Nate Lankford and Aiysha Hussain's* FCPA Blog post, "New DOJ Enforcement Policy Takes Aim at Messaging Apps," was cited by the Wall Street Journal's Risk & Compliance Journal. In their blog post, Lankford and Hussain discuss the Department of Justice's (DOJ's) new Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Corporate Enforcement Policy, which states that companies must prohibit staff from using "software that generates but does not appropriately retain business records or communications." This language is a reference to messaging software and "…is unprecedented in prior DOJ guidance on FCPA enforcement and shows a significant evolution in the DOJ's expectations for data controls," Lankford and Hussain wrote in their blog post. "In the investigations we've done we've found that these kinds of messaging apps are commonly used by employees for legitimate business purposes, and we also have seen where they have been used to avoid detection," Lankford said in an interview with the Risk & Compliance Journal, adding, "we frequently encounter this as a significant obstacle in investigations" of FCPA issues. To comply with the policy, companies must first assess how various messaging apps are used by staff and then design practical controls as needed, he said.

*Former Miller & Chevalier attorney