Tech On Reg Podcast

On this episode, Dara sits down with Manny Newburger, Adjunct Professor of Consumer Law at UT Austin School of Law and VP of Barron and Newburger, to discuss what the CFPB and FTC have been up to the last few months. From the “Holder Rule” to credit reporting and fascination with Buy Now Pay Later, Dara and Manny break down some complex topics and make some predictions for what regulation and enforcement will look like into 2022 and beyond. 

The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) officially launched in 2021. Already dubbed the “mini-CFPB,” on this episode, Dara speaks with two experts and California natives – Mark Naiman, a member of the DFPI’s advisory board and financial services professional and Lauren Valenzuela, regulatory counsel at Actuate Law. We discuss the vision for the DFPI, who they are regulating, what they are innovating, developments over the past year, and what it’s going to be like for businesses who operate in California in the future.

Recent discussions around data privacy, “fake news”, bots, – not to mention the almost daily revelations about hacks, data and identity theft, have MADE IT CRYSTAL CLEAR that today’s Internet has some serious defects.Today it is not the Internet, but the social media platforms, search engines, e-commerce sites or financial institutions built on top of it, that provide us with our online identities, hold our personal data, and act as gatekeepers of information. On this episode, Dara is joined by James Parillo, GM and Lion Tamer at Figment.io – an organization whose mission is to support the adoption, growth and long term success of the Web 3 ecosystem and make it simple to build on the next generation of blockchain technology. Dara and James discuss the history of the internet, what to expect from Web 3.0, and how Web 3.0 can address the privacy and security concerns plaguing today’s web.

Diversity, equity and inclusion remain challenging for the fintech community and financial services as a whole. Despite significant strides and efforts being made over the years, the COVID-19 pandemic has unquestionably impacted women in the workplace disproportionately. This week, Dara is joined by Angela Yore, to discuss findexable’s Fintech Diversity Radar, what the study hopes achieve and how we continue to address these important issues in the new normal. 

SexTech has seen a massive acceleration in our post pandemic world. Slowly but surely, the industry is moving from vice to mainstream, though the regulatory environment, existing laws, and pre-conceived notions and biases continue to be obstacles. For Tech on Regis fall season opener, Dara is joined by returning guest, Dominique Karetsos, for her take on the future of SexTech, recent progress and achievements in the Healthy Pleasure Group Lab and how we continue to push the industry into the mainstream. 

The ethics of artificial intelligence has been a hotly debated topic for years. With the data science community often torn about the proper uses of AI, many industry participants are left scratching their heads. Until recently, there has been little to no regulatory oversight of the technology. Enter the EU. On this episode, Dara is joined by Clara Durodie, Oxford phD and renowned AI author and thought leader to discuss the European Union’s recent proposed AI regulations and share her perspective on what this means for industry and innovation.

So what does crypto have to do with opportunity zones? Join host Dara Tarkowski, guest host Randy Rivera, executive director of FinTEx and co-founder of keen advisors and Jimmy Odom, co-founder of Bit Capital Group to discuss the current state of the crypto markets, the future of blockchain, and some new investment opportunities and incentives available through qualified opportunity zones through qualified opportunity funds – with some spirited debate along the way. 

NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are presently all the rage. Is this newest blockchain application the future of collection and distribution of digital assets or just more hype? Blockchain professor, Lamont Black, of DePaul University joins host Dara Tarkowski to discuss just that. What is an NFT? What do you actually own? How will the regulators treat this new asset? Commodity? Security? Substituted value? It depends. Listen now to learn more. 

What do you get when you combine determined retail investors on Reddit, hedge funds and an easy to use trading app? Look no further than the GameStop trading frenzy of January 2021. On this episode, we unpack the events that led to Robinhood’s suspension of trading activity, the Congressional testimony and to-be-expected inquiry from the Securities Exchange Commission. What will the regulatory impact be? What does this mean for fintech? Jennifer Tescher and Carl Volz help hash it out. 

Many of us have heard the term. Fewer of us know about how the cottage industry of patent trolls operate. Dara sits down with Michael Switzer, Head of the Intellectual Property practice group at Actuate Law, to discuss some recent trends we’re seeing in the payments space and how organizations and industry can fight back against costly litigation.