Sandvine Removed From Commerce Department’s Entity List Following Significant Corporate Reforms to Protect Human Rights

Paul, Weiss secured a major victory for Sandvine Corporation, a Canada-based technology service provider, when key U.S. government stakeholders took the extremely rare step of removing Sandvine from the Entity List, a highly restrictive national security regulatory tool that imposes harsh export control-related requirements.

Sandvine, whose technology facilitates internet access for hundreds of millions of people around the globe, had been placed on the Entity List in February due to accusations that its products were misused by foreign governments to infringe on civil liberties and other rights.

In response to being added to the Entity List, Sandvine retained Paul, Weiss, including its National Security practice to help it identify business and governance-related changes and advocate before key U.S. government officials. These efforts paid off on October 21, when the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), noted the “significant steps [Sandvine has taken] to address the misuse of its technology that can undermine human rights,” and removed the company from the Entity List. “Sandvine has overhauled its corporate structure, leadership, and business model,” BIS recognized in its announcement. “The company has pivoted to focus on servicing democracies committed to the protection of human rights.”

The Paul, Weiss team was led by partners John Carlin, Robert Britton and Rush Atkinson and includes litigation partners Roberto Gonzalez and Nicole Succar and counsel Benjamin Klein and Peter Carey; restructuring partner Andrew Rosenberg and counsel Claudia Tobler, Douglas Keeton and Sarah Harnett; tax partner Anne McGinnis and counsel Caroline Inker, Adam Parry, Patrick Karsnitz and Samir Kurani; corporate partners Samuel Welt, Suhan Shim and Robert Zochowski and counsel Nathan Mitchell, Adam Longenbach and Gabriella Toossi; executive compensation partner Jean McLoughlin and counsel Christopher Gonnella; intellectual property partner Jonathan Ashtor and counsel Brianna van Kan; and antitrust partners Annie Herdman and Marta Kelly and counsel John Magruder.