The Senate is making progress on bipartisan legislation that would give the administration stronger authorities to investigate, prosecute and seize the assets of sanctioned Russian oligarchs, including in cases of sanctions or export control evasion. The proposals received broad support this week from Senate Judiciary Committee members, who said DOJ’s powers should be expanded and bolstered to better punish Russian war crimes.

The Biden administration is emphasizing enforcement of Russia sanctions and export controls, making industry compliance with trade restrictions increasingly important, law firms said. Businesses should be taking several due diligence steps to avoid being caught in Russia-related sanctions evasion attempts, they said, and also can take action to protect their business operations in the Russia and Ukraine regions.

Hyun Ki Shin and Hyuk Jin Kwon, two South Korean nationals, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Texas for their role in a conspiracy to dampen trade and defraud the U.S. military in South Korea, DOJ said. Shin and Kwon worked as officers of a South Korean construction company that carried out subcontract work on the military bases in South Korea. Starting in 2018, the pair, along with others, worked to "rig bids and fix prices for subcontract work," defrauding the Defense Department to obtain millions of dollars in contracting work in the process, DOJ said.

Although the Department of Justice’s China’s initiative (see 2012030033) is still likely an agency priority, the program has slowed under the Biden administration and may lead to less export control and sanctions-related prosecutions, said George Pence, a trade lawyer with Akin Gump. Pence, speaking during a Jan. 20 webinar hosted by the law firm, said he thinks “criminal export and sanctions prosecutions are along for the ride but are not driving the China initiative.”

The National Retail Federation will continue convening with law enforcement and work with the Biden administration and Congress on a “variety of proposed legislative measures” on the recent spate of mass “smash and grab” thefts across the country that are “incredibly challenging” for retailers, said CEO Matthew Shay on a Tuesday call. “I can’t tell you how concerning this is for our members,” he said, and NRF will take a “much more aggressive position" on the events, he said. The trade association convened a group of members Monday to address the trend and has “hundreds” of people participating in calls about the incidents, Shay said. NRF wants more resources and "greater coordination between federal, state and local authorities,” Shay said. Efforts to combat the crimes have been stymied by factors including “different approaches by different prosecutors” and by a reluctance of law enforcement to prosecute in some cases. Shay wants involvement by DOJ and federal law enforcement.

The House Appropriations Committee advanced increased CPB funding Thursday along party lines. The committee was considering legislation early Thursday evening that would boost NTIA, Patent and Trademark Office and other Commerce Department agencies' appropriations. The committee advanced its FY 2022 Department of Homeland Security funding bill earlier this week, which included $2.13 billion for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (see 2107130056).

Tech trade groups said more action is needed to stop sex trafficking and hold companies like Backpage.com accountable (see 1701100001), but that Senate legislation amending Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (see 1708010011) would "severely undermine a crucial protection for legitimate online companies." In a Wednesday letter to Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., among the 20 senators who introduced the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act the previous day, the 10 associations said Section 230 encourages "positive legal behavior" and doesn't shield companies from liability of federal crimes, including prosecution for human trafficking. But the bill would have a "devastating impact on legitimate online services" without meaningfully stopping trafficking crimes and, instead, generate "frivolous litigation targeting legitimate, law-abiding intermediaries," the consortium said. The groups -- including Computer and Communications Industry Association, Internet Association and Software & Information Industry Association -- said Congress should work with DOJ to prioritize prosecutions, target rogue sites and coordinate international enforcement. CTA President Gary Shapiro agreed that amending Section 230 would "create a trial lawyer bonanza of overly-broad civil lawsuits," saying DOJ has tools to go after traffickers. CCIA Vice President-Law and Policy Matthew Schruers told us Tuesday the tech industry plans to educate Congress about member companies' fighting trafficking including an estimated more than 100,000 content moderators who try to flag illegal activities. He said information about bad actors and content and misconduct also are shared among firms, and there's cooperation with law enforcement and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. "There's a great deal of interest in stamping out [bad actors] simply because your brand depends on doing so," he said.

Tech trade groups said more action is needed to stop sex trafficking and hold companies like Backpage.com accountable (see 1701100001), but that Senate legislation amending Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (see 1708010011) would "severely undermine a crucial protection for legitimate online companies." In a Wednesday letter to Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., among the 20 senators who introduced the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act the previous day, the 10 associations said Section 230 encourages "positive legal behavior" and doesn't shield companies from liability of federal crimes, including prosecution for human trafficking. But the bill would have a "devastating impact on legitimate online services" without meaningfully stopping trafficking crimes and, instead, generate "frivolous litigation targeting legitimate, law-abiding intermediaries," the consortium said. The groups -- including Computer and Communications Industry Association, Internet Association and Software & Information Industry Association -- said Congress should work with DOJ to prioritize prosecutions, target rogue sites and coordinate international enforcement. CTA President Gary Shapiro agreed that amending Section 230 would "create a trial lawyer bonanza of overly-broad civil lawsuits," saying DOJ has tools to go after traffickers. CCIA Vice President-Law and Policy Matthew Schruers told us Tuesday the tech industry plans to educate Congress about member companies' fighting trafficking including an estimated more than 100,000 content moderators who try to flag illegal activities. He said information about bad actors and content and misconduct also are shared among firms, and there's cooperation with law enforcement and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. "There's a great deal of interest in stamping out [bad actors] simply because your brand depends on doing so," he said.

Tech trade groups said more action is needed to stop sex trafficking and hold companies like Backpage.com accountable (see 1701100001), but that Senate legislation amending Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (see 1708010011) would "severely undermine a crucial protection for legitimate online companies." In a Wednesday letter to Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., among the 20 senators who introduced the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act the previous day, the 10 associations said Section 230 encourages "positive legal behavior" and doesn't shield companies from liability of federal crimes, including prosecution for human trafficking. But the bill would have a "devastating impact on legitimate online services" without meaningfully stopping trafficking crimes and, instead, generate "frivolous litigation targeting legitimate, law-abiding intermediaries," the consortium said. The groups -- including Computer and Communications Industry Association, Internet Association and Software & Information Industry Association -- said Congress should work with DOJ to prioritize prosecutions, target rogue sites and coordinate international enforcement. CTA President Gary Shapiro agreed that amending Section 230 would "create a trial lawyer bonanza of overly-broad civil lawsuits," saying DOJ has tools to go after traffickers. CCIA Vice President-Law and Policy Matthew Schruers told us Tuesday the tech industry plans to educate Congress about member companies' fighting trafficking including an estimated more than 100,000 content moderators who try to flag illegal activities. He said information about bad actors and content and misconduct also are shared among firms, and there's cooperation with law enforcement and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. "There's a great deal of interest in stamping out [bad actors] simply because your brand depends on doing so," he said.

A bipartisan Senate bill aimed at curbing online child sex trafficking by amending Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, considered a foundation in expanding the U.S. internet economy, will have an uphill battle, predicted technology and civil society advocates who say there's a better approach. They said Tuesday that fighting online trafficking is needed, but the legislation is too broad and would have unintended consequences.