forecast the evolving compliance requirements for organizations required to safeguard Controlled Unclassified Information (“CUI”).

Beginning on February 8, the members of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), the Biden-Harris Administration’s signature economic initiative in the Asia-Pacific, held the next framework negotiating round. This round advanced the arrangement’s supply chains, clean economy, and fair economy pillars and continued to build on the negotiating text that was tabled at the last negotiating round. Notably, it did not include negotiations on the trade pillar, of which India is not a member. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Summit, which will be held in San Francisco in late 2023 has been cited as a tentative target date by which the parties hope to conclude the negotiations.

There is a great urgency for all stakeholders, including governments, employers, academia to invest in digital upskilling and reskilling of the workforce, as digital skills become integral to the future of work and post-COVID-19 recovery. According to the APEC Closing the Digital Skills Gap Report: Trends and Insights, in developing economies such as China, Indonesia and Mexico, the demand for digitally skilled workers has been growing much faster than supply. Additionally, economies such as New Zealand, Singapore, and United States are hiring individuals with digital talent at the fastest month on month rates.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and the U.S. Commerce Department are seeking comments on objectives for the Biden Administration to pursue in development of an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum will deepen its engagement with the private sector as it recommits to its role as a policy incubator for digital transformation across the Asia-Pacific. That was the clear message from Heads of State and thought leaders spanning numerous Asia-Pacific economies at the annual APEC “Leaders Week” meetings, which were hosted virtually from November 19-20 by the Malaysian government.

Support is growing rapidly for a new global agreement on marine litter and microplastics. A UN working group met at a virtual conference November 8 – 13 to discuss the issue. At that meeting a vast majority of UN member states including the EU and its member states; the Nordic Council, the Africa Group and its member states, Costa Rica, the Philippines, Peru, Vietnam, Switzerland, Sri Lanka, and the small island states all voiced their support for the development of a new agreement.

Eight years after negotiations began, fifteen countries from the Asia-Pacific signed an agreement on Sunday that will create the world’s largest free trade bloc. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, will advance economic integration between the ten member states in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN1, and Asia’s other trade powerhouses, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and most notably, China.

U.S.-China trade relations and economic policy are highly politicized within the United States, and are key issues in the campaigns of both President Donald Trump and the Democratic nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden. A theme has emerged in the campaign messaging battles, with neither candidate ceding any ground on their “tough on China” bona fides. But as divergent as Trump and Biden are on many policy issues, when it comes to China and trade, there is some overlap between Trump’s executive actions and Biden’s campaign agenda.