Our business is subject to regulation by various federal, state, local and foreign governmental agencies, including agencies responsible for monitoring and enforcing laws and regulations relating to privacy, data protection, information security and cybersecurity, employment and labor laws, workplace safety, product safety, environmental laws, consumer protection laws, anti-bribery laws, import and export controls, federal securities laws and tax laws and regulations. In addition, emerging tools and technologies we utilize in providing our products, like artificial intelligence and machine learning, may also become subject to regulation under new laws or new applications of existing laws. In certain jurisdictions, these regulatory requirements may be more stringent than in the United States. These laws and regulations impose added costs on our business. Noncompliance with applicable regulations or requirements could subject us to:
- investigations, enforcement actions and sanctions;
- mandatory changes to our cloud platform;
- disgorgement of profits, fines and damages;
- civil and criminal penalties or injunctions;
- claims for damages by our customers or channel partners;
- termination of contracts;
- loss of intellectual property rights; and
- temporary or permanent debarment from sales to government organizations.
If any governmental sanctions are imposed, or if we do not prevail in any possible civil or criminal litigation, our business, operating results and financial condition could be adversely affected. In addition, responding to any action will likely result in a significant diversion of management’s attention and resources and an increase in professional fees. Enforcement actions and sanctions could materially harm our business, operating results and financial condition.
We endeavor to properly classify employees as exempt versus non-exempt under applicable law. Although there are no pending or threatened material claims or investigations against us asserting that some employees are improperly classified as exempt, the possibility exists that some of our current or former employees could have been incorrectly classified as exempt employees.
In addition, we must comply with laws and regulations relating to the formation, administration and performance of contracts with the public sector, including U.S. federal, state and local governmental organizations, which affect how we and our channel partners do business with governmental agencies. Selling our solutions to the U.S. government, whether directly or through channel partners, also subjects us to certain regulatory and contractual requirements. Failure to comply with these requirements by either us or our channel partners could subject us to investigations, fines and other penalties, which could have an adverse effect on our business, operating results, financial condition and prospects. As an example, the U.S. Department of Justice, or DOJ, and the General Services Administration, or GSA, have in the past pursued claims against and financial settlements with IT vendors under the False Claims Act and other statutes related to pricing and discount practices and compliance with certain provisions of GSA contracts for sales to the federal government. The DOJ and GSA continue to actively pursue such claims. Violations of certain regulatory and contractual requirements could also result in us being suspended or debarred from future government contracting. Any of these outcomes could have a material adverse effect on our revenue, operating results, financial condition and prospects.
These laws and regulations impose added costs on our business, and failure to comply with these or other applicable regulations and requirements could lead to claims for damages from our channel partners or customers, penalties, termination of contracts, loss of exclusive rights in our intellectual property and temporary suspension or permanent debarment from government contracting. Any such damages, penalties, disruptions or limitations in our ability to do business with the public sector could have a material adverse effect on our business and operating results.